Indians in Tanzania

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Indians in Tanzania
Watanzania wenye asili ya Kihindi (Swahili)
Total population
c. 60,000 (2015)[1][a]
Regions with significant populations
Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar
Languages
Odia,[2] Punjabi, Sindhi, Gujarati, Telugu, Tamil, Kutchi, Kiswahili, English, Hindi
Religion
Islam, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Sikhism; significant minorities Christianity
Related ethnic groups
PIO, NRI and Desi

a.^ includes about 10,000 expatriates
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets members of Indian community in Dar es Salaam, 10 July 2016

Indian Tanzanians constitute a significant minority within the demographic landscape of Tanzania, with a population exceeding 60,000 individuals of Indian descent residing in the country.[3] Many among them are traders and entrepreneurs, and despite forming only 0.2% of the population, who of which came control over the majority of the economy.[4] Indians also have a long history in Tanzania, starting with the arrival of Gujarati traders, and they gradually came to control the trade in Zanzibar. Several buildings from that period still stand in Stone Town, the primary trading center on the island.

History[edit]

Indian merchant and artisan community settlements are attested in both archaeological and literary sources. During the 13th and 14th centuries, Indian craftsmen utilized tube drawing technology to produce glass beads in Zanzibar. Trade between Malindi and Bengal is also attested during the Early Middle Ages. When Vasco da Gama landed on the East African Coast, he had encountered Indians residing in Kilwa Kisiwani, Mombasa and Mozambique.[5][6]

Migration from Tanzania[edit]

As a result of the anti-Indian sentiment in post-independence Tanzania (beginning with the presidency of Julius Nyerere), many Indians migrated overseas to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada among other nations.[7]

Notable people[edit]

Gallery[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "India - Tanzania Relations" (PDF). Ministry of External Affairs. 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015. Tanzania has about 60,000 PIOs.. There are about 10,000 Indian nationals [expatriates].
  2. ^ "Celebration of Utkal Dibas (2nd April 2022)". hcindiatz.gov.in. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Tanzania: A Key Partner for India in the Western Indian Ocean Region | Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses". www.idsa.in. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  4. ^ "Enterprising skills make Indian-origin Tanzanians business leaders". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  5. ^ Wood, Marilee (2012). "Interconnections: glass beads and trade in southern and eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean - 7th to 16th centuries AD". Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa. 47 (2): 248. doi:10.1080/0067270X.2012.680307. ISSN 0067-270X. S2CID 162211326.
  6. ^ Jeevanjee 1912
  7. ^ Adam, Michel, ed. (2016). Indian Africa : minorities of Indian-Pakistani origin in eastern Africa. ISBN 978-9987-753-51-2. OCLC 966879871.