Africa–India relations

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Africa–India relations (also referred to as Indo-African relations or Afro-Indian relations) are the historical, political, economic, and cultural connections between India and the African continent.

Africa–India relations

AU
India

Historical relations concerned mainly India and East Africa. However, in modern days—and with the expansion of diplomatic and commercial representations— India has now developed ties with most of the African nations. Trade between India & Africa stood at US$62.66 billion (2017–18) making India the fourth largest trading partner of Africa.[1]

Historical background

Africa and India are separated by the Indian Ocean. The geographical proximity between the Horn of Africa and the Indian subcontinent has played an important role in the development of the relationship since ancient times.

Ancient trade relations

Endybis
, 227–235 AD. +. The left one reads in Greek "AΧWMITW BACIΛEYC", "King of Axum". The right one reads in Greek: ΕΝΔΥΒΙC ΒΑCΙΛΕΥC, "King Endybis".

Indo-African relations date back to the Bronze Age period of the

Indian architecture on the African kingdom shows the level of trade development between the two civilizations.[7]

Under

Southern Arabia and India,[10] the Ptolemies had begun to exploit trading opportunities with India prior to the Roman involvement but according to the historian Strabo the volume of commerce between India and Greece was not comparable to that of later Indian-Roman trade.[11] The Periplus Maris Erythraei mentions a time when sea trade between India and Egypt did not involve direct sailings.[11] The cargo under these situations was shipped to Aden:[11]

Eudaimon Arabia was called fortunate, being once a city, when, because ships neither came from India to Egypt nor did those from Egypt dare to go further but only came as far as this place, it received the cargoes from both, just as Alexandria receives goods brought from outside and from Egypt.

The trade started by Eudoxus of Cyzicus in 130 BCE kept increasing, and according to Strabo (II.5.12.):[12]

"At any rate, when Gallus was prefect of Egypt, I accompanied him and ascended the Nile as far as Syene and the frontiers of Kingdom of Aksum, and I learned that as many as one hundred and twenty vessels were sailing from Myos Hormos to India, whereas formerly, under the Ptolemies, only a very few ventured to undertake the voyage and to carry on traffic in Indian merchandise."

In India, the ports of

lycium, nard, turquoise, lapis lazuli, Seric skins, cotton cloth, silk yarn, and indigo".[13] In Barygaza, they would buy wheat, rice, sesame oil, cotton and cloth.[13]

With the establishment of

Indian religions find mentions in other texts of the period.[15]

Blanche D'Souza states that Hindus had, by 1st millennium AD, begun using monsoon-led trade winds to establish trading activities between western parts of India and Mozambique, linking these to other eastern coastal regions of Africa and Arabian peninsula.[16][17]

Medieval period relations

Relations attained stronger levels during

Arabia. Zheng He, a Chinese admiral met with the Malindi envoy present in Bengal. The Malindi traders had brought tribute of Giraffe for the Bengal sultan, so they gave one to the Chinese as well.[18] Indian Hindu traders were reportedly present according to the records of Vasco da Gama in the south eastern African coast of Mozambique.[19]

African heritage in India

Aside from the aforementioned Aksumite trade with India, the documented presence of Africans in India dates back to the eighth century CE. Several Africans played an important role in different Indian dynasties. The first Habshi, of whom there is a historical record, was probably Jamal al-Din Yaqut, royal courtier in the kingdom of Delhi, in the north of the sub-continent. Habshis were also reported in the interior of northern India. Ibn Battuta recalls that at Alapur, the Governor was the Abyssinian Badr. A man whose bravery passed into a proverb. Some of the Africans who rose to positions of considerable importance were: Malik Kafur, Malik Ambar, Malik Sarwar, Mubarak Shah, Ibrahim Shah, Malik Andil, Malik Sandal, Yaqut Dabuli Habshi, Ikhlas Khan, Dilawar Khan, Khavass Khan, Ulugh Khan. Their role in the History of India is Significant. The Africans, who arrived in Hyderabad, Deccan, apart from playing their traditional role as bonded guards and servants, were recruited as the Nizam's private bodyguard. The Siddi Risala (African Regiment) was retained until 1948. Other Siddis were elevated to the status of Khanazahs (proteges) and became trusted advisers of the Nizams.[20]

