Indian South Africans are
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
ns who descend from indentured labourers and free migrants who arrived from
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The majority live in and around the city of
Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
, making it one of the largest "Indian" populated cities outside of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
.
As a consequence of the policies of
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
, ''Indian'' (synonymous with ''Asian)''
is regarded as a
race group in South Africa.
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.
During the period of
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
from 1948 to 1994, Indian South Africans were called and often voluntarily accepted, terms which ranged from "Asians" to "Indians", and were legally classified as being members of a single 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". During the most intense period of segregation and apartheid, "Indian", "Asian", "Coloured" and "
Malay" group identities controlled numerous aspects of daily life, including where a classified person was
permitted to live and study.
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.
As a result of these Apartheid rules, South Africans continue to identify themselves, and informally classify each other as, "
blacks", "
whites
White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view.
Description of populations as ...
", "
Coloureds
Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. Sou ...
" and "Indians". Despite having a presence 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.
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 ''
Truro'' from
Madras
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
,
followed by the ''Belvedere'' from
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...
.
They were transported as
indentured labourers to work on the
sugarcane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...
plantations of
Natal Colony
The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to ...
, and, in total, approximately 200,000 Indians arrived as indentured labourers over a period of 5 decades,
later also as indentured coal miners and railway workers.
The indentured labourers tended to speak
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, na ...
,
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
...
,
Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri (;[Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries](_blank)
, Oxford U ...
and the
Awadhi
Awadhi (; ), also known as Audhi (), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in northern India and Nepal. It is primarily spoken in the Awadh region of present-day Uttar Pradesh, India. The name ''Awadh'' is connected to Ayodhya, the ancient city ...
dialect of
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
,
and the majority were Hindu with Muslim and Christian minorities. Indians were imported as it was found by colonial authorities that local black Africans were economically self-sufficient, and thus unwilling to subject themselves to employment by colonial farmers, while other colonial authorities believed that the "hunting and warrior" African culture of the time was incompatible with a sudden shift to employed labour. The
Mercury newspaper favoured the importation of labour, although other Natal newspapers were against the idea. In general, the importation of labour was not viewed as politically important by colonists when it was proposed, and the importation of Indian labour was driven by
lobbying
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, whic ...
by a relatively small group of sugar planters, and the long-term consequences of Indian immigration (the establishment of a permanent Indian population in Natal) were not taken into account
(by 1904, Indians outnumbered whites in Natal).
Although 1860 is dated as the beginning of Indian settlement in Natal, a farmer called ER Rathbone was the first to introduce Indian labour to the colony in 1849.
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.
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
market gardening, growing most of the vegetables consumed by the white population.
Indians also became
fishermen, and worked as clerks; in the postal service; and as court interpreters.
The remaining Indian immigration was from ''passenger Indians'', comprising traders and others who migrated to South Africa shortly after the indentured labourers,
paid for their own fares and travelled as
British subject
The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...
s. These immigrant Indians who became traders were from varying religious backgrounds, namely Hindu and
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s but largely from
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
(including
Memons and
Surtis),
later joined by
Kokanis, and
speakers from
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...
.
The Muslims played an important part in the establishment of
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
in the areas where they settled. Indian traders were sometimes referred to as "
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
traders" because of their dress, and because large numbers of them were Muslim.
Passenger Indians, who initially operated in Durban, expanded inland, to the
South African Republic
The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when i ...
(Transvaal), establishing communities in settlements on the main road between
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...
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.
Early discrimination (1860-1910)
Indians faced discrimination to varying degrees in all the parts of South Africa.
Natal
Indians faced repressive legislation in Natal. They were forced to carry passes in 1888.
In 1893,
M. K. Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
arrived in South Africa to represent an Indian businessman in a legal dispute. Following his arrival in South Africa, Gandhi experienced racial discrimination, and, following the proposal of legislation to restrict Indian voting rights in Natal, he helped organise resistance, leading to the formation of the
Natal Indian Congress.
This organised resistance led to the unification of disparate groups of South African Indians for the first time.
Although the bill was defeated, it was successfully reintroduced in 1896.
