Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with Indian Community members in Tanzania

There are currently over 60,000 people of Indian origin in Tanzania. Many of them are traders and they control a sizeable portion of the Tanzanian economy. Indians have a long history in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

starting with the arrival of

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

traders. They came to gradually control the trade in

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...

. Many of the buildings constructed then still remain in Stone Town, the focal trading point on the island.

History

Indian merchant and artisan community settlements is attested in both archaeological and literary sources. In 13th-14th century, Indian artisans were manufacturing glass beads using tube drawing technology at

. Trade between Malindi and Bengal is also attested during early medieval periods. Vasco da Gama when he landed in east african coast found indians residing in Kilwa,

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

Migration from Tanzania

As a result of anti-Indian sentiment in post-independence Tanzania (beginning with the presidency of

Julius Nyerere Julius Kambarage Nyerere (; 13 April 1922 – 14 October 1999) was a Tanzanian anti-colonial activist, politician, and political theorist. He governed Tanganyika as prime minister from 1961 to 1962 and then as president from 1962 to 1964, af ...

), many Indians migrated overseas to India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, among other nations.

Notable people

* Freddie Mercury, rock musician (of Parsi descent) * Amir H. Jamal, former Minister of Finance * Al Noor Kassum, former Energy Minister *

Andy Chande Jayantilal Keshavji "Andy" Chande KBE (7 May 1928 – 7 April 2017) was a Tanzanian businessman, philanthropist and a freemason. Background On 10 August 2007, the Swahili translation of his book ''A Knight in Africa (Shujaa Katika Afrika: Sa ...

, businessman and philanthropist * Mustafa Jaffer Sabodo, economist and philanthropist *Shamim Khan, former Member of Parliament *

Ian Iqbal Rashid Ian Iqbal Rashid (born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) is a poet, screenwriter and filmmaker known in particular for his volumes of poetry, for the TV series '' Sort Of'' and ''This Life'' and the feature films ''Touch of Pink'' and '' How She Mo ...

, filmmaker *

Sangita Myska Sangita Myska is a British television and radio presenter and journalist. She currently hosts an early afternoon weekend phone-in show on LBC Radio. Early life Born in Tanzania, Myska is of African and Indian heritage and speaks Marathi and, to ...

, BBC journalist, documentary maker, TV & Radio presenter * Mohammed Dewji, CEO of MeTL, Member of Parliament (2005–2015) * Ismail Jussa, opposition politician * Mohamed Raza, Member of the

Zanzibar House of Representatives The Zanzibar House of Representatives is the unicameral, subnational legislature of the autonomous islands of Zanzibar in Tanzania. History The current legislature was formed in 1980. Prior to this, the Revolutionary Council held both the execu ...

* Issa G. Shivji, author and academic *

Abdul Sheriff Abdul Sheriff is a Tanzanian emeritus history professor at the University of Dar es Salaam, and former director of the Peace Memorial Museum, the national museum of Zanzibar. Life Sheriff was born on December 7, 1939, on the island of Zanzibar ...

, historian *

Richa Adhia Richa Maria Adhia (born 1 May 1988) is a Tanzanian model and beauty pageant contestant who won Miss Earth Tanzania 2006, Miss Tanzania 2007 and Miss India Tanzania 2010. She is the 3rd generation of Indian/ Portuguese descent with family origin ...

, Miss Tanzania 2007 * Mustafa Hassanali, fashion designer * Ally Rehmtullah, fashion designer *

Ammaar Ghadiyali Ammaar Shabbir Ghadiyali (born 30 May 1997 in Dar es Salaam) is a Tanzanian swimmer. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed in the Men's 100 metre freestyle, finishing in 55th place overall in the heats, failing to qualify for the semifinals. ...

, 2012 Olympic swimmer *

Deepak Obhrai Deepak Obhrai (July 5, 1950 – August 2, 2019) was a Tanzania-born Canadian politician, representing the riding of Calgary East (until 2015) and Forest Lawn (from 2015) for the Reform Party of Canada and then the Conservative Party of Canada ...

PC MP, longest continuously-serving Conservative Member of Canadian Parliament * Rakesh Rajani, civil society and global development leader *

Raheem Kassam Raheem J. Kassam (born 1 August 1986) is a British political activist, former editor-in-chief of ''Breitbart News'' London, and former chief adviser to former UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage. He has been described as Far-right po ...

, conservative British political activist. His parents were

Tanzanian Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

immigrants 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 ...

origin.

Gallery

The National Archives UK - CO 1069-159-39.jpg,

with Amir Jamal (r) The National Archives UK - CO 1069-164-62.jpg, St. John Ambulance Brigade parade The National Archives UK - CO 1069-157-91.jpg, Karimjee Hall, seat of the parliament in Dar es Salaam The National Archives UK - CO 1069-182-1.jpg, The Hassanali Karimjee Jivanjee Hospital, Zanzibar People's Bank of Zanzibar.jpg, The former headquarters of Karimjee Co in Zanzibar File:Stone Town Old Dispensary.jpg, The former Ithnashiri Dispensary, Zanzibar Zanzibar 2012 06 06 4208 (7592234458).jpg, Bharmal Building, currently used as a municipal building Colonial-Era Facade - Dar es Salaam - Tanzania - 02.jpg, A colonial era building with the Om symbol (1930) Karimjee Jivanjee Office Building in Dar es Salaam.jpg, Karimjee Jivanjee Office in Dar es Salaam Morogoro Jamatkhana.jpg, Morogoro

Jamatkhana Jamatkhana (from fa, جماعت خانه , literally "congregational place") is an amalgamation derived from the Arabic word ''jama‘a'' (gathering) and the Persian word ''khana'' (house, place). It is a term used by some Muslim communities a ...

Temple at Zanzibar.jpg, Shakti Temple, Zanzibar Dar-es-Salaam Swaminarayan Temple.jpg, Swaminarayan Temple

References

Indian Diaspora in Africa

{{Indian diaspora Indian diaspora in Tanzania Ethnic groups in Tanzania

History

Migration from Tanzania

Notable people

Gallery

See also

References