Under the rule of the British Empire

During the British colonial rule in the Indian Subcontinent and large parts of Africa, the Indian city of Mumbai was already a center of ivory trade between East Africa and Britain.[21]

The stay of

Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa
between 1893 and 1915 remains one of the main events which paved the road to the modern-day political relations.

Modern-day relations

Political

The development of modern-day relations has gone through two main periods. During the period of

non-aligned movement pioneered by Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia and Yugoslavia
.

During the years of decolonisation, India exerted considerable political and ideological influence in Africa as a role model and a leader of the Non-Aligned Movement. But India's ability to develop a broader strategic role in Africa during the 20th century was subject to several constraints. India's influence was limited by financial weakness and inward-looking economic policies. Its commitment to decolonisation through nonviolent means made it relatively reluctant to provide military assistance to national liberation movements. India's role in East Africa was also constrained by the large Indian ethnic population that was often resented by black African nationalists.

South Asians in Uganda by Idi Amin.[23]

The

South-South Cooperation
platform.

In July 2019, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that India would open embassies in 18 African countries. This would result in Indian embassies being located in 47 of 54 African countries. Five new embassies were opened in Rwanda, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Guinea and Burkina Faso in 2018-19,[24][25] and eight new embassies were opened in Cameroon,[26] Republic of the Congo,[27] Eritrea,[28] Eswatini, Sierra Leone, São Tomé and Príncipe, Togo and Liberia in 2019-20.[29] The other 5 new embassies will be opened in Cape Verde, Chad, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania, and Somalia.

There are numerous of

Indians and Africans of Indian descent living in Africa, mainly in the eastern and southern coast in places such as Mauritius, Kenya and South Africa
.

There are at least 40,000 Africans in India.

Business

Indian firms are conducting numerous takeovers abroad and are venturing into Africa. In June 2008,

FICCI President led a business delegation to Ethiopia to meet the new Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and reaffirm India's commitment to the growth and development of Africa. Indian companies have already invested more than US$34 billion in the resource-rich continent as of 2011 & further investments worth US$59.7 billion are in the pipeline. Among the proposals that CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) received from the African nations are 126 agricultural projects worth an investment of $4.74 billion, 177 infrastructure projects worth $34.19 billion, and 34 energy sector plans costing $20.74 billion (337 projects totalling US$59.7 billion). Ex-Prime Minister of India, Dr.Manmohan Singh while expressing his country's support to Africa, said in an Indo-African trade summit that "Africa possesses all the prerequisites to become a major growth pole of the world in the 21st century. We will work with Africa to enable it to realise this potential". The Indian government has promised to extend loans worth US$5.4 billion (during 2011–14) to several African nations in order to nurture growth in those nations. According to Rejaul Karim Laskar, a scholar of India's foreign policy, "the African countries are presently at such a stage of development when India can offer the most appropriate technology at competitive prices".[31]

India–Africa Forum Summit

Main articles: Bandung Conference and India–Africa Forum Summit

The India–Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) is the official platform for African-Indian relations. The IAFS is held once in every three years. It was first held from April 4 to April 8, 2008 in New Delhi, and was the first such meeting between the heads of state and government of India and 14 countries of Africa chosen by the African Union.

Indian foreign aid to Africa

Further information: Indian foreign aid

In 2006, India launched its flagship aid initiative in Africa by constructing the $125 million Pan-African e-Network, the continent's largest tele-education and telemedicine initiative. The network links 47 African countries with schools and hospitals in India through satellite and fiber-optic links.[32]

At the second India–Africa Forum Summit in

third India-Africa Forum Summit in 2014.[32]

India allocated $43 million or 7% of its technical cooperation budget to African countries in 2012–13, a 4% increase over the previous fiscal.[32] India budgeted $63 million in aid to African countries in 2014–15, less than 5% of its total foreign aid budget and slightly higher than the previous fiscal.[33]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Africa–India relations.

