Indian Moors were a grouping of people who existed in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

predominantly during its colonial period. They were distinguished by their

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

faith whose origins traced back to the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. Therefore, Indian Moors refer to a number of ethnic groups such as Memons, Bohra and Khoja. These groups tended to retain their own ancestral practices and language. However the largest specific group were

Tamils The Tamils ( ), also known by their endonym Tamilar, are a Dravidian peoples, Dravidian ethnic group who natively speak the Tamil language and trace their ancestry mainly to the southern part of the Indian subcontinent. The Tamil language is o ...

from

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

. Indian Moors shared a similar history to

Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka are Tamils, Tamil people of Indian origin in Sri Lanka. They are also known as Malayaga Tamilar, Hill Country Tamils, Up-Country Tamils or simply Indian Tamils. They predominantly descend from workers sent during the Br ...

, however due to their decline and smaller numbers the Indian Moors have either returned to India or have declared themselves as being classified as

Sri Lankan Moors Sri Lankan Moors (; Arwi: ; ; formerly Ceylon Moors; colloquially referred to as Sri Lankan Muslims) are an ethnic minority group in Sri Lanka, comprising 9.3% of the country's total population. Most of them are native speakers of the Tamil langua ...

History

Origins

The Indian Moors trace their origins back to immigrants in search of business opportunities during the British colonial period, however some can trace their origins as far back as Portuguese times. They came from various parts of

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Indian Moors have a similar history to that of the

. These people served primarily as plantation labor during the 125 years preceding the independence of Sri Lanka in 1948. Though they did not sever their connections with the land of their birth. In 1930, the Indian Government imposed a ban on the emigration of unskilled Indian labor to Sri Lanka. The country's own immigrants Act of 1948, restricted entry into Sri Lanka only to those who had already been in Sri Lanka and held valid travel documents. With respect to the status and future of the Indian immigrants in Sri Lanka, an agreement had already been reached between the two countries and had been implemented as the following by the date of 30 October 1964: —The Population of Sri Lanka, pp. 2. *(a) 300,000 of the Indian immigrants of Sri Lanka with their natural increase will be granted Citizenship in Sri Lanka over a period of 15 years from the date of Agreement *(b) Government of India will accept 525,000 and their natural increase over a period of 15 years from the date of the Agreement, and *(c) the status and position of the balance will be the subject of a separate agreement to be concluded at a later date.

Decline

In 1971, Indian Moors numbered 29,416 declining from 55,400 in 1963. Their decline was partly due to much of the population returning to

and some declaring themselves and being enumerated as Sri Lankan Moors.The Population of Sri Lanka, pp. 46. The presently remaining population have been categorized as "others" in the Sri Lankan census, since 1981, due to their small numbers.

Demographics

Population

With the beginning of the Sri Lankan Censuses by the British administration, population and ethnicity was conducted using the term "Nationality" until 1901. The Census Reports classified the population into seven groups viz. Europeans, Sinhalese, Tamils, Moors, Malays, Veddahs and others. From the 1911 onwards "Nationality" was replaced with the word "race", and it had recognition in all official and unofficial records. At the 1881 Census, Moors numbered 184,500 which increased to 228,000 in the 1901 Census.The Population of Sri Lanka, pp. 43. The 1911 Census separated the Tamils into Ceylon Tamils and Indian Tamils and the Moors into Ceylon Moors and Indian Moors. This was due to the influx of Indian Laborers, that comprised both Moors and Tamils, into the plantation regions of Sri Lanka, who had to be distinguished separately. By 1971, Indian Moors numbered 29,416, declining from 55,400 in 1963. The Indian Moors were the only other ethnic group besides the Indian Tamils which had declined from the previous Census figure. Their decline was partly due to their returning to India and others declaring themselves and being enumerated as Sri Lankan Moors. Indian Moors were mostly found in the

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

and Kandy Districts. With more than 75% of the Indian Moors found in Colombo District situated in

city.

Ethnic groups

The Indian Moors was a collective of ethnic groups, identified by their Islamic faith and similar geographic origin. The Largest of those groups being

from

. Others included the Memons, originally from Sind (in modern

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

), who first arrived in 1870; in the 1980s they numbered only about 3,000. The Bohra and the Khoja came from

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, 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 List of states and union territories ...

after 1880; in the 1980s they collectively numbered fewer than 2,000.

Religion

Indian Moors are predominantly followers of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, hence their cultural identity being defined by their religion. Most Indian Moor groups follow

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...

, with the exception of the Bohras, who are Shiites.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* {{British Ceylon period topics Sri Lankan people of Indian descent Sri Lankan people of Pakistani descent Islam in Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Muslims