Transvaal
The
South African Republic
The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when i ...
government first instituted discriminatory legislation against Indians in 1885,
which led to protests from the
British government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal Arms
, date_est ...
, as the Indians were British subjects, and was used as one of the ''
casus belli
A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one ...
'' for the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the So ...
.
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.
Following the end of the Second Boer War, the new colonial administration of the
Transvaal Colony
The Transvaal Colony () was the name used to refer to the Transvaal region during the period of direct British rule and military occupation between the end of the Second Boer War in 1902 when the South African Republic was dissolved, and the ...
continued to maintain the same discriminatory practices against Indians.
Cape Colony
Passenger Indians who moved to the
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with ...
, although facing petty discrimination, were generally well treated, could own property, could vote, and could trade freely. Many Muslim men in this group married
Cape Malay women, and their children were later often classified as Cape Malay as part of the wider group classified as
Coloureds
Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. Sou ...
.
Orange Free State
Indians were prohibited by an 1891
statute from living in the
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...
, then an independent
Boer Republic, and this led to the almost total absence of Indians from the area, a situation that persisted into the apartheid era.
Union of South Africa (1910-1948)
Efforts to encourage Indians to repatriate to India included financial incentives, as well as discriminatory treatment.
In December 1926, and January 1927, the
South African government
The Republic of South Africa is a parliamentary republic with three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary system. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa.
Executive auth ...
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 repatriated, and racial tensions continued to simmer between Indians and whites, into the 1940s.
Apartheid (1948-1994)
The
Durban riots was an
anti-Indian riot predominantly by
Zulus targeting Indians in Durban, South Africa in January 1949. The riots resulted in the massacre of mostly poor Indians. In total 142 people died in the riots and another 1,087 people were injured. It also led to the destruction of 58 shops, 247 dwellings and one factory.
Discriminated against by
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
legislation, such as the
Group Areas Act, applied in 1950, Indians were forcibly moved into Indian
townships, and had their movements restricted. They were not allowed to reside in the
Orange Free State Province
The Province of the Orange Free State ( af, Provinsie Oranje-Vrystaat), commonly referred to as the Orange Free State ( af, Oranje-Vrystaat), Free State ( af, Vrystaat) or by its abbreviation OFS, was one of the four provinces of South Africa fro ...
, and needed special permission to enter or transit through that province. They were also, as a matter of state policy, given an inferior education compared to
white South Africans
White South Africans generally refers to South Africans of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of the Dutch East India Company's original settle ...
br>
The effects of apartheid's unequal education system can still be felt todayThe Asiatic Land Tenure and the Indian Representative Act of 1946 were repealed.
The
Population Registration Act, 1950 initially defined Indians as being part of the
Coloured
Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. South ...
population.
In 1961, Indians were officially recognised as permanent part of the South African population, 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
The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is a university with five campuses in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westvill ...
) 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.
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'.
In 1968, the
South African Indian Council
The South African Indian Council was a body created by the apartheid-era South African government in 1968 to make recommendations to the government about matters affecting Indians. It was the first time that Indians were granted any sort of re ...
(not to be confused with the anti-apartheid
South African Indian Congress
The South African Indian Congress (SAIC) was an organisation founded in 1921 in Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal), South Africa. The congress is famous for its strong participation by Mahatma Gandhi and other prominent South African Indian figures du ...
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.
In 1983, the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these pr ...
was reformed to allow the
Coloured
Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. South ...
and Indian minorities a limited participation in separate and subordinate Houses of a
Tricameral Parliament, a development which enjoyed limited support and very low voter turnouts. The Indian house was called the
House of Delegates. Some aspects of Indian life were regulated by this house, including education. The theory was that the Indian minority could be allowed limited rights, but the Black majority were to become citizens of independent
homelands Homelands may refer to:
* Homeland, native lands
* Homelands (festival), British dance music festival.
* Homelands (Fables), mythical lands in the comic book series Fables.
* Homelands (Magic: The Gathering), MTG expansion set.
* Bantustan, part ...
. These separate arrangements were removed by the negotiations which took place from 1990 on to provide all South Africans with the vote.
