In Search of Paradise: A Saga of Courage, Resilience and Resistance

By Dr. Manjula K. Patel

In Search Of Paradise is the saga of courage, resilience and resistance of the daredevils of Gujarat, India. The Kharvas, Bhatias, Lohanas, Patels, Baniyas and people from many other communities sailed in search of paradise when India was battling through severe famine and Cholera epidemic. Surviving the stormy seas, the attacks from the sea pirates, the attacks of the wild animals, the barbaric attacks from the natives of the then uncivilized dark country, through sheer determination, they settled down, trained the natives to the civilized ways and prospered. Sometimes a single Indian opened his shop in the untrodden upcountry, attracted and taught the ways of the world to the native people who were like unplowed earth.
The author was born and brought up in Tanzania, taught at a girl’s school and is an eyewitness of the development of the country. She remembers how during the Second World War the German East Africa was attacked and captured by the British renaming it the British East Africa.
The stories in the book are authentic and told either by surviving early emigrants or their family members. The author interviewed them and collected the stories during her visits to Dar-es-Salaam.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing India
• Release date: Dec 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9781543709179

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In Search of

Paradise

A Saga of Courage, Resilience and Resistance

Dr. Manjula K. Patel

Copyright © 2024 by Dr. Manjula K. Patel.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

www.partridgepublishing.com/india

Contents

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgements

From the Author’s Desk

Introduction

Chapter 1: Migration Of The Indian/Gujarati Diaspora To Tanganyika And Zanzibar

Chapter 2: In Search Of Paradise

Chapter 3: Paradise Gained: The Creators Of Paradise

1. Ebji Shivji and Jeram Shivji

2. Ladha Bha By An Unknown Writer

3. Vallabhdas Hirji Kapadia

4. Shri Manilal Mulji Walji Suchak and Nilamben Manilal Suchak

5. Dwarkadas Morarji Shah

6. Jayantibhai Dwarkadas Morarji Shah

7. Harkishanbhai Dwarkadas Morarji Shah

8. Manilal Mathuradas Dewani

9. Narbheram Panachand Mehta and Lalitaben Mehta

10. The Khojas – the Ismailis and the Ithna Asharis

11. Sir Tharia Topan

12. Sewa Haji Paroo

13. Haji Satchu Pira

14. Satchu Gulamali Abdulrasul

15. Suleman Khimji

16. Hashambhai Dewji

17. Abdulrasul Nasser Virji, MBE

18. Haji Nasser Virji

19. Karmali Alibhai

20. Haji Abdul Khimji

21. Allidina Visram

22. Tribhovandas Bechardas Sheth (T. B. Sheth)

23. Nyalchand Bechardas Sheth

24. Indubhai Dave

25. Harji Somabhai Arya

26. Keshavji Ramji

27. The Karas – Shah Ramji Kara, Shah Lavji Kara, Shah Nanji Kara

28. Nagindas Patel

29. Lalaji Maganbhai Patel

Chapter 4: Diasporic Community And Continued Culture

Chapter 5: The Inception Of Shri Hindu Mahila Mandal And Women’s Contribution After Independence

1. Pushpaben Shah

2. Kamal Barot

3. Bala Thomson (Barot)

4. Shantaben Chavda

5. Shantaben Doshi

6. Diwaliben Ramji Kara Shah

Chapter 6: The Era Of The Gujarati Newspaper In Tanganyika

1. Mohanlal Patel

2. Revtiben And Amrit Patel

3. V. R. Boal

4. Narsinhbhai Ishwarbhai Patel

Chapter 7: Freedom For Tanganyika: Paradise Lost For The Indian Diaspora And Migration

Chapter 8: Julius Kambarage Nyerere – First President Of Tanzania And The Father Of The Nation

