Introduction

No matter how different we all are, no matter how different our culture, our cuisine our interests our ambitions, there is one thing that connects us all, the idea of home. We started this course with our personal ideas of home, and now we find ourselves talking about migration and diaspora, concepts that are inherently linked to the concept of home. In the following blog posts, we will look at a community that provides a new perspective on these concepts. 

The Siddis are descended from the Bantu peoples of the East African region. Some were merchants, sailors, indentured servants, slaves, and mercenaries. The Siddi community is currently estimated at around 50,000–60,000 individuals, with Karnataka, Gujarat, and Hyderabad in India and Makran and Karachi in Pakistan mainly. The Siddi population is currently estimated at around 850,000 individuals.

The Siddis of Gujarat, predominantly Muslims, remain to date, an economically and socially marginalized community within the country. 

They found themselves on the Indian lands in the 7th century when they were brought here by the Arab traders for slave trading. Since then, they have had an interesting history as they climbed the social and political ladder under the patronage of several kings as they joined their army, and even led it at times. However the same can not be said for Siddis in the present world as racism and by extension, poverty plagues their world. 

- Ramya