Notes

  1. ^ "India-Africa Brief | IDCR". Archived from the original on 2015-06-14. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  2. ^ Possehl, Gregory L. (4 July 2012). "Were There Commercial Communications between Prehistoric Harappans and African Populations?". Scientific Research. 2: 169–180.
  3. PMID 33419922
    .
  4. ISBN 978-0-7565-3836-1
    . Retrieved 29 January 2008.
  5. ^ Greatest emporium in the world Archived 2015-08-07 at the Wayback Machine, CSI, UNESCO.
  6. ISBN 0-395-65237-5
    .
  7. ISBN 0-521-26931-8
    .
  8. ^ "State Formation In Ancient Northeast Africa and the Indian Ocean Trade". Stanley M. Burstein - University of California at Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 2012-08-02. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
  9. ^ a b Shaw 2003: page 426
  10. ^ Potter 2004: page 20
  11. ^ a b c Young 2001: page 19
  12. ^ "The Geography of Strabo published in Vol. I of the Loeb Classical Library edition, 1917".
  13. ^ a b Periplus Maris Erythraei
  14. ^ Abu Lughod, Janet (1989). Before European Hegemony: The World System 'A.D. 1250-135. New York. pp. 261–290.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  15. ^ a b c Lach 1994: page 18
  16. ISBN 978-9966712325
    , pp. 12–15 and 110–132
  17. ^ Encyclopedia Americana (1965), Volume 15, pp. 26–32
  18. ^ Eschner, Kat. "The Peculiar Story of Giraffes in 1400s China". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  19. ^ Subrahmanyam, Sanjay (2012). The Portuguese Empire in Asia, 1500-1700: A Political and Economic History. John Wiley & Sons.
  20. doi:10.1163/09763457-00301005
    .
  21. ISBN 0-415-07997-7
    .
  22. ^ David Brewster. India's Ocean: the Story of India's Bid for Regional Leadership. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  23. ^ General Amin and the Indian Exodus from Uganda Hasu H. Patel, Issue: A Journal of Opinion, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Winter, 1972), pp. 12-22
    doi:10.2307/1166488
  24. ^ Chaudhury, Dipanjan Roy (5 July 2019). "Budget 2019: India to open 18 new diplomatic missions across Africa". The Economic Times. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  25. ^ "India to open 18 new missions in Africa, including four this fiscal year". Hindustan Times. 6 July 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  26. ^ "Brief on India - Cameroon Bilateral Relations" (PDF). Ministry of External Affairs. September 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  27. ^ "India-Republic of Congo (ROC) Relations". Embassy of India, Brazzaville. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  28. ^ "Embassy of India, Asmara". Embassy of India, Asmara. Retrieved 2 October 2022. Pursuant to the Government of India's decision to open new Missions in 18 African countries, including Eritrea, Embassy of India in Asmara has become functional with effect from August 26, 2019 when Ambassador Shri Subhash Chand assumed the charge of Ambassador of India to the State of Eritrea.
  29. ^ DelhiFebruary 22, Geeta Mohan New. "India opens new mission in Liberia, fourth in this financial year". India Today. Retrieved 4 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  30. ^ Amitha Rajan (9 June 2010). "Investors Cheer Bharti's Zain Africa Deal". The Wall Street Journal.
  31. ^ Laskar, Rejaul Karim (June 4, 2011). "India-Africa relations reaching new heights". The Assam Tribune.
  32. ^ a b c "India's foreign aid program catches up with its global ambitions". www.devex.com. 2013-05-10. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  33. ^ "Modi budget hikes Indian aid, mum on regional bank". www.devex.com. 2014-07-18. Retrieved 2016-05-02.

Further reading

External links

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