Indian South Africans
This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2023) |
Total population | |
---|---|
c. 1,697,506 Indo-Mauritians, Indo-Fijians, Indo-Caribbeans, Indian Singaporeans, Malaysian Indians, Indian people, Indian diaspora |
Indian South Africans are South Africans who descend from indentured labourers and free migrants who arrived from British India during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The majority live in and around the city of Durban, making it one of the largest ethnically Indian-populated cities outside of India.[4]
As a consequence of the policies of apartheid, Indian (synonymous with Asian)[5][6][7] is regarded as a race group in South Africa.[8][9]
Racial identity
During the colonial era, Indians were accorded the same subordinate status in South African society as Blacks were by the white minority, which held the vast majority of political power.[10][11] During the period of apartheid from 1948 to 1994, Indian South Africans were legally classified as being a separate racial group.
Some Indian South Africans believed that these terms were improvements on the negatively defined identity of "Non-White", which was their previous status. Politically conscious and nationalistic Indian South Africans wanted to show both their heritage and their local roots in South Africa. Increasingly they self-identified as "African", "South African" and, when necessary, "Indian South Africans".[citation needed] During the most intense period of segregation and apartheid, "Indian", "Coloured" and "Malay" group identities controlled numerous aspects of daily life, including where a classified person was permitted to live and study.[12]
The "Indian" racial identity was created by both internal political movements that sought to consolidate support amongst the different Indian ethnicities in the face of discrimination; and the Apartheid government which strictly codified the physical and cultural boundaries between "race groups", and encouraged these group identities.[8] As a result of these Apartheid rules, South Africans continue to identify themselves, and informally classify each other as, "blacks", "whites", "Coloureds" and "Indians". Despite living in South Africa for more than 150 years, and being an officially recognized part of the population since 1961, Indians are still sometimes viewed as a foreign presence in the country, and find themselves having to justify their belonging to South Africa as a homeland.[8]
History
Indentured labourers and Passenger Indians
The modern South African Indian community is largely descended from Indians who arrived in South Africa from 1860 onwards. The first 342 of these came on board the
Indentured labourers on sugar plantations were frequently mistreated and lived in unsanitary conditions. A large percentage of indentured labourers returned to India following the expiry of their terms, and some of those who returned alerted authorities in India to abuses taking place in Natal, which led to new safeguards being put in place before further recruiting of indentured labourers was allowed to take place.[16]
Former indentured labourers who didn't return to India quickly established themselves as an important general labour force in Natal particularly as industrial and railway workers, with others engaging in
The remaining Indian immigration was from passenger Indians, comprising traders and others who migrated to South Africa shortly after the indentured labourers,
Passenger Indians, who initially operated in Durban, expanded inland, to the South African Republic (Transvaal), establishing communities in settlements on the main road between Johannesburg and Durban. Natal's Indian traders rapidly displaced small white shop owners in trade with other Indians, and with black Africans, causing resentment among white businesses.
Researchers have made efforts to collect and make available shipping lists of Indian immigrants.[24]
Early discrimination (1860–1910)
Indians faced discrimination to varying degrees in all parts of South Africa.
Natal
Indians faced repressive legislation in Natal. They were forced to carry passes in 1888.
Transvaal
The South African Republic government first instituted discriminatory legislation against Indians in 1885,[13] which led to protests from the British government, as the Indians were British subjects, and was used as one of the casus belli for the Second Boer War.[22] Indians were banned from working in the mining industry, and areas were set aside for coolie locations in various towns in the Transvaal. Persons of colour could also not walk on sidewalks in the Transvaal.[13] Following the end of the Second Boer War, the new colonial administration of the Transvaal Colony continued to maintain the same discriminatory practices against Indians.[26]
Cape Colony
Passenger Indians who moved to the
Orange Free State
Indians were prohibited by an 1891
Union of South Africa (1910–1948)
Efforts to encourage Indians to repatriate to India included financial incentives, as well as discriminatory treatment.[28] In December 1926, and January 1927, the South African government and Indian authorities had a Round Table conference where it was agreed that the Indian government would create a scheme for the repatriation of Indians, with the South African government agreeing to "uplift" the Indians who remained, monitored by an Indian government Agent. However, fewer Indians than expected were repatriated, and racial tensions continued to simmer between Indians and whites, into the 1940s.[28]
Apartheid (1948–1994)
The
Discriminated against by
The Population Registration Act, 1950 initially defined Indians as being part of the Coloured population.[31]
In 1961, Indians were officially recognised as permanent part of the South African population,[32] the Department of Indian Affairs was established, with a white minister in charge. In 1968, the South African Indian Council came into being, serving as a link between the government and the Indian people.
