Indians in Zimbabwe

Last updated

The Indian presence in what is now Zimbabwe dates back to 1890 or earlier. Some scholars have suggested the similarities of the gold mining techniques carried out in southern Zimbabwe during ancient periods with the Indian ones, a brass cup of Hindu workmanship dated to 14th or 15th century AD has been found in Zimbabwean workings. [1] During colonial period Indian plantation workers in South Africa crossed the border into Southern Rhodesia. [2] A voluntary wave of Indian migrants also came at this time from the east, made up mostly of Gujarati men crossing the Indian Ocean to look for new opportunities. These men landed in Beira in Mozambique. Finding that immigration restrictions made it difficult for them to go to South Africa, they made their way across Mozambique, ending up what was then Southern Rhodesia. [3] Further immigration was restricted in 1924 when the colony became a self-governing colony of the United Kingdom. The next year, entry of Indian migrants was restricted to wives and minor children of existing residents, with exceptions made on occasion for teachers and priests. [4]

Contents

Indians in Zimbabwe
Indians in Zimbabwe
Total population
9,500 (500 Indian nationals)
Regions with significant populations
Harare, Bulawayo
Languages
English, Gujarati, and others Languages of India, Languages of Zimbabwe
Religion
Hinduism, minority of Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Indian South Africans

Indians in Zimbabwe have never made up more than one per cent of the country's population. In 1911, they numbered 2,912 as compared to the white settler population of 23,606, out of a total population of 771,077. [5] By 1969, Asians still only numbered 8,965 as compared to 228,296 Europeans out of a total population of 4,846,930. [6] The first migrants worked as traders, market gardeners, and laundrymen in the rural areas, often setting up stands on white farmers' land. They were eventually driven out of the reserves and into urban spaces by the Land Apportionment Act of 1930. [4]

Most Indians in Rhodesia were Gujarati, hailing from the same villages. According to the 1921 census, there were 612 Hindus resident in the country, and 231 Muslims (with one Parsee and 113 identifying as ‘other’). [7]

Indian Zimbabweans faced discrimination during colonial rule as a minority non-white population. Although most stayed out of active politics, some Indian Zimbabweans discretely channeled funds to anti-colonial movements. [8] Many Indian Zimbabweans emigrated to South Africa, Botswana, and Zambia, as well as Australia and the United Kingdom, following the economic downturn in Zimbabwe that began in 1999. [8]

As of October 2016, an estimated 9,000 Zimbabwean citizens are of Indian origin, mostly Gujarati. Prominent Indian Zimbabweans in politics include Senator Kantibhai Patel, who served as member of the Politburo and Central Committee of the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front. [9] Patel died in 2011, and was declared a national hero in 2012. Indian Zimbabweans Bharat Patel and Ahmed Ebrahim have served as justices of the Supreme Court. [2]

Around 500 Indian citizens were residents in Zimbabwe as of October 2016. Most of them are professionals working in computer software, accounting and banking.

Persecution

In the months before the Zimbabwean election, amongst widespread economic mismanagement by the Zimbabwean government, Zimbabwean president Emmerson Mnangagwa accused Zimbabwean Indians of hoarding basic goods, and threatened to seize their property. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhodesia</span> Unrecognised state in Southern Africa (1965–1979)

Rhodesia, officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979. During this fourteen-year period, Rhodesia served as the de facto successor state to the British colony of Southern Rhodesia, and in 1980 it became modern day Zimbabwe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harare</span> Capital and largest city of Zimbabwe

Harare, formerly known as Salisbury, is the capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 982.3 km2 (379.3 sq mi), a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metropolitan province. The city is situated in north-eastern Zimbabwe in the country's Mashonaland region. Harare is a metropolitan province which also incorporates the municipalities of Chitungwiza and Epworth. The city sits on a plateau at an elevation of 1,483 metres above sea level, and its climate falls into the subtropical highland category.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Rhodesia</span> British colony in Africa, 1923 to 1965

Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked, self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South Zambesia until annexation by Britain, at the behest of Cecil Rhodes's British South Africa Company. The bounding territories were Bechuanaland (Botswana), Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), Portuguese Mozambique (Mozambique) and the Transvaal Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ZANU–PF</span> Ruling political party of Zimbabwe

The Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) is a political organisation which has been the ruling party of Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. The party was led for many years by Robert Mugabe, first as prime minister with the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and then as president from 1987 after the merger with the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) and retaining the name ZANU–PF, until 2017, when he was removed as leader.

White Zimbabweans are Zimbabwean people of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, these Zimbabweans of European ethnic origin are mostly English-speaking descendants of British settlers. A small minority are either Afrikaans-speaking descendants of Afrikaners from South Africa or those descended from Greek, Portuguese, Italian, and Jewish immigrants.

