Quote from Quwamdeen Durojaiye on February 4, 2023, 11:31 am

INDIANS OF AFRICAN ORIGIN

At least 20,000 people from an African tribe have been living in India for hundreds of years without being noticed. Siddi ancestors came from East Africa and were mostly brought to India by Arabs in the 7th century. Later, the Portuguese and the British also brought Siddi people to India. Others were free people who worked as merchants, sailors, or mercenaries and went to India before the Portuguese slave trade got really big. When slavery ended in the 18th and 19th centuries, Siddis ran away into the thick jungles of their country because they were afraid of being caught and tortured again.

The first Africans to move to India were called Habshis, which is the Persian word for Abyssinians (the former name of Ethiopia was Abyssinia). But those who worked their way up in the royal court were given the title "Siddi," which may have come from the Arabic word for "master," "sayed" or "sayyid." It's not clear when the word "Habshi" stopped being used and "Siddi" took its place, but today, "Siddi" refers to all people of African descent in India.