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
post-apartheid South Africa, Indians have maintained prominent positions in the ruling
African National Congress
The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...
.
Amichand Rajbansi
Amichand Rajbansi (14 January 1942 – 29 December 2011) was a South African politician. He was a former Chairman of the Ministers' Council of the House of Delegates Tricameral parliamentary chamber for Indian people, and leader of the Minorit ...
'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.
Indians who were citizens before 1994, and thus discriminated against by the apartheid system, are considered ''black'' for the purposes of
Employment Equity; that is, they are classified as having been disadvantaged under apartheid. They are thus eligible for "affirmative action" and
Black Economic Empowerment allocations.
Post-apartheid immigration from South Asia
Following the end of apartheid, a new wave of South Asian immigration commenced from India, Bangladesh,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and Sri Lanka, paralleling the movement of Africans from the diaspora and neighbouring African countries to the
post-apartheid South Africa. These recent migrants are usually not regarded as being part of the Indian community, although they often live in traditionally Indian areas.
Among these post-apartheid immigrants, the controversial
Gupta family
The Gupta family is a wealthy Indian-born family with business interests in South Africa, whose most notable members are brothers Ajay, Atul, and Rajesh "Tony" Gupta—as well as Atul's nephews Varun, and US-based Ashish and Amol. The family o ...
from India, managed to acquire vast political and economic influence in a short time, under the reign of former President
Jacob Zuma.
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.
A significant proportion of
slaves imported into the Cape were from parts of India (which included present-day Bangladesh), Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
While South African scholars mistakenly assumed these slaves were bought in "slave markets", many of the slaves were victims of kidnapping.
Many slaves had no identity as Indians and were subsumed into the "
Cape Coloured
Cape Coloureds () are a South African ethnic group consisted primarily of persons of mixed race and Khoisan descent. Although Coloureds form a minority group within South Africa, they are the predominant population group in the Western C ...
" and
Cape Malay communities.
White
Afrikaners
Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Cas ...
also may have some Indian slave ancestry,
an example of this being former
State President
The State President of the Republic of South Africa ( af, Staatspresident) was the head of state of South Africa from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country became a republic on 31 May 1961, albeit, outside the Commonweal ...
F.W. de Klerk
Frederik Willem de Klerk (, , 18 March 1936 – 11 November 2021) was a South African politician who served as state president of South Africa from 1989 to 1994 and as deputy president from 1994 to 1996 in the democratic government. As South A ...
, who revealed in his autobiography that one of his ancestors was a female slave called ''Diana of Bengal''. There is no reference to the real names of these Indians and were given "Christian" names for convenience. This all contributed to the loss of identity similar to the Mozambicans and other slaves who were brought to the Cape. Indian slaves who were Muslim became part of the
Cape Malay community after they were freed, initially adopting the
Malay language
Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi: , Rencong: ) is an Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spoken in East Timor and parts of the Philippines an ...
, and then Afrikaans.
An early Indian to settle in South Africa was Kalaga Prabhu, a
Goud Saraswat Brahmin
Gaud Saraswat Brahmins (GSB) (also Goud or Gawd) are a Hindu Brahmin community of the north. The Konkani language, Konkani speaking Gaud Saraswat of Goa and southern India claim to be descendents of these Gaud Saraswat Brahmins of the north t ...
merchant from
Cochin
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of ...
. He was the foremost among the
Konkani merchants in Cochin (modern day Kochi in Kerala). As punishment for conspiring with the
Mysorean Muslim king
Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali ( حیدر علی, ''Haidarālī''; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the att ...
to overthrow the king of Cochin, Kalaga Prabhu and his son Chorda Prabhu were arrested by the Dutch and exiled with their families for life to the
Cape of Good Hope in 1771. No further record of this individual and his descendants if any exists.
Religion
Almost all South African Indians are either Hindu, Muslim, or Christian.
There are also small groups of
Parsis,
Sikhs
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The ter ...
, and Buddhists. The majority of
South African Muslims are Indian or belong to the multi-ethnic community in the Western Cape.