Chapter 9: Paradise Lost And Regained And Cultural Amalgamation

The Brave Hearts Who Stayed Behind

1. Sir Jayantilal Chande, KBE (son), and father Keshavji Chande

2. Pravinbhai Vaishnav

3. Chandubhai Lakhani

4. Janardan Shukla

5. Chatrabhuj V. Babla And Son Himatbhai Babla

6. Al Noor Kassum, The Son, And Kassum Sunderji Samji, The Father

7. Hatim Karimjee And Karimjee Jivanjee Family

8. Gulabbhai Shah And Jayaben Shah

9. Kanji Jeraj And Yogesh Manek

10. The Chandarias: Manu Chandaria, Obe; Ratilal Chandaria; Nemu Chandaria, Obe; Keshav Chandaria

11. Muzaffer (Muzu) Sulemanji

12. Vikash Navinchandra Shah and Nishma Vikash Shah

13. Sarla (Saru) Doshi

14. Naka H. Doshi

Indo-African Cultural Amalgamation

Chapter 10: Walking Down Memory Lane

General Information

Epilogue

Bibliography

Synopsis

Julius Kambarage Nyerere

To the first president of Tanzania and the father of the nation. When I read about the life of Pres. Mwalimu Nyerere, the teaching of the Gita, the Hindu sacred book, flashed in my mind. Gita, the Indian scripture preached by Shri Krishna, advocates the performance of one’s duty or karma in the spirit of sannyasa or detachment and renunciation. Karma sannyasa does not mean to abandon one’s duty. It means to perform your duties without expectations. We are not asked to give up the work in the world; we are asked to participate in the work of the world with our minds free from egoism, desire, and fear. This is how Dr Julius K. Nyerere lived his life. Truly, Nyerere was a mahatma, a ‘great soul’, a ‘saintly soul’. He shines in the galaxy of the twentieth-century mahatmas – people with great, glorious soul – namely, Mahatma Gandhi of India, Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Martin Luther King Jr. of the USA, and many more.

Also to my parents, Shah Ramji Kara and Shah Diwaliben Ramji Kara. Without their inspiration and support, I would not have been able to achieve my education.

Also to my husband, Dr Kantibhai N. Patel, for his inspiration and guidance, for enduring inconveniences, and for looking after our growing children while I continued my journey in the field of education.

To my dear friend of forty years Dr Amrapali Merchant, ex-vice-chancellor of Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University, Ahmedabad, and head of the Department of Sociology, Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat, India, who was instrumental in inspiring me to write this book.

Also to my friend Dr Javed Hussein Khan, professor and head of the Department of English, Sardar Patel University. He was like a younger brother to me. He was abundantly helpful and offered invaluable assistance, support, and guidance while editing manuscripts of this book irrespective of his ill health, which nabbed him from us.

How can I forget those unsung heroes whom I could not meet and include in my book? They equally deserve the accolades for enduring and sustaining themselves against all odds like malaria, tsetse flies, blackwater, and sometimes attacks of wild animals. ‘It will be a Breach of Conduct,’ as Shakespeare observes, if I forget to remember those undaunted Gujarati brave hearts who dared the perils of the blue and invaded the dark unknown. I salute them and dedicate my book to them as well.

Foreword

It’s a commendable job, indeed. Writing history demands rigor, accuracy, focus, patience, penitence, and much more. And writing the story of an entire community spanning over two to three centuries is indeed a Herculean task. That you’ve accomplished this self-assigned task so very successfully deserves a huge applause, ma’am.

There are pride sans vanity, audacity sans imposition, literary flair sans ornamentation, and presentation of facts sans dry statements. This is an extremely precious document to be preserved by the community.

Dr Sulbha Natrajan

Acting Vice Chancellor and Former Principal, Waymade College of Education

Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar

Gujarat, India

Preface

The sailors from Kutch/Mandvi were like Ulysses, the Greek hero – restless, ever listening to the call of the sea, and ready to venture to find new lands. And bitten by this Ulysses bug, they sailed to faraway shores, confronting the most adverse of circumstances, following the call of destiny.

This is my humble effort to bring forward the inside stories of these heroes, these Gujarati brave hearts who have fought the battle of survival against the ruthless blue and overcome the challenges. However, they have not uprooted themselves from the country of their origin in any way. They have retained their cultural and emotional links through the customs, festivals, traditions, and language and their spiritual links by erecting places of worship. They have retained their connection through literature, libraries, and media. They have kept the Indian in them alive.

Even before the Gujaratis migrated to Europe, America, and other Western countries, they had explored the Dark Continent. Africa of the fifteenth or sixteenth or even eighteenth century was not what it is today. To venture to such a place and conquer the dire circumstances takes courage and grit to fight and win; that is what we call khamir .