Goffals or Coloured Zimbabweans are persons of mixed race, predominately those claiming both European and African descent, in Malawi, Zambia, and, particularly Zimbabwe. They are generally known as Coloureds, though the term Goffal is used by some in the Coloured community to refer to themselves, though this does not refer to the mixed-race community in nearby South Africa. The community includes many diverse constituents of Shona, Northern Ndebele, Bemba, Fengu, British, Afrikaner, Cape Coloured, Cape Malay and less commonly Portuguese, Greek, Goan, and Indian descent. Similar mixed-race communities exist throughout Southern Africa, notably the Cape Coloureds of South Africa.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emmerson Mnangagwa</span> President of Zimbabwe since 2017

Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa is a Zimbabwean politician who is serving as President of Zimbabwe since 24 November 2017. A member of ZANU–PF and a longtime ally of former President Robert Mugabe, he held a series of cabinet portfolios and was Mugabe's Vice-President until November 2017, when he was dismissed before coming to power in a coup d'état. He secured his first full term as president in the disputed 2018 general election. Mnangagwa was re-elected in the August 2023 general election with 52.6% of the vote.

Indian Mozambicans form the sixth-largest Indian diaspora community in Africa, according to the statistics of India's Ministry of External Affairs. Roughly 70,000 people of Indian descent reside in Mozambique, as well as 870 Indian expatriates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of Zimbabwe</span>

Many languages are spoken, or historically have been spoken, in Zimbabwe. Since the adoption of its 2013 Constitution, Zimbabwe has 16 official languages, namely Chewa, Chibarwe, English, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Ndebele, Shangani, Shona, sign language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa. The country's main languages are Shona, spoken by over 70% of the population, and Ndebele, spoken by roughly 20%. English is the country's lingua franca, used in government and business and as the main medium of instruction in schools. English is the first language of most white Zimbabweans, and is the second language of a majority of black Zimbabweans. Historically, a minority of white Zimbabweans spoke Afrikaans, Greek, Italian, Polish, and Portuguese, among other languages, while Gujarati and Hindi could be found amongst the country's Indian population. Deaf Zimbabweans commonly use one of several varieties of Zimbabwean Sign Language, with some using American Sign Language. Zimbabwean language data is based on estimates, as Zimbabwe has never conducted a census that enumerated people by language.

White Africans of European ancestry refers to citizens or residents in Africa who can trace full or partial ancestry to Europe. They are distinguished from indigenous North African people who are sometimes identified as white but not European. In 1989, there were an estimated 4.6 million white people with European ancestry on the African continent.

There is a small but recognisable community of Indians in Zambia. Unlike the better-known Indian communities of South East Africa, they were little-studied by historians until the 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in Zimbabwe</span> Ethnic group

The history of the Jews in Zimbabwe reaches back over one century. Present-day Zimbabwe was formerly known as Southern Rhodesia and later as Rhodesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian diaspora</span> Indian citizens and persons of Indian origin living abroad

Overseas Indians, officially Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and People of Indian Origin (PIOs) are Indians who reside or originate outside of India. According to the Government of India, Non-Resident Indians are citizens of India who currently are not living in India, while the term People of Indian Origin refers to people of Indian birth or ancestry who are citizens of countries other than India. Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) is given to People of Indian Origin and to persons who are not People of Indian Origin but married to Indian citizen or People of Indian Origin. Persons with OCI status are known as Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs). The OCI status is a permanent visa for visiting India with a foreign passport.

Racism in Zimbabwe was introduced during the colonial era in the 19th century, when emigrating white settlers began racially discriminating against the indigenous Africans living in the region. The colony of Southern Rhodesia and state of Rhodesia were both dominated by a white minority, which imposed racist policies in all spheres of public life. In the 1960s–70s, African national liberation groups waged an armed struggle against the white Rhodesian government, culminating in a peace accord that brought the ZANU–PF to power but which left much of the white settler population's economic authority intact.

Kenyan Australians are Australian citizens and residents of Kenyan origin and descent. They may be of indigenous African, European, or Indian heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Kingdom–Zimbabwe relations</span> Bilateral relations

