Indian Moors

Last updated
Indian Moors
Total population
27,400 (1971) [1]
Languages
Tamil, Arwi, Sinhala, Arabic [N 1]
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups

Indian Moors were a grouping of people who existed in Sri Lanka predominantly during its colonial period. They were distinguished by their Muslim faith whose origins traced back to the British Raj. Therefore, Indian Moors refer to a number of castes amongst Gujarati Muslims, such as Memons, Bohras and Khojas. These groups tended to retain their own ancestral practices and language. [2] However the largest specific group were Tamils from South India. [3]

Contents

Indian Moors shared a similar history to Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka, however due to their decline and smaller numbers the Indian Moors have either returned to India or have declared themselves as being classified as Sri Lankan Moors.

History

Origins

The Indian Moors trace their origins back to immigrants in search of business opportunities during the British colonial period, however some can trace their origins as far back as Portuguese times. They came from various parts of India. [4] Indian Moors have a similar history to that of the Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka. These people served primarily as plantation labor during the 125 years preceding the independence of Sri Lanka in 1948. Though they did not sever their connections with the land of their birth.

In 1930, the Indian Government imposed a ban on the emigration of unskilled Indian labor to Sri Lanka. The country's own immigrants Act of 1948, restricted entry into Sri Lanka only to those who had already been in Sri Lanka and held valid travel documents. With respect to the status and future of the Indian immigrants in Sri Lanka, an agreement had already been reached between the two countries and had been implemented as the following by the date of 30 October 1964: — [5]

Decline

In 1971, Indian Moors numbered 29,416 declining from 55,400 in 1963. Their decline was partly due to much of the population returning to India and some declaring themselves and being enumerated as Sri Lankan Moors. [6] The presently remaining population have been categorized as "others" in the Sri Lankan census, since 1981, due to their small numbers.[ citation needed ]

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1881 —    
1891 —    
1901 —    
1911 32,700—    
1921 33,000+0.9%
1931 36,300+10.0%
1946 35,600−1.9%
1953 47,500+33.4%
1963 55,400+16.6%
1971 27,400−50.5%
1981 —    
2001 —    
2012 —    
Note: [N 2]
Source:Data is based on Sri Lankan Government Census. [1]

Population

With the beginning of the Sri Lankan Censuses by the British administration, population and ethnicity was conducted using the term "Nationality" until 1901. The Census Reports classified the population into seven groups viz. Europeans, Sinhalese, Tamils, Moors, Malays, Veddahs and others. From the 1911 onwards "Nationality" was replaced with the word "race", and it had recognition in all official and unofficial records. At the 1881 Census, Moors numbered 184,500 which increased to 228,000 in the 1901 Census. [7]

The 1911 Census separated the Tamils into Ceylon Tamils and Indian Tamils and the Moors into Ceylon Moors and Indian Moors. [7] This was due to the influx of Indian Laborers, that comprised both Moors and Tamils, into the plantation regions of Sri Lanka, who had to be distinguished separately. [6]

By 1971, Indian Moors numbered 29,416, declining from 55,400 in 1963. The Indian Moors were the only other ethnic group besides the Indian Tamils which had declined from the previous Census figure. Their decline was partly due to their returning to India and others declaring themselves and being enumerated as Sri Lankan Moors. [6]

Indian Moors were mostly found in the Colombo and Kandy Districts. With more than 75% of the Indian Moors found in Colombo District situated in Colombo city. [6]

Ethnic groups

The Indian Moors was a collective of ethnic groups, identified by their Islamic faith and similar geographic origin. The Largest of those groups being Tamils from South India. Others included the Memons, originally from Gujarat, who first arrived in 1870; however in the 1980s they numbered only about 3,000. The Bohras and the Khojas who also came from Gujarat (after 1880); in the 1980s they collectively numbered fewer than 2,000. [4]

Religion

Indian Moors are predominantly followers of Islam, hence their cultural identity being defined by their religion. Most Indian Moor groups follow Sunni Islam, with the exception of the Bohras, who are Shiites. [3]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ (extinct)
  2. ↑ Prior to 1911 Indian Moors were included with Sri Lankan Moors. After 1971 they were included with Others.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of Sri Lanka</span>