The history of Indian settlers went as far back as more than 150 years. The shores of Africa were not new to the Indians, for there was movement to it as far back as the fifteenth century. The daring Kutchi Muslims and Bhatias had been to Jungbar (Zanzibar), exchanging commodities between India and Africa. These are the inside stories of these people as told by them.

A question always asked is about the Indiannesss of migrated Indians. Could these Indians/Gujaratis retain their culture and religious faith, their food habits, and their social traditions? The surprising fact is that the Indian diaspora have successfully preserved their culture, tradition, religious faith, communal relations, and food habits not only in East Africa but also elsewhere in the world where they have settled.

It is said that absence makes the heart grow fonder towards the things left behind, be it a loved one, a country, or a thing. For the Indian diaspora, it is their love for their country, India, and they look forward to visiting it again and again. They treasure lovingly the memories of the past spent there.

Swami Vivekananda had visited London. Before he left London, one of his British friends asked him a question. ‘Swami, how do you like now your motherland after four years’ experience of the luxurious, glorious, powerful West?’

Swami’s reply was, ‘India I loved before I came away. Now the very dust of India has become holy to me, the very air is now to me holy; it is now the holy land, the place of pilgrimage, the Tirtha.’ This is what a considerable number of the Indian diaspora feel about India.

Professor Childe of the University of London, while describing ancient India, wrote that, in 3250 bc, India confronted Egypt and Babylon with a distinctive civilization, a definite pattern of life, which still endures. It is the basis, he said, of modern Indian civilization. Modern Greece is different from ancient Greece, and modern Egypt is different from ancient Egypt, but modern India is not fundamentally so different, as far as the outlook is concerned, from ancient India. This is Professor Childe’s tribute to the Indians and Indian diaspora who have retained their culture.

Being born and brought up in Dar es Salaam, I have witnessed and participated in all Indian/Gujarati celebrations. A visitor from India will never miss India in East Africa.

The first Indian diaspora in Africa were certainly Gujarati Indians. The well-known business tycoon Shri Nanji Kalidas Mehta himself sailed in a dhow to Africa at the age of 12 years and with education of only third standard in school and with little money and some pairs of chappals (slippers made of leather) so that he could sell them and survive in this new country. Lady Luck showered blessings on him, and his hard work and business acumen helped him turn into a business tycoon. In his well-known book Europe no pravas (My Journey to Europe), he observes that the first Gujarati Indians in the interiors were living in a pitiable condition. Instead of leaving them behind, they had brought along with them their dirty living habits, jealousy, narrow-mindedness, fanaticism, and ignorance. However, they had changed their attitude and outlook with time, even if they adapted and learnt from the Westerners, especially from the British. They have changed their living standards but kept alive their culture and traditions. A large number of writers have written a lot on the Indian diaspora in Africa. Even so, there remains much to write.

I have tried to narrate in this book my first-hand experiences and the life stories of people whom I have known right from my childhood. The names are not new to me. Some of these are from the second generation, but it has been great talking to them about their elders and reliving the past. I have tried to include many people who do not figure in works by the earlier writers, and these I call in the words of poet Thomas Gray.

Full many a gem of purest ray serene

Full many a flower is born to blush unseen.

I want these gems to be known and appreciated by the readers.

I keep on visiting Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, as I still have my sisters and nieces and nephews living there. I am surprised to see how Africans and Indians live in harmony. They are almost ndugus – brothers. Indians have taught them culinary skills and African women – mamas – can cook Gujarati food as delectable as any Gujarati woman can. They work in beauty parlours and extend their services at your home as well. Some of them can speak Gujarati, and most of them understand it as well.

During my last three visits in 2010, 2013, and 2017, I was surprised to see Dar es Salaam growing, outgrowing the old city – a beautiful university on the hillside offering multiple courses, medical colleges, schools, multi-storey buildings, well-dressed people in their native as well as European-style attire. Yet the seaside remains the same. Mhogo (cassava) and kichwa nazi (soft part of coconut acquired from the top of the trunk of the tree) and karanga (salted peanuts) you can still devour at the Oyster Bay seaside. The past comes alive. One feels at home. There is a sort of bonding with the African brothers and sisters.