The proportion of Indian South Africans following Hinduism has decreased from 50% in 1996 to 47.27% in 2001. This further decreased to 41.3% in 2016, mainly due to the conversion of "Hindus into Christians" by the Christian missionaries.
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, with the choice of 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 have requested the government to teach these five languages. The provincial government agreed to allow these languages to be taught in KwaZulu-Natal. These languages can be chosen as third language up to final year of school.
Languages
South African Indian English
English is the first language of most Indian South Africans. Indians first began to arrive in South Africa between 1860 and 1911, when over 150,000 Indians were allowed into Natal, mainly for cheap work on plantations. From the 1950s on, English came to be taught to Indian children in schools, leading to
language shift
Language shift, also known as language transfer or language replacement or language assimilation, is the process whereby a speech community shifts to a different language, usually over an extended period of time. Often, languages that are percei ...
taking place, with English becoming the first language of the majority.
Because these children were separated by apartheid from British children, their English developed in very different ways from
South African English
South African English (SAfrE, SAfrEng, SAE, en-ZA) is the set of English language dialects native to South Africans.
History
British settlers first arrived in the South African region in 1795, when they established a military holding o ...
. 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
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
,
South African,
Standard British, creole, and foreign language learning Englishes in a unique and fascinating way.
Current status of Indian languages
A minority, especially older people, are fluent in their ancestral Indian languages such as Tamil, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Odia, Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Hindi, Telugu, Urdu 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 use English for day-to-day communication. 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,
or the influence of Indian cinema industries, 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
Curried dishes are popular in South Africa among people of all ethnic origins; many dishes came to the country with the thousands of
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
labourers brought to South Africa in the nineteenth century. South African Indian cuisine adapted to local ingredients, and dishes include a variety of curries, rotis,
sweetmeats,
chutney
A chutney is a spread in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion or mint dipping sauce ...
s, fried snacks such as
samosa (called ''samoosa'' in South Africa), and other savoury foods.
Bunny chow, an Indian dish from Durban, consisting of a hollowed-out loaf of bread filled with curry, forms part of mainstream South African cuisine and has become quite popular.
Media and entertainment
Although Indian languages are seldom spoken or understood by younger Indians, English-
subtitled Indian films and television programmes remain popular among South African Indians. These are broadcast both by the
DStv satellite television service, which carries
Zee TV,
B4U,
NDTV
New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. The company is considered to be a legacy brand that pioneered independent news broadcasting in India, and is credited for launching t ...
, and a Hindi-language
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
channel. In addition,
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, na ...
–language channels,
Sun TV and KTV, were introduced in 2004.
The largest website dedicated to Indian South Africans is Indian Spice. It publishes news in all aspects of public life that affect the South Asian community in Southern Africa (including Mauritius and Kenya) and conducts journalistic investigations of its own into matters of criminal, political and social interest through its subsidiary Kali.
DVD, and previously,
video
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) sy ...
versions of Bollywood films are widely available. Large cinema chains like
Ster-Kinekor began showing Bollywood films by the early 2000s Bollywood comes to South Africa. Indian culture in South Africa has some similarities to the worldwide ''
Desi'' subculture, however, South African Indians developed a distinctive musical and literary culture of their own, which was to some extent eclipsed by the global Bollywood/Desi culture in the 1990s and 2000s. There is also an increasing amount of interest in Turkish popular culture, by Muslims in particula
https://trdergisi.com/en/we-found-the-grandchild-of-abu-bakr-effendi-in-south-africa/ We found the Grandchild of Abu Bakr Effendi in South Africa]
The slang term ''charou'' (various spellings) is often used by Indians, particularly in the Durban area, to refer to themselves.
Card games
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific.
Countless card games exist, including families of related games (such as poker). A small number of card ...
, in particular, the
trick-taking card game
Thunee (similar to
Twenty-eight) are popular among South African Indians.
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.
The
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) also has an Indian-oriented radio service called
Lotus FM
Lotus FM (formerly, Radio Lotus) is a South African national radio station based in Durban, loosely similar to the BBC Asian Network in the United Kingdom, that caters for the needs of the Indian South African community. It combines a mix of Ind ...
