Question

African Elites in India (Habshi Amarat) Robbins, Kenneth X. & McLeod, John (Eds.) Ahmedabad, India, 2006.

Accompanying article & media:

• Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo. (2011). African migration: Understanding trends and traditions. African Asian Studies 10, 1-5.
• Video: African elite in India

In the last four hundred years, the use and application of the words “slave” and “slavery” in the New World have come to severely taint and change the language of descriptors of Africans in communities both inside and outside of the African continent. Africans have been known to be traders, seafarers and travelers who came as far as the New World for trade and exploration and left traces in art and culture. However, over the years, even with historical records, some historians and scholars reference Africans as ‘slaves’ in communities where their relationships may not have been that of the Western depiction of ‘slave and master’. India is no different. Nowhere else in the world did Africans have so much power and control over non-African populations as they did in the Indian subcontinent.  This is not information that has received much scholarly attention but as recorded in this book, “Malik Ambar” (1548-1626) formerly “Chapu” his African name, a “Habshi (someone from Abyssinia or Ethiopia) was one of the most fearless, respected and victorious military leaders in India.  He was one of a large number of African elites and nobles who ruled southern regions of India from the fourteenth century until the mid-twentieth century.

This assignment gives you a glimpse of Africans who achieved greatness in various spheres in Indian and south Asian societies. Many were Moslems and with their extraordinary political and military prowess, they rose to immeasurably successful leadership roles in and out of the military, intermingled freely with the Indian people and dressed in similar or even superior clothing to the local people unlike the picture of slaves and slave masters presented in the New World during the same historical time period. I share this knowledge with you and seek your reactions about “the forgotten and celebrated African princes” of India who attained phenomenal heights over many centuries. Such information has been hidden from many of the history books, which often relegate and stereotype Africans to positions of inferiority and helplessness. 

Consider this a research assignment. Along with the article, video and introductory chapter of the book, African Elites in India, locate a journal article(s) or data source(s) that study this history. The sources you locate should be cited in your paper as well as in your references.

1. a) Address and summarize the significance of this piece of history particularly following the recent study of stereotypes. What are the essence and contribution of this piece of research to African history on a global stage? How do the article (s) or data sources that you locate present their contributions or describe their presence in a foreign land? Why do you think this is such an ignored and forgotten piece of history? Are there reflections to “slavery as we know it”. (4 page minimum)

b). Select three (3) of the pictures/paintings from the introductory chapter (pictures are worth a thousand words and most are secured from international museums and institutes), describe, evaluate and share reflections on the presentation and status of Africans in the Indian subcontinent and share parallels or lack of, with Africans who were forced to come to the New World. (2 page minimum)

c). The word ‘sidi’ means ‘Lord’ to describe an African in India. Comment on its relevance to the depraved image attached to Africans discussed in the chapters studied from Mistaking Africa by Keim and Somerville. 

 

6 months ago

Answer