That is why some of Indian diaspora, instead of following the exodus after the country gained independence, had stayed behind. Africans mingle with Indians, attend celebrations, and also wear Indian dresses and saris. I love my India, but I cannot love Tanzania less, and of course, Dar es Salaam, the scent of the country, I carry forever with me.

Acknowledgements

I have based this book on personal experiences and information collected through personal interviews of the people who are alive today in Dar es Salaam. I am thankful to all of them for their cooperation and sparing their precious time for all the meetings. Unfortunately, three prominent persons are not alive today before I complete my book: Shri Pravinbhai Vaishnav, Shri Andy Chande, KBE, and Yasmin, the wife of ex-minister Al Noor Kassum. I pray for their souls to rest in the eternal abode of peace.

I am indebted to the High Commission of India, especially Honourable Shri K. V. Bhagirath and Honourable Shri Debnath Shaw, who gave me the opportunity to meet them in person and discuss some of the issues in 2010 and 2014 respectively.

I am thankful to late Pravinbhai Vaishnav for providing most useful photographs and information about Shri Hindu Mandal and an autobiography penned by him, describing his experiences while sailing by dhow from India to Africa. It vividly describes the hardships faced by the brave Indians at sea.

I am extremely grateful to the following:

•Shri Jayantibhai Keshavji Chande, KBE, also known as Andy Chande, for giving me his book, A Knight in Africa: Journey from Bukene, and Transitions of Life (collected works)

•Mr Al Noor Kassum, ex-minister of Tanzania, for his book, Africa’s Winds of Change: Memoirs of an International Tanzanian

•Mr Hatim Karimjee for presenting me a rare coffee table book, The Karmijee Jivanjee Family: Merchant Princes of Africa, 1800–2000, written by the famous historian Gijsbert Oonk

•Shri Harishbhai Patel for the book Hindus in Africa: A Story of Social Transformation by an African writer, Dr Joseph Irungu N’ganga-Gichumbi.

•Muzu Sulemanji for his most valuable book of photographs, Contemporary Dar es Salaam, presenting old and new Dar es Salaam, which made me walk down memory lane

I am also thankful to Mahamad Suleiman Mahamad from Dubai, UAE, for his book Beyond the Horizon ( ).

My heartfelt thanks to Himat Babla in Dar es Salaam for giving me a rare book, Bhatia ni Kulkatha: The History of the Bhatias, which is now out of print.

I would like to mention the names of two of my colleagues, Miss Sheela Pinto and Dr Heena Padiya, for their constant encouragement.

I am greatly indebted to Ms Dhara Goswami, a co-member of Inner Wheel Club, Anand, for suggesting the name of Mr Balvant Tandel, assistant professor of Anand Institute of PG Studies in Arts. I greatly appreciate Mr Balvant’s untiring cooperation and patience while typing and editing my chapters.

I have been fortunate enough to get cooperation and help from my sister Sarla Doshi and her husband, Naka Doshi, from San Francisco, USA, for securing rare photographs of my father and a number of my nephews and nieces from all over the world. Also, to Tarun and Ranjan Sanghvi from San Francisco, Divya Mehta, Sheila Mandalia, Ashok Sanghvi from the UK, my cousins Dr Hasmukh Nanji Kara Shah and Usha Shah, Sudhir Nanji Kara Shah for finding photographs, and Indira Sudhir Shah, who had kindly helped me edit some of my chapters during my short stay in London. I am thankful to my cousin Jashvanti Sheth, Shri Bipinbhai Suchak, Bhadra Vadgama, and Revtiben Patel in the UK for providing information and rare photographs.

I am indebted to my son-in-law Tejas (Bobby) and my daughter Shital Patel for taking me around in London to meet the Dar es Salaam diaspora who have migrated to London.

I am also indebted to Bhadra from Los Angeles, USA, the granddaughter of Shri Dwarkadas Morarji, for promptly providing information about her grandfather, father, and uncle.

I am extremely thankful to my nephew Mukesh Sanghvi and his wife, Charulata Sanghvi, for making my stay most comfortable at their home in Dar es Salaam.

I am also indebted to my niece Priti Punatar and Chandrakant Punatar for sparing the valuable photographs of her parents, Shri Tansukhlal Doshi and Shanta Doshi.

How can I forget my grandnephew, my cousin Navin’s son Vikash, and his wife, Nishma Shah? In fact, Nishma was my self-appointed assistant, always fixing my appointments and driving me in time to meet people, despite her busy schedule with school-going daughters.