This is a demography of the population of Sri Lanka including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the population, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

The Memon are a Muslim community in Gujarat India, and Sindh, Pakistan, the majority of whom follow the Hanafi fiqh of Sunni Islam. They are divided into different groups based on their origins: Kathiawari Memons, Kutchi Memons and Bantva Memons from the Kathiawar, Kutch and Bantva regions of Gujarat respectively, and Sindhi Memons from Sindh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islam in Sri Lanka</span>

Islam is the third largest religion in Sri Lanka, with about 9.7 percent of the total population following the religion. About 1.9 million Sri Lankans adhere to Islam as per the Sri Lanka census of 2012. The majority of Muslims in Sri Lanka are concentrated in the Eastern Province of the island. Other areas containing significant Muslim minorities include the Western, Northwestern, North Central, Central and Sabaragamuwa provinces. Muslims form a large segment of the urban population of Sri Lanka and are mostly concentrated in major cities and large towns in Sri Lanka, like Colombo. Most Sri Lankan Muslims primarily speak Tamil, though it is not uncommon for Sri Lankan Muslims to be fluent in Sinhalese. The Sri Lankan Malays speak the Sri Lankan Malay creole language in addition to Sinhalese and Tamil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka</span> Tamil people of Indian origin in Sri Lanka

Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka are Tamil people of Indian origin in Sri Lanka. They are also known as Malayaga Tamilar, Hill Country Tamils, Up-Country Tamils or simply Indian Tamils. They predominantly descend from workers sent during the British Raj from Southern India to Sri Lanka in the 19th and 20th centuries to work in coffee, tea and rubber plantations. Some also migrated on their own as merchants and as other service providers. These Tamil speakers mostly live in the central highlands, also known as the Malayakam or Hill Country, yet others are also found in major urban areas and in the Northern Province. Although they are all termed as Tamils today, some have Telugu and Malayalee origins as well as diverse South Indian caste origins. They are instrumental in the plantation sector economy of Sri Lanka. In general, socio-economically their standard of living is below that of the national average and they are described as one of the poorest and most neglected groups in Sri Lanka. In 1964 a large percentage were repatriated to India, but left a considerable number as stateless people. By the 1990s most of these had been given Sri Lankan citizenship. Most are Hindus with a minority of Christians and Muslims amongst them. There are also a small minority followers of Buddhism among them. Politically they are supportive of trade union-based political parties that have supported most of the ruling coalitions since the 1980s.

The caste systems in Sri Lanka are social stratification systems found among the ethnic groups of the island since ancient times. The models are similar to those found in Continental India, but are less extensive and important for various reasons. Modern times Sri Lanka is often considered to be a casteless society in south asia.

Bharatha People also known as Bharatakula and Paravar, is an ethnicity in the island of Sri Lanka. Earlier considered a caste of the Sri Lankan Tamils, they were classified as separate ethnic group in the 2001 census. They are descendant of Tamil speaking Paravar of Southern India who migrated to Sri Lanka under Portuguese rule. They live mainly on the western coast of Sri Lanka and mainly found in the cities of Mannar, Negombo and Colombo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Sri Lanka</span>

Sri Lanka is officially a Buddhist country, while Sri Lankans practice a variety of religions. As of the 2012 census, 70.2% of Sri Lankans were Buddhists, 12.6% were Hindus, 9.7% were Muslims, 7.4% were Christians. Buddhism is declared as the State religion of Sri Lanka and has been given special privileges in the Sri Lankan constitution such as the government is bound for protection and fostering of Buddhist Dharma throughout the nation. However, the constitution also provides for freedom of religion and right to equality among all its citizens. In 2008 Sri Lanka was the third most religious country in the world according to a Gallup poll, with 99% of Sri Lankans saying religion is an important part of their daily life.