The University of Durban-Westville (now part of the University of KwaZulu-Natal) was built with a Rand-for-Rand contribution from Indian South Africans and the government in the 1970s. Before that, Indian students had to take a ferry to Salisbury Island's abandoned prison, which served as their university.[33]
Casual racist expressions were used during the years of apartheid. Indians in South Africa were (and sometimes still are) referred to by the racial epithet 'coolie'.[34]
In 1968, the South African Indian Council (not to be confused with the anti-apartheid South African Indian Congress which had the same initials) was created by the government, and in 1974, the council was reconstituted to allow for 50% of its members to be elected by Indians. The Council did not enjoy much support, for example, in 1981, only 6% of eligible voters participated in elections for the council.[35]
In 1983, the
Post-apartheid
Post-apartheid politics
Many Indians played an important role in the anti-apartheid struggle and some occupied positions of power in post-apartheid South Africa. In
Amichand Rajbansi's Minority Front (formerly the National People's Party) retained some support in its strongholds. However, after Rajbansi's death in 2011, the party failed to win any seats in the national assembly following the 2014 general election.[37]
Indians who were citizens before 1994, and thus discriminated against by the apartheid system, are considered black for the purposes of
Post-apartheid immigration from South Asia
Following the end of apartheid, a new wave of South Asian immigration commenced from India, Bangladesh,
Among these post-apartheid immigrants, the controversial Gupta family from India, managed to acquire vast political and economic influence in a short time, under the reign of former President Jacob Zuma.[40][41][42][43][44]
Before European settlement, and Dutch slavery in the Cape
Traders from India may have been active on the eastern coast of South Africa for centuries, including before the Dutch settlement of the Cape Colony in 1652.[45]
A significant proportion of
An early Indian to settle in South Africa was Kalaga Prabhu, a
Religion
Almost all South African Indians are either
The proportion of Indian South Africans following Hinduism decreased from 50% in 1996 to 47.27% in 2001.[55] This further decreased to 41.3% in 2016, mainly due to the conversion of Hindus to Christianity by missionaries.[51]
As per the 2022 Census, 37.9% of the Indian South Africans are Hindu, 33.6% are Christian and 24.5% are Muslim[56].
Education
Like Coloureds, until the end of Apartheid, Indian children largely attended segregated Indian government schools, which were administered nationally, and wrote separate matriculation examinations. These arrangements ended by 1997.
Until 1991, state government schools taught in English, choosing one of five Indian languages, namely Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu to be taken as non-examination subjects. But, the languages were dropped from state-run schools. The national council for eastern languages has requested the government teach these five languages. The provincial government agreed to allow these languages to be taught in KwaZulu-Natal. These languages can be chosen as a third language up to the final year of school.[57]
Languages
South African Indian English
English is the first language of most Indian South Africans. From the 1950s on, English came to be taught to Indian children in schools, leading to language shift taking place, with English becoming the first language of the majority.[58]
Because these children were separated by apartheid from British children, their English developed in very different ways from South African English.[59] In recent decades, the dialect has come much closer to the standard language through the model taught in schools. The result is a variety of English which mixes features of Indian, South African, Standard British, and other influences.[60]
Current status of Indian languages
A diminishing minority of Indian South Africans, notably those in older generations, are fluent in their ancestral Indian languages such as Tamil, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Odia, Bhojpuri, Malayalam, Urdu, Hindi, Telugu and others as a first language or second language. In some small towns in the former Transvaal, Afrikaans is used as a first language by older Indians. Almost all younger people have English as their first language. The compulsory second language taught at school, such as Afrikaans or Zulu, is either spoken or understood.
As a result of promotion by cultural organisations[18] and the influence of Bollywood, many younger Indians can understand (but not usually speak) Indian languages to a limited degree.
Recent immigrants from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have maintained fluency in their mother tongues.