I thank my nephews Vinod Mehta and Dilsukh Mehta for providing information about Zanzibar and giving me rare photographs of my brother-in-law Shri Narbheram Panachand Mehta.

My visit to Bagamoyo to collect information about the slave trade would not have been possible if my grandnephews Alkesh Mandalia and Alpesh Sanghvi had not spared their chauffeur-driven car for me. Of course, without my sister Sarla Doshi, my visits to Bogamoyo and Zanzibar would not have been possible if she had accompanied me.

I am also thankful to my daughter Rupal and son-in-law Dr Himanshu Patel for looking after my home and all home affairs during my absence in Anand, Gujarat, India.

I would also like to express my deep gratitude to my daughter-in-law Sheelpa for her assistance and suggestions. I value the guidance provided by her. An architect and an accomplished gold medallist, she went through my chapters with the minute specifications usual to ones who are responsible for planning and structuring a building, sealing verbal crevices, and smoothening stumbling blocks – of course, by removing unsuitable expressions and unnecessary descriptions, suggesting the changes. I value and appreciate the insights and suggestions provided by her.

Finally, I’m thankful to my dear son Nishith for financing my travels.

Even my grandchildren Maithili, Samarth, Gargi, Aniruddha, Richit, and Aarohi took interest in my work by providing me with their extremely valuable suggestions. I am heartily thankful to them as well. My family took tremendous interest in my work and provided me with information, photographs, and contact numbers. Without their support, I could not have written this book.

I should be ungrateful if I forget to thank my dear friend Dr Amrapali Merchant, my one-time colleague and later on the head of the Department of Sociology at Sardar Patel University and ex-vice-chancellor of Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University, for an invitation to chair a session and present a paper, ‘Contribution of NRIs the Indian Diaspora’, at a national-level seminar on 18 March 2007 and also to present a paper, ‘Gujarati Diaspora and Impact of Diaspora’, at an international seminar sponsored by NRG Foundation, Gujarat State, and organized by the Centre for Indian Diaspora, Department of Sociology, Sardar Patel University, on 9 and 10 February 2012. The keynote address was delivered by Dr Mario Rutton, professor at the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. She invited me to talk about our life as diaspora in Tanzania, East Africa. I was advised by the experts to write about the Indians who sailed to East Africa, the country that was still awakening to the civilization in the nineteenth century, their hardships, their dare, their struggle, and their strong willpower to survive and to prosper. There was a demand to pen down our life in Tanzania, East Africa. Her persuasion inspired me to write this book.

I took the suggestions and started my research from year 2010, when I first visited Dar es Salaam. I again visited Dar es Salaam in 2012 and 2014. I visited Bagamoyo, the place famous for the slave trade; interviewed people; and collected their stories. I also interviewed Gujarati diaspora and requested them to tell me about the experiences of their grandparents who sailed from India and settled in Africa. I am grateful to them.

Lastly, I am extremely thankful to Dr Sulbha Natrajan, acting vice chancellor and former principal of Waymade College of Education, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat, India, for the encouraging observations in the foreword.

How can I forget the late Javed Hussain Khan, professor and head of the Department of English, Sardar Patel University, for patiently going through the rough drafts of the book and for his valuable suggestions? I owe him my gratitude and am indebted for the trouble taken even while suffering from ill health.

I owe an immense gratitude to Shri Ajitbhai Patel, a resident of Anand, Gujarat; an internationally renowned painter; a professor; a principal of the College of Fine Arts, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat; and a recipient of several awards for his paintings. Ajitbhai has tirelessly spent his precious time drawing for the inner page showing the journey of the daring Gujaratis in a dhow, surviving the dangerous furies of the ocean in search of their dream world. The journeys and success of the untiring, undaunted daredevils I have endeavoured to describe here. I am extremely thankful and indebted to Shri Ajitbhai Patel for all trouble he has taken for this project.

