The Quilt

If India is a diverse land, then it is also a region in which dominant groups assert their prejudices against that diversity. It is an intractable issue with few satisfactory resolutions. The Siddi community—which traces its origins to East Africa—comprises people who came to India at least five centuries ago, as soldiers and merchants, or because they were enslaved by the Portuguese. They have made their homes in regions across the country: Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh. In Uttara Karnataka or north Karnataka, for instance, they reside in the forested areas of Yellapur, Haliyal, Ankola, Joida, Mundgod, and Sirsi. They follow varied religions and cultural practices. Yet, their identity is often flattened through a discourse that privileges a monolithic view of the community.
But they are resilient to the stereotypes that are projected onto them. Seven years ago, a documentary put together by the United Nations, was titled, “The Siddis: India’s Forgotten Africans.” But the work of Husenabi and her colleagues is the struggle of memory against forgetting. They are memorialising generational wisdom, pursuing a historical craft, piecing together parts of their unique history. It is a gift. And, we are all the more richer for it.