, launched during the apartheid era, and began some showing Indian-focused programming in the 90's including locally produced
magazine shows. Bollywood movies have been broadcast by the SABC. The ''
Sunday Times'' has a supplement distributed in Indian areas called the ''Extra'', and the ''
Sunday Tribune'' publishes a similar supplement, called the ''Herald''. A Bollywood section, 'Bollyworld' is published by the Daily News on Mondays.
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
Lenasia, often called Lenz, is a Suburbs of Johannesburg, suburb south of Soweto in the Gauteng Province, Gauteng province, South Africa, originally created to house Indian South Africans, Indians. It is part of the City of Johannesburg Metropo ...
, south of
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...
, it has been held 34 times.
The Durban Festival of Chariots is organised annually at the beachfront by the
ISKCON. The festival is attended by tens of thousands of people.
In
Lenasia
Lenasia, often called Lenz, is a Suburbs of Johannesburg, suburb south of Soweto in the Gauteng Province, Gauteng province, South Africa, originally created to house Indian South Africans, Indians. It is part of the City of Johannesburg Metropo ...
a gala fund-raising banquet of the Saaberie Chishty Ambulance Service is held annually.
Notable Indian South Africans
*
Hashim Amla, cricketer
*
Kader Asmal
Abdul Kader Asmal (8 October 1934 – 22 June 2011) was a South African politician. He was a professor of human rights at the University of the Western Cape, chairman of the council of the University of the North and vice-president of the ...
, activist
*
Amina Cachalia, activist
*
Yusuf Cassim, politician
*
Yusuf Dadoo, politician
*
Gopala Davies
Gopala Davies (born 14 May 1988) is a South African actor and director. He is best known for his intermedial theatre production ''Barbe Bleue: A story about madness'', which won a Standard Bank Ovation Award at The National Arts Festival in 2015 ...
, actor, director
*
Arun Manilal Gandhi
Arun Manilal Gandhi (born April 14, 1934) is an Indian-American author, socio-political activist and son of Manilal Gandhi, thus a grandson of nationalist leader Mahatma Gandhi. Although he has followed in the footsteps of his grandfather as an ac ...
, activist
*
Ela Gandhi, activist
*
Frene Ginwala
Frene Noshir Ginwala (25 April 1932 – 12 January 2023) was a South African journalist and politician who was the first Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa from 1994 to 2004. , journalist and politician
*
Kesaveloo Goonam
Kesaveloo Goonam, also known as Kesaveloo Goonaruthnum Naidoo (1906–1998) was a South African doctor and anti-apartheid activist. She was also called "Coolie Doctor", which became the title of her 1991 autobiography.
Early life and educatio ...
, doctor, activist
*
Pravin Gordhan, politician
*
Soromini Kallichurum, dean
*
Adhir Kalyan
Adhir Kalyan (born 4 August 1983) is a South African actor noted for his role as Timmy in the CBS sitcom ''Rules of Engagement'' and as Awalmir Karimi/'Al' in '' United States of Al''.
Early life
Kalyan was born in Durban, South Africa, to an ...
, actor
*
Ahmed Kathrada, politician
*
Alan Khan
Alan Khan (born 17 December 1971) is a media and radio personality in South Africa. His talk show, ''Walk the Talk with Alan Khan'' on Lotus FM, won "Best News and Actuality Talk Show PBS" at the 2017 Liberty South African Radio Awards. He was in ...
, broadcaster
*
Keshav Maharaj
Keshav Atmanand Maharaj (born 7 February 1990) is a South African professional cricketer who plays for the South Africa national team in Tests, One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket. He is currently the vice-cap ...
, cricketer
*
Mac Maharaj, activist
*
Rashida Manjoo
Rashida Manjoo is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Cape Town in Cape Town and a social activist involved in the eradication of violence against women and gender-based violence. Manjoo was the United Nations' Special Rapporteur on Viol ...
, former
United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women
On 4 March 1994 the Human Rights Council passed Resolution 1994/45 on the question of integrating the rights of women into the human rights mechanisms of the United Nations and the elimination of violence against women. This Resolution establishe ...