I have divided my book with the titles from the English poet John Milton’s epic poems ‘Paradise Lost’ and ‘Paradise Regained’. The title of my book is In Search of Paradise. I have devoted chapters to the ancestors who dared to cross the sea and settled in the Dark Continent, as Africa was known in those days. The following chapters tell about the contributions of women in preserving the Indian culture. I have devoted one chapter to Pres. Mwalimu Julius Nyerere. I have great respect for him and had a chance to meet him. He was greatly inspired by Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Gandhi. His policy of ujamaa was just like Mahatma Gandhi’s gramodhhar. Whenever I think about Tanzania, I grow nostalgic. In the beginning of the book, there is a poem written by me which is a tribute to a common Indian/Gujarati diaspora who were ignored by a number of writers.

The project was as tough as sailing through a stormy sea. Fortunately, it steered to the shore. The waves of circumstances, my age, my profession, my beat of life drifted, and I feared that my project will sit to the bottom of the unfathomable sea. But the oars of dream, desire, dedication, and determination kept it afloat, and at last, I could anchor it to my destination, a desired shore.

I owe an immense debt of gratitude to all who have spared their valuable time for the interviews and providing information about their families who have migrated to East Africa. I consider myself fortunate for the cooperation of so many people, friends, children, relatives, and acquaintances. I am thankful for the encouragement and cooperation of all the people, who kept me afloat to reach to the shore of my leviathan project.

Compared with what it was earlier before the independence, Tanzania has taken a giant leap in the field of advancement and progress – multi-storey buildings, university education, and well-dressed, well-mannered, and soft-spoken men and women, always smiling, courteous with whatever they have. Those who are born here cannot forget the country, even though with the wind of independence they have to leave it. They carry the scent of the country with them.

Words of thanks are too inadequate for the trouble people have taken to help me in my project. Any formal acknowledgement of gratitude to all of them would only illustrate poet Robert Browning’s words: ‘Poor be the speech, no matter how much I speak.’

Dr Manjula K. Patel

Anand, India

From the Author’s Desk

In Search of Paradise is the book documenting the biographical sketches of the Indian/Gujarati migrants to Tanganyika (Tanzania), East Africa.

The writer has interviewed the people who are still settled in Dar es Salaam, the former capital city of Tanzania. She has visited the places and narrated their experiences. Their life stories are authentic and are told either by the persons themselves or by their family members, friends, or relatives. These are the unsung heroes who have crossed the sea undaunted, faced diverse circumstances, survived, and prospered. There are so many heroes who are not mentioned by other writers.

The writer has no intention to hurt the feelings of any person or family described in this book. Even then, if there are any discrepancies, the writer sincerely apologizes for that.

Dear flowers, like miniature bliss;

The blooms in pinks, yellows, whites

The purples adoring the hedge along the roads,

The beauty unnoticed by the passing show.

The virtue and selfless devotion

Of some like you remain unnoticed;

Though unnoticed and remaining unknown,

I will sing for thee in remembrance.

—Dr Manjula Patel

To those brave-hearted, undaunted Gujaratis who dared the perils of the blue and invaded the dark unknown.

—Dr Manjula Patel

Introduction

History of Gujarat and the Gujarati Diaspora

The history of the Gujarati diaspora is very old. Right from the king of Halivansh to the invasions by Sikandar till the present times, the vessels have sailed from the harbours of Gujarat to the eighty-four ports in the world. The geographical position of Gujarat and its harbours played a significant role in the history of ancient India. Most of the invaders came through the main harbours of Gujarat, namely, Khambhat, Kutch, Mandvi, Surat, Somnath, Diu, Daman, and Kathiawar of old times.

Gujarat, situated on the West Coast of India, is blessed with a 1,214.7 km (per the official figures from the union government’s latest documents) coastline. The western and south-western frontiers of the state have the Arabian Sea roaring on their shores. In the west, Gujarat stretches from Kutch to Daman; the hilly regions of the Arvallis and the mountain ranges of the Sahyadri in the south and Saputara in the east stand as sentries, protecting the region of Gujarat, along with the high peaks of Mt. Abu in the north and the Daman Ganga in the south. In the west, it boasts of lush green woods, hills, plains, and rivers. Surrounded by Rajasthan in the north-east, Madhya Pradesh to the east, and Maharashtra to the south-east, Gujarat boasts of the reign of Shri Krishna in Dwarka, where Meera merged with the idol of Lord Krishna. It is the land of the saint poet Narsinh Mehta and Mahatma Gandhi.