Cuisine
Media and entertainment
Even though Indian languages are seldom spoken or understood by younger Indians, English-
and KTV, were introduced in 2004.DVD, and previously,
The slang term charou (various spellings) is often used by Indians, particularly in the Durban area, to refer to themselves.[67][68]
Radio Hindvani is a community radio station based in Durban and is aimed at the promotion of Hindi culture and language amongst South Africans. The station's frequency reaches Durban and all surrounding areas.[70]
The
Events
Among the major charity and cultural events in South Africa, organised every year by the local Indian community is the Gandhi Walk, which is the oldest event in South Africa commemorating Mahatma Gandhi. Held annually in Lenasia, south of Johannesburg, it has been held 34 times.[73][74][75]
The Durban Festival of Chariots is organised annually at the beachfront by the
Distribution
The following table shows the distribution of Asian and Indian people by province, according to the South African National Census of 2022:[77]
Province | Indian/Asian pop. (2001) | Indian/Asian pop. (2011) | Indian/Asian pop. (2022) | % province (2001) | % province (2011) | % province (2022) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eastern Cape | 18,483 | 27,929 | 37,568 | 0.29 | 0.42 | 0.52 |
Free State
|
3,719 | 10,398 | 12,978 | 0.13 | 0.38 | 0.43 |
Gauteng | 218,124 | 356,574 | 329,736 | 2.32 | 2.90 | 2.19 |
KwaZulu-Natal | 798,163 | 756,991 | 1,157,542 | 8.38 | 7.37 | 9.32 |
Limpopo | 8,867 | 17,881 | 35,958 | 0.18 | 0.33 | 0.55 |
Mpumalanga | 10,964 | 27,917 | 25,882 | 0.33 | 0.69 | 0.50 |
North West | 9,738 | 20,652 | 2,654 | 0.33 | 0.59 | 0.07 |
Northern Cape | 2,379 | 7,827 | 10,824 | 0.24 | 0.68 | 0.80 |
Western Cape | 45,030 | 60,761 | 84,363 | 1.00 | 1.04 | 1.13 |
Total | 1,115,467 | 1,286,930 | 1,697,506 | 2.49 | 2.49 | 2.74 |
Notable Indian South Africans
- Hashim Amla, cricketer
- Kader Asmal, activist
- Amina Cachalia, activist
- Yusuf Cassim, politician
- Yusuf Dadoo, politician
- Gopala Davies, actor, director
- Arun Manilal Gandhi, activist
- Ela Gandhi, activist
- Frene Ginwala, journalist and politician
- Kesaveloo Goonam, doctor, activist
- Kerishnie Naicker, Miss South Africa 1997
- Pravin Gordhan, politician
- Christopher Hyman, businessman and racing driver
- Raoul Hyman, racing driver
- Soromini Kallichurum, dean
- Adhir Kalyan, actor
- Sandy Kalyan, politician
- Ahmed Kathrada, politician
- Alan Khan, broadcaster
- Keshav Maharaj, cricketer
- Mac Maharaj, activist
- Rashida Manjoo, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women
- Riaad Moosa, comedian, doctor
- Senuran Muthusamy, cricketer
- Anand Naidoo, journalist
- Jailoshini Naidoo, actress
- Tarina Patel, actress, producer, model and philanthropist
- Jay Naidoo, activist
- Kumi Naidoo, activist
- Billy Nair, politician
- Mishqah Parthiephal, actor
- Ebrahim Patel, politician
- Navi Pillay, jurist
- Ravi Pillay, politician
- Sagaren Pillay, rear-admiral
- Deepak Ram, musician
- Jayapraga Reddy, writer
- Leeanda Reddy, actor
- Luther Singh, footballer
- Enver Surty, politician
- Tyla, singer
- Sonny Venkatrathnam, activist
- Yusuf Maart, footballer
- Zain Bhikha, singer and songwriter
- Bryoni Govender beauty queen, Miss universe South Africa 2023
See also
- Asians in Africa
- Memons in South Africa
- Tamil South Africans
- Islam in South Africa
- India–South Africa relations
- High yellow
- Anglo-Indian people
- Sikhism in South Africa
- Kalderash
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External links
- Indian Diaspora in South Africa, from the Report of the High-Level Committee on The Indian Diaspora (2001) of the Non-resident Indian and Persons of Indian Origin Division of the Ministry of External Affairsof India
- 2001 Digital Census Atlas Archived 12 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine
- History of Indian Settlement
- Indian Chronology