Relations between the UK and Zimbabwe have been complex since the latter's independence in 1980. The territory of modern Zimbabwe had been colonised by the British South Africa Company in 1890, with the Pioneer Column raising the Union Jack over Fort Salisbury and formally establishing company, and by extension, British, rule over the territory. In 1920 Rhodesia, as the land had been called by the company in honour of their founder, Cecil Rhodes, was brought under jurisdiction of the Crown as the colony of Southern Rhodesia. Southern Rhodesia over the decades following its establishment would slowly be populated by large numbers of Europeans emigrants who came to form a considerable diaspora, largely consisting of Britons but also smaller groups of Italians, Greeks and Afrikaners. A settler culture that had already existed since the time of company would come to cement fully and the white population began to identify as Rhodesians, often in conjunction with British/Afrikaner/Southern European identities of their ancestors. Southern Rhodesia would go on to participate heavily in both the First and Second wars, providing soldiers and military equipment to the British war effort. During the years after the war, the relationship between Britain and Southern Rhodesia became increasingly strained. The UK had opted to decolonise Africa and had adopted a firm policy of no independence before majority rule, which deeply upset the white establishment of the colony, in particular the radical Rhodesian Front party led by Winston Field and later, Ian Smith. Relations between the British Government and the colonial Southern Rhodesian government deteriorated for much of the early 1960s and negotiations between the two dragged on with little to no success. Eventually, relations broke down entirely and Southern Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence from Britain. The move was met with zero recognition from the international community and the UK government and the illegitimate state was still formally considered under British sovereignty for its roughly 15-year span of existence. For the first 5 years of its proclaimed independence, Rhodesia still declared loyalty to the Queen Elizabeth II as a would-be Commonwealth realm, but this was never recognised by the British monarch who continued to encourage Smith's illegal government to resign. Given her refusal to appoint a Governor-general, from 1965 to 1970 an "Officer Administering the Government" served as the de facto head of state. Rhodesia eventually moved to sever all links with Britain and became a republic with a president in 1970. Throughout the subsequent Rhodesian Bush War between white Rhodesians and black paramilitaries such as ZANU and ZAPU, the UK continued to remain staunchly opposed to the rogue state and extensively sanctioned it, even enforcing blockades using the Royal Navy to cut off Rhodesian oil imports via Portuguese Mozambique. When Rhodesia failed to hold out after 15 years of fighting and came to the negotiating table with the black resistance groups and moderate African nationalist parties, the UK again became directly involved in Rhodesia's affairs. After a brief stint as the nation of Zimbabwe Rhodesia following an Internal Settlement that was denounced by the international community for not being satisfactory enough, the nation transiently reverted to its status as a self-governing British colony before being granted full independence and majority rule as Zimbabwe in 1980 under the landmark Lancaster House Agreement.

Italian Zimbabweans are citizens or residents of Zimbabwe of Italian heritage. The phrase may refer to someone born in the Zimbabwe of Italian descent, someone who has emigrated from Italy to Zimbabwe, a person with Italo-Zimbabwean heritage or someone born elsewhere, who is of Italian descent and has migrated to Zimbabwe. Italian Zimbabweans form one of the younger communities of the Italian diaspora, largely a product of wartime and post-war immigration.

Afrikaners in Zimbabwe are the descendants of Afrikaans speaking migrants to Zimbabwe, almost all of whom originated from the Cape Colony, Orange Free State and Transvaal in modern South Africa. At their peak they formed 10-15% of white Zimbabweans, but only a small fraction of the greater population. Persons of Afrikaans heritage abound in Zimbabwean society particularly in sports such as cricket, rugby, agriculture, tourism, conservation and traditionally, farming, however few are recognized as such, as unlike South Africa the majority of Afrikaner people are now anglophone and seen as indistinguishable from other whites by greater society.

Kantibhai Gordhanbhai Patel was an Indian-born Zimbabwean anti-colonial activist, politician, and businessman who served as a senator in the 1980s before serving as a non-constituency Member of Parliament in the 1990s. A member of Zimbabwe's governing party, the ZANU–PF, he served on the party's Central Committee and Politburo. Following his death, he was declared a National Hero of Zimbabwe.

References

  1. Chittick, Neville (1980). "Indian Relations with East Africa before the Arrival of the Portuguese". The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (2): 117–127. ISSN   0035-869X.
  2. 1 2 "India Zimbabwe relations" . Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  3. Musoni, Francis (17 October 2017). "Contested Foreignness: Indian Migrants and the Politics of Exclusion in Early Colonial Zimbabwe, 1890 to 1923". African and Asian Studies. 16 (4): 312–335. doi:10.1163/15692108-12341378. ISSN   1569-2094.
  4. 1 2 Kosmin, Barry (1975). "Freedom, Justice, Commerce: Some Factors affecting trading patterns in Southern Rhodesia, 1897-1942". Rhodesian History. 6: 15–32.
  5. Hole, Hugh Marshall (1912). Report of the director of census : regarding the census taken on 7th May, 1911 : presented to the Legislative Council, 1912. Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia: Printed by the govt. printer.
  6. "Zimbabwe Population and Housing Census 1969 | GHDx". ghdx.healthdata.org. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  7. Southern Rhodesia Census Office (1944). Census of the population of Southern Rhodesia. Salisbury: Government printer.
  8. 1 2 "The last Indians of Masvingo, Zimbabwe". The World Elsewhere. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  9. Politburo member Patel dies, The Herald , 12 Sep 2011
  10. ""Mnangagwa accuses Indian business people of hoarding basic goods, threatens to confiscate them"". 4 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.

Further reading