Gujarat has a glorious past in the maritime history as well. Mandvi in the Kutch region was once a major port of Gujarat and a summer retreat of the Maharao Saheb of Kutch. As it is mentioned in ‘The Maritime History of India’ and Chinese records, their trading with India dates back to as early as 600 bc. The history also mentions that according to the Harivamsa, Mahabharata, and Matsya Purana, Lord Krishna’s people, the Yadava, acquired wealth through their sea trade, and it is also confirmed in the Artha-shastra that the main occupation of these people was sea trading.

Maritime history also records Gujarat as having fifty-two ports. The seaport of Gujarat called Barygaza, present-day Bharuch, is also mentioned in the Greek book Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. There were ports, namely, Shurparaka (Sopara) and Bhrugukutch (Bharuch), in various Sanskrit books. The maritime history notes down that the Western world named Gujarat ‘the Mistress of the Sea’ and the Saindhava community of Saurashtra was called ‘Lords of the Sea’ for their mastery of the seas and extensive trade links. Gujarat’s fifty-two ports – including Bharuch, Khambhat, and Surat, the busiest ones in the past – have now fallen into the dormant situation due to the shoreline moving miles away from the ports. A number of research have been made by scholars. An article, ‘Maritime Archaeology of Gujarat, North West Coast of India’, by A. S. Gaur and Sundaresh mentioned that, during the medieval periods, the maritime activities were highest through coastal towns like Bet Dwarka, Somnath, Hathab, Vallabhi, and Bharuch. The evidence found has proved the facts of the research. The Gulf of Kutch and the Gulf of Khambhat played a prominent role in these activities. Gujarat had developed the highest trading network during the medieval period. There is evidence of the visits of the Arabs and Chinese in Gujarat.

The invasions started with the Arabs in the eighth century came to an end in the reign of Alauddin Khilji. After the fall of Diu, Mandvi Port of Kutch remained the port of importance for nearly 300 years. From Akbar’s rule to the British rule, Mandvi had been open to several attacks.

Looking to the map of Gujarat, we can clearly understand the important position of the Kathiawar ports for the activity of seamen, captains, and helmsmen in Kathiawar. Some of the names of these heroes are worshipped even today. Ramsinh Malam, Abho Patel, Hasan Patel, Nathu Langho, and Nathu Tandel are a few such heroes whose adventures even today give goosebumps to the listeners.

The end of the eighteenth century was a testing time for Kathiawar. With the downfall of the Mughal reign, the invasion of Nadir Shah in 1739 brought an anarchy among the small states that were forced to accept Mughal domination. As a result, the principal royal families like Gohil, Jadeja, Babi, Zala, and Kathi were involved into internal feuds which lasted over 100 years. As a result, Kathiawar fell into the hands of thieves and outlaws. On one hand, internal feuds disarrayed the state, whereas on the other end, it was devastated by epidemics like famine and plague.

This was the time when people started sailing to distant countries for a better life. The event of the Gujarati diaspora migrating to the shores of East Africa was not new to Gujarati sailors. Right from the fifteenth century, the ships were sailing between India and Africa, but it was only for the purpose of trade. Proper settlement of the traders started from as late as seventeenth century. The enterprising traders opened their firms and recruited clerks and accountants from India.

Zanzibar became the principal and the first headquarters of the Indian diaspora. It was called Jungbar by Gujaratis and had its name from the Gujarati word joongbar. Joong means a seafaring trade ship, and bar means a port where such ships take a stoppage.

When these colonies of the traders were getting established, most parts of the African continent were known as the Dark Continent. A very scant presence of the Europeans was noticed on the Mediterranean and the western shores of the country. However, the Halari Kutchi Gujarati colonies did exist under the leadership of King Leopold of Belgium.

It was the most difficult time for the Africans as well. To work on cotton farms in America, coffee plantations in Brazil, sugar cane farms in the West Indies, and wheat farms in Argentina, slaves were required. Arabs and Portuguese fulfilled their demands by capturing Africans and exporting them to these countries. Some of the Gujaratis also could not keep away from this business of human trafficking. The presence of people of African origins in Junagadh in Gujarat is the evidence of this. According to them, their ancestors were brought here by the nawab of Junagadh to help in farming his land.