Ethnic groups in South Asia are ethnolinguistic groupings within the diverse populations of South Asia, including the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan is variously considered to be a part of both Central Asia and South Asia, which means Afghans are not always included among South Asians, but when they are, South Asia has a total population of about 2.04 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sri Lankan Moors</span> Muslim ethnic minority in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan Moors are an ethnic minority group in Sri Lanka, comprising 9.3% of the country's total population. Most of them are native speakers of the Tamil language. The majority of Moors who are not native to the North and East also speak Sinhalese as a second language. They are predominantly followers of Islam. The Sri Lankan Muslim community is mostly divided between Sri Lankan Moors, Indian Moors, Sri Lankan Malays and Sri Lankan Bohras. These groups are differentiated by lineage, language, history, culture and traditions.

The Gujarati people, or Gujaratis, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who reside in or can trace their ancestry or heritage to a region of the Indian subcontinent primarily centered in the present-day western Indian state of Gujarat. They primarily speak Gujarati, an Indo-Aryan language. While Gujaratis mainly inhabit Gujarat, they have a diaspora worldwide. Many notable independence activists were Gujarati, including Mahatma Gandhi, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Vallabhbhai Patel.

This is a list of Tamil population per city .Some cities in Sri Lanka also includes Sri Lankan Moors population because most of them have Tamil as their mother tongue.In Singapore the number also includes ethnic Tamils who don't speak Tamil at home

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilinochchi District</span> Administrative District in Northern, Sri Lanka

Kilinochchi District is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The capital of the district is the town of Kilinochchi.

The term Gujarati Muslim is usually used to signify an Indian Muslim from the state of Gujarat on the western coast of India. Most Gujarati Muslims have the Gujarati language as their mother tongue, but some communities have Urdu as their mother tongue. The majority of Gujarati Muslims are Sunni, with a minority of Shia groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pettah, Sri Lanka</span> Suburb in Western Province, Sri Lanka

Pettah is a neighbourhood in Colombo, Sri Lanka, located east of the city centre Fort, and behind the Colombo Port. The Pettah neighborhood is famous for the Pettah Market, a series of open air bazaars and markets. It is one of Sri Lanka's busiest commercial areas, where a huge number of wholesale and retail shops, buildings, commercial institutions and other organisations are located.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sri Lankan Malays</span> Asian ethnic group

Sri Lankan Malays, historically known as Ceylon Malays, are Sri Lankan citizens with full or partial ancestry from the Indonesian Archipelago, Malaysia, or Singapore. In addition, people from Brunei and the Philippines also consider themselves Malays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mannar District</span> Administrative District in Northern, Sri Lanka

Mannar District is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The capital of the district is Mannar, which is located on Mannar Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaffna</span> City in Sri Lanka

Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most populous city. Jaffna is approximately ten kilometres from Kandarodai which served as an emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical antiquity. Jaffna's suburb Nallur served as the capital of the four-century-long medieval Tamil Jaffna Kingdom.

Indians in Sri Lanka refer to Indians or people of Indian ancestry living in Sri Lanka, such as the Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamil settlement of Sri Lanka</span> Migration to Sri Lanka

Tamil settlement of Sri Lanka refers to the settlement of Tamils, or other Dravidian peoples, from Southern India to Sri Lanka. Due to Sri Lanka's close proximity to Southern India, Dravidian influence on Sri Lanka has been very active since the early Iron Age or megalithic period.

The Pathans of Sri Lanka were a Muslim community in Sri Lanka of Pashtun ancestry. Most of them left in the 20th century, however a small number of families living in the country still claim Pathan ancestry.

References

  1. 1 2 "Population by ethnic group, census years" (PDF). web. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  2. ↑ Nubin, Walter (2002). Sri Lanka: Current Issues and Historical Background. New York: Nova Publishers. p. 148. ISBN   1-59033-573-2 . Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Moor of Sri Lanka". Everyculture. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Muslims". Country Studies. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  5. ↑ The Population of Sri Lanka, pp. 2.
  6. 1 2 3 4 The Population of Sri Lanka, pp. 46.
  7. 1 2 The Population of Sri Lanka, pp. 43.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.