The Identity Crisis - Siddi Community

Siddis - The Africans Turned Indians

Img Source: Sanjay Austa

What is the first thought that crossed your mind after seeing the above picture? Do you recognize the uncanny resemblance of the people to the African origin? No, this is not Africa. This is India and they are not Africans but Indians!

They are the Siddi community and are largely located in Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh. They are called Sheedis in Pakistan and Ceylon Kaffirs in Sri Lanka.

Who are they? And how did they end up in India?

To start off, They are Indians! Some say the British brought them as slaves; some say the Indian merchants brought them as slaves; some say the Arab brought them as slaves and some say that the Portuguese brought them as slaves during the 17th century.

They have been in our country for over 600 years. According to reports, they entered India through Goa, and, after a few years when slavery was abolished, they escaped to the jungles in order to save themselves from the torture they had been subjected to all those years.

The Portuguese had a pact with the neighboring kings that if the slaves came there for hiding they should be returned, else they had to pay. And this was one more reason why they escaped to the jungles. There are over 70,000 Siddis in India.

The Siddis in Gujarat mostly follow the Muslim religion and the Siddis in Karnataka mostly follow the Christian religion. There are around 50 villages in Gujarat which are inhabited by Siddis.

Life of Siddis in India (Occupation)

The major occupation for the Siddis is farming and they're dependent on Agriculture, keeping in mind they live in the forests majorly. A very little fraction of them maybe be the owner of fields; the majority of them work on fields for wages. There are people who migrate to the cities for jobs and work as tour guides or construction workers, drivers, watchmen, and similar professions.

Many Siddis are athletes as well, owing to their African genes. In 1987, The Sports Authority of India introduced a scheme, 'Special Area Games Scheme'. Under this, the major objective was to search and train people from the Siddi community to participate and win medals for the country in international athletic events. In 1993, the scheme was stopped indefinitely due to rumored discrimination against the Siddis.

This was a sad moment for the Siddis as the scheme would have eradicated an identity crisis that they face in their own country. In 2015, the plan for re-introducing this scheme came into light as the 2016 Olympics was nearing but alas, to no avail. There are many Siddis who play in the ISL as well.

The community's folk dance "Dhamal" is also one way that the Siddis earn. Dhamal is a dance form that is very similar to that of African folk dance. Their dance form is appreciated by many and people watch in awe. They perform for the tourists who visit their villages and also travel across different states in the country to showcase their dance form at cultural events.

IMG Source: Sanjay Austa

Life of Siddis in India (Discrimination)

How many of us knew about the Siddis? Not many. If we talk about acceptance, the Siddis are not really accepted by the people of India. Siddis often are on the front of facing racist comments and slurs while they travel outside their village/community.

This community has largely been disconnected from the people of the outside world as Siddis fear being racially discriminated, hence they choose to live in seclusion, in the forests with their own people.

In an interview, A Siddi had stated that when he was young and he went to the landlord's house, they weren't allowed to enter the house. They were asked to sit in the yard outside, clean the place where they sat, and clean the utensils they ate from.

This was not limited to people in just villages. One Siddi who went on to become a lawyer is still gawked at and treated in a rude manner in the city. The Siddis were treated no less than untouchables. Siddis face a lot of issues with any official verification process because no one believes them to be Indian.

Lack of education is also a huge issue for Siddis. Some of the Siddis even faced discrimination in schools. There have been instances, where they would be severely punished if they ever sit in the front rows of the classroom. The life of a Siddi woman has its own load. Not many want the women to be educated rather get married when they were Class 10.

Even after being educated, getting a job in the city is equally difficult, even though the Siddis wear Indian clothes, eat Indian food, follow Indian traditions, talk in the local Indian language. The first question that is asked to them is which country are they from?

The list of instances where Siddis are discriminated against and racially abused is a very long one.

IMG Source: Sanjay Austa

Reforms by the Government for the Siddis

In 2003, ST status was given to the Siddi community. Getting the ST status was important for this community as they get a lot of benefits from the state and central government with references to reservations in education/work or everyday life. But again, there was a catch. Only some Siddis were classified as ST. For instance, the Siddis in Saurashtra were classified as ST but the Siddis in south Gujarat weren't.

The case was similar in Karnataka as well. Siddis in Uttara Kannada districts were classified as ST but the Siddis from the Belagavi districts weren't and at the same time, Siddis in Khanapur (Telangana) were classified as OBC. Finally, after a long wait in Feb 2020 (The Hindu), the Siddis from the Belagavi district got the ST status.

In July 2020, a remarkable step was taken in Karnataka. A Siddi community leader, Shantaram Siddi was nominated to the Karnataka legislative council by the state government. He is the first leader from the Siddi community to be elected to the council.

IMG Source: The Print

After his election, the community expects that he will be the voice of the community and the challenges faced (Education, Employment, Sanitation Facilities, Clean Drinking Water, and so on) by them will be addressed.

All information has been gathered from a lot of sources such as; The Print; Medium, Firstpost.com, Deccan Herald, Vice.com, The Hindu, National Geographic, Soulveda.com and many more individual blogs.