Tanganyika was a German colony from 1880 to 1919, and then from 1919 to 1961, it became a British trust territory. Asians who made up 1 per cent of the total population originated from Gujarat, Kutch, and Kathiawar regions of western India. The traders were shopkeepers and merchants. Servants from Goa and artisans from Punjab played a significant role as middlemen and skilled labourers in colonial Tanganyika (Nagar, 2000). During the Zanzibar Revolution in 1964, over 10,000 Asians were forced to migrate to the mainland, Dar es Salaam, as a result of violent attacks. In the 1970s, over 50,000 people left Tanzania. In February 1967, President Nyerere issued the Arusha Declaration, which called for egalitarianism, socialism and self-reliance. He introduced a form of socialism termed ujamaa (pulling together). As a result, factories and plantations were nationalized, and major investments were made in primary school and healthcare, but in other spheres, it proved economically disastrous. My family moved out of Dar es Salaam in 1970.

Chapter 1

Migration Of The Indian/Gujarati Diaspora To Tanganyika And Zanzibar

There is a couplet in Gujarati language:

(Godi Puche Godia Kio Bhalero Des?

Sampat Hoi to Ghar Bhala

Neeker Bhalero Pardes)¹

(Queries a damsel her man on the best country to live in?

Home country is the best, he avers, for the affluent

Or else it is in seeking one’s own alien shores!)

The couplet very clearly states the reasons for the global diasporic activities.

Migration is a necessity for all living entities. Not only humans but also animals and birds feel the necessity to move from one place to another. In other words, migrating in search of a better, peaceful, and safe living where plenty of the three prime necessities of remaining alive are available, namely, food, water, and shelter. It is an age-old phenomenon among different communities.

The migrations of the Babylonians and the Aryans are too well known to need any reiteration. Around 1500 bc, the Aryans migrated to India and settled in the area called Sapta Sindhu, which was the region where dasas or dasyus, the natives of the area, resided. They were driven further to the southern part of India. Aryans brought with them the knowledge of how to use iron and spread their culture in India along with their civilization. There is an intricate connection between the two terms, migration and diasporic activities.

The term diaspora was earlier used for the Jews, especially for the dispersion of the Jews among the Gentiles – that is, the non-Jewish – in the eighth century bc after the Babylonian captivity. The term is also used in the New Testament for the Christians living outside Palestine; consequently, the term came to be used for any group of people similarly dispersed, for people who migrated to other countries. The history of Indian migrants stretches back to nearly 3,000 years.

The history of the Gujarati diaspora is very old. Right from the king of Halivansh to the invasions by Sikandar and the Muslims up till the present times, the vessels have sailed from the harbours of Gujarat to eighty-four ports in the world. Gujarat has a long maritime history, as A. S. Gaur and Sundaresh (2011) pointed out in their article on ‘Maritime Archaeology of Gujarat Northwest Coast of India’.

Gaur and Sundaresh use the evidence of maritime activity in India to argue that it may be traced back to the Bronze Age (early third millennium bc to mid–second millennium bc). Their findings get due support from the evidence collected during the excavations of Harappan sites at various places in Gujarat, India. Lothal, Dholavira, Rangpur, Lakhabawal, Amvi, and Rojdi in Gujarat provide rich evidence of the advance maritime culture and confirm the earliest history of Gujarat. During the third millennium, around 3000 bc to 2200 bc, maritime activities were carried out from the ports of Bet Dwarka, Somnath, Hathab, and Vallabhi in Bharuch, Gujarat.

Taking into account the geographical position of Gujarat, we can clearly understand the importance of these ports in facilitating its maritime activities. Situated on the West Coast of India, Gujarat is blessed with a 1,600 km coastline that opens into the Arabian Sea. Ancient literature provides us with evidence of how Gujarat extended its trade relations with faraway countries like Rome, Phoenicia, Persia, China, Sumatra, Java, Malaya, Sri Lanka, Egypt, and East Africa. Chinese records mention its trade relations with Gujarat as early as 700 bc, whereas its trade relations with Syria dates back to as early as 1400 bc. Lord Krishna settled in Gujarat with the Yadava tribe some 3,500 years ago. The period of Lord Krishna’s rule is considered to be the glorious period in the history of Gujarat. It is said that the Yadava grew rich from sea trade on the West Coast of India. An explorer to India, a Greek Egyptian