FROM DUKAWALLAS TO DIGNITARIES
The Rise of Indians in Africa
Raj Balu
 Ancient Trade
Most people have heard of Silk Road – the ancient interconnected trade routes that ran across much of Asia and onto Europe and Africa. But what you don’t often hear about are the great ancient routes that India had with major trade centers of the world, including many parts of Africa.
Based on writings found in ancient books, historians had long believed that trade between India and Africa existed long ago. Recently, archaeologists have unearthed evidence that confirms trade between India and Africa was taking place many centuries ago. Spices and gem fragments that could have only come from India, including black peppercorns, have been found in Egypt and other parts of North Africa.
India’s relationship with Africa is a long and storied one that can be traced back for many centuries, but the true rise of Indians in Africa has its roots in colonial Africa.
Hard Labor
They started as dukawallas -- the traders, clerks, and artisans needed to support a growing society. For Indians, this was the beginning of a transition that would eventually have them pervading all aspects of East African society.
In the late 1800’s, East Africa’s European settlers brought in over 30,000 Indian contract laborers, low level administrators, and railroad builders. On top of being wholly excluded from the colonial government and restricted in numerous ways by the  colonial whites, they faced animosity from Native Africans due to having an economic edge. But Africa provided Indians with an escape from colonial India, which was caste-rigid, and rapidly becoming more crowded.
Soon, the dukawallas moved into colonial areas and contributed greatly to building the colonialist economy based on cash instead of trade. By the time the Uganda-Kenya railway was built in the early 1900’s, the Indian population in East Africa had ballooned to over 300,000. Indians had firmly established themselves as leaders of commercial trade, penetrated industrial development, and many had even been educated as doctors and lawyers.
Indians were on the rise not just in East Africa, but South Africa as well, thanks in no small part to a young Indian lawyer from the state of Gujarat.
The Lawyer from India
In 1893, a lawsuit in Transvaal brought a young Indian lawyer to South Africa. On a first class train ride to Johannesburg, the man was kicked off the train by authorities because of the color of his skin. Though they and many others failed to realize it at the time, this was a man not to be messed with.
Mahatma Gandhi, prior to gaining worldwide fame for his effective practice of nonviolent conflict resolution in India, helped the growing community of Indians imported to work the sugar plantations in South Africa. He  founded the Natal Indian Congress in 1894 and against the will of South African Authorities, began to teach passive resistance and civil disobedience.
Soon after, he began publishing the Indian Opinion, a newspaper that openly addressed the injustices against his people, including numerous anti-Asian laws. Thousands joined him as he organized strikes on sugar plantations and mines, and he was arrested on numerous occasions. In 1914, the Union of South Africa finally succumbed to his demands, changing laws so that Indian marriages were recognized and doing away with the poll tax.
In Gandhi’s later years just before his death, he recalled his time as a young man in South Africa were integral to developing his non-violent philosophy and ultimately, for living a life of “truth and firmness.”
Big Business in Tanzania
Today, throughout East and South Africa, Indians run many shops, hotels, and factories. Indian temples and mosques are prominent in the urban landscapes. Two successful Indian families in Uganda, the Mehtas and Madhvanis, have built multimillion-dollar empires. With India on the rise as a world superpower, Tanzania’s government is aggressively wooing big Indian business to set up shop in their country.
Indian automobile manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra will set up a $1 billion tractor plant and Tata Chemicals will open a $500 million soda ash plant there. The tractor plant is especially important to Tanzania due to the country’s agricultural interests. Instead of incurring the high cost of importing vehicles, it best to have their own plant and ultimately be an exporter of heavy farm equipment. Tanzania is also rich in gold and gems. Negotiations are currently in the works for Indian  businesses to set up gold purification and gem polishing plants.
Tanzania’s Vice President Ali Mohamed Shein has recently been promoting the country as a place with a peaceful atmosphere and lush greenery in order to attract the Indian film industry. He has recognized Indians as the best in the hospitality industry and has been seeking their expertise and investment in numerous tourism locations and at five star hotels. Recent changes to economic policies offer numerous incentives to Indian businesses across the board.
Full Circle
From their humble beginnings as dukawallas to their rise as prominent professionals and dignitaries, Indians have helped to enrich the social, cultural, and economic landscape of Africa. Indians and Native Africans share a close bond and work well together, thanks in no small part to their similar experiences with colonialism and oppression. There is no doubt that the rise of Indians in Africa has much higher to go.
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