*
Riaad Moosa Riad or Riyad may refer to:
* Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia
* Riyad, Mauritania
* Riad (name), a given name and surname (including a list of people with the name, also Riyad or Riyadh)
* Riad (architecture), a traditional Moroccan house ...
, comedian, doctor
*
Senuran Muthusamy, cricketer
*
Anand Naidoo, journalist
*
Jailoshini Naidoo, actress
*
Tarina Patel
Tarina Patel is a South African actress, film producer and model, born in Cape Town and raised in Durban. She appeared in Akshay Kumar's, Horror-comedy - Bhool Bhulaiyaa. Patel has appeared on numerous magazine covers including ''Elle'', ''Dos ...
, actress, producer, model and philanthropist
*
Jay Naidoo, activist
*
Kumi Naidoo, activist
*
Billy Nair
Billy Nair (27 November 1929 – 23 October 2008) was a South African politician, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa, an anti-apartheid activist and a political prisoner in Robben Island.
Nair was a long-serving political prison ...
, politician
*
Mishqah Parthiephal
Mishqah Parthiephal (born 21 September 1989) is a South African actress, model and filmmaker. After her first film role in 2010, she primarily worked in television and advertising until 2015. Outside South Africa, she is best known for her role a ...
, actor
*
Ebrahim Patel
Ebrahim Patel (born 1962 in District Six in Cape Town) is a South African cabinet minister, who holds the position of Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition. He previously served as Minister of Economic Development from 2009 to 2019.
...
, politician
*
Navi Pillay, jurist
*
Ravi Pillay, politician
*
Sagaren Pillay, rear-admiral
*
Leeanda Reddy
Leeanda Antoinette Reddy is a South African actress. She is best known for her roles in the popular series ''Cape Town'', '' Scandal!'' and '' Isidingo''.
Personal life
She was born in Durban, South Africa. She spent childhood in Chatsworth a ...
, actor
*
Luther Singh
Luther Wesley Singh (born 5 August 1997) is a South African professional football player who plays as a winger for Primeira Liga club Chaves, on loan from Danish club Copenhagen, and the South Africa national team.
Prior to making his senio ...
, footballer
*
Enver Surty, politician
*
Sonny Venkatrathnam, activist
*
Yusuf Maart
*
Zain Bhikha
Zain may refer to:
People
*Zain (name)
*Zain (gamer)
Places
Business and economy
*Zain Group, a Gulf telecommunications company
**Zain Iraq, telecommunications company in Iraq
**Zain Jordan, telecommunications company in Jordan
**Zain Saudi Ara ...
See also
*
Asians in Africa There is a large Asian presence in Africa of at least 3 million people. Most arriving following European settlement in the late 19th and early 20th century but there is continued immigration to the continent to pursue economic opportunities.
Asian ...
*
Memons in South Africa
Memons in South Africa form a prosperous Muslim subgroup in that country's Indian community and are largely descended from Memons from Kathiawar who immigrated from India in the late 19th century/early 20th century. Villages and towns that Sout ...
*
Tamil South Africans
Tamil South Africans are Indian South Africans of Tamil descent. Tamil people form the majority of Indian immigrants who came from India to Natal, South Africa, from 1860 onwards. After the expiry of their indentures most of these Indians moved ...
*
Islam in South Africa
Islam in South Africa is a minority religion, practised by roughly 1.6% of the total population. Islam in South Africa has grown in three phases. The first phase brought the earliest Muslims as part of the involuntary migration of slaves, a ...
*
India–South Africa relations
*
High yellow
High yellow, occasionally simply yellow (dialect: yaller, yella), is a term used to describe a light-skinned person of white and black ancestry. It is also used as a slang for those thought to have "yellow undertones". The term was in common use ...
*
Anglo-Indian people
Anglo-Indian people fall into two different groups: those with mixed Indian and British ancestry, and people of British descent born or residing in India. The latter sense is now mainly historical, but confusions can arise. The '' Oxford English ...
References
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 Affairs of India
2001 Digital Census Atlas
History of Indian Settlement
{{Authority control
Asian South African
Ethnic groups in South Africa