From Siddis to Dalits: Racial Prejudice in India, the Legacy of the Caste System

Authors

  • Jesudas Matthew Athyal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34019/2236-6296.2019.v22.29603

Abstract

The African nations and India have several common features, and both were the subjects of colonial exploitation and oppression for a long period. Yet, in recent decades, the thousands of African students in India have faced harassment and intimidation at the hands of the local public. Why is there so much hostility between the people of the two regions? What makes the African students and youth in India tick against the backdrop of xenophobia and socioeconomic deprivation? In attempting to answer these questions, this paper argues that the discrimination the African diaspora communities experience in India is rooted in India’s identity as a society built on the Hindu system of caste hierarchy. The paper further points out that the African indigenous religions and cultures, on arrival in India, blended with the local traditions in the process providing a spiritual and emotional anchor for the immigrants.

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Published

2020-02-11

How to Cite

MATTHEW ATHYAL, J. From Siddis to Dalits: Racial Prejudice in India, the Legacy of the Caste System. Numen, [S. l.], v. 22, n. 1, p. 81–96, 2020. DOI: 10.34019/2236-6296.2019.v22.29603. Disponível em: https://periodicos.ufjf.br/index.php/numen/article/view/29603. Acesso em: 18 jul. 2024.

Issue

Section

Religiões Africanas e Afrodiaspóricas