https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Indians_in_MadagascarIndians in Madagascar - Revision history2026-07-31T20:15:31ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Indians_in_Madagascar&diff=463930&oldid=prevKatherinDenmark at 00:24, 28 February 20262026-02-28T00:24:13Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Infobox ethnic group<br />
| group = Indians in Madagascar:<br>Karàna<br />
| population = 25,000<ref name="Singhvi">{{harvnb|Singhvi|2000|p=94}}</ref><br />
| popplace = [[Antananarivo]]<br />
| langs = [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]], [[Kutchi language|Kutchi]], [[English language|English]], [[Telugu language|Telugu]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[French language|French]], [[Malagasy language|Malagasy]], [[Hindi]], [[Languages of India]]<br />
| rels = [[Islam]], including [[Sunnism]], [[Shi'ism]] ([[Isma'ilism]]/[[Dawoodi Bohra|Bohra]])<br />
| related-c = [[Overseas Indians]]<br />
| native_name = <br />
| native_name_lang = <br />
| related_groups = <br />
}}<br />
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The so-called '''<nowiki/>'Karana''' or '''Karane'''' are a generally Muslim racial group in [[Madagascar]] with a long history on the island. A large proportion of them arrived on the north-west port of [[Mahajanga]] in the early 1880s.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Amungo |first=Ebimo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yxDUDwAAQBAJ&dq=Sindhis+in+Madagascar&pg=PA71 |title=The Rise of the African Multinational Enterprise (AMNE): The Lions Accelerating the Development of Africa |date=2020-03-02 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-3-030-33096-5 |pages=71 |language=en}}</ref> <br />
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The Malagasy term Karana mainly refers to '''[[Khoja]]''' (a Muslim tribe which was once based on the Indian subcontinent) families on the island who play a leading role in the Madagascar business sector. {{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} The term does, however, sometimes include Indian and occasionally even Pakistani (extremely few in number) families though the Khoja make up the sizeable majority. {{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} Though they have contributed greatly to the nation's development, unlike their counterparts, the '''[[Al-Lawatia]]''' in Oman, they do not enjoy the same level of acceptance and freedom with kidnappings rife and a lack of acceptance into the institution both politically and otherwise.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Madagascar : énième kidnapping de "karana" à Antananarivo |url=https://www.linfo.re/ocean-indien/madagascar/madagascar-enieme-kidnapping-de-karana-a-antananarivo |access-date=2024-06-08 |website=Linfo.re}}</ref> <br />
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Estimates of Karana population is 400,000.<ref name=":0" /> The group migrated from the Indian subcontinent somewhere between five and fifteen generations ago, spearheaded by the [[Khoja|Khoja tribe]] with many Indians joining alongside. {{Citation needed|date=February 2026}}<br />
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Among those that are commonly referred on to as ''''Indians in Madagascar'''<nowiki/>' today, are 867 non-resident Indians, with the rest most probably being those locally-born descendants of early immigrants [[Khoja|Khojas]] or Indians.<ref name="Singhvi" /><ref>{{harvnb|A.|2001}}</ref> They form a minority [[ethnic groups of Madagascar|ethnic group in Madagascar]].<br />
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==History==<br />
By the 1780s, a community of roughly 200 Indian traders had formed at [[Mahajanga]], a port on the north-west coast of [[Madagascar]], near [[Bombetoka Bay]] at the mouth of the [[Betsiboka River]]. Confusion arose over their legal status; they often declared themselves to be Malagasy subjects in order to evade the laws against slave-holding or the building of stone houses, both forbidden to British subjects, while their ''[[dhow]]s'', which they used to transport goods to and from the African mainland, [[flag of convenience|flew French flags]].<ref>{{harvnb|Oliver|1885|pp=115, 206}}</ref> French [[Khoja]] families today come from once Madagascar-based communities when the nation was part of the French Empire and those under it French citizens. <br />
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In fact, even those families still based in Madagascar today are almost all French with links between the two still intact and regular travel between the French republic and the [[Madagascar|Great Red Island]] occurring due to business interests and education amongst other factors. {{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} It is not uncommon for a [[French people|Frenchman]] of Khoja ethnicity to view Madagascar as the 'land of his ancestors'. {{Citation needed|date=February 2026}}<br />
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Initial arrivals to the island were mainly Muslim [[Twelver Shi'ism|Twelver]] [[Khoja#Khoja_communities|Khojas]], Ismailis and [[Dawoodi Bohra|Daoudi Bohras]], with some Hindus settling later.<ref>{{harvnb|Singhvi|2000|p=105}}</ref> The 1911 census found 4,480 Indians in the country, making them 21% of the total foreign population and the second-largest foreign population after the French.<ref>{{harvnb|Martin|1916|p=906}}</ref> Following the nationalisation of private businesses in the 1970s, many were compelled to leave; those who remained were largely uneducated, but stayed on and gradually built their businesses. By 2000, they were generally believed to control 50-60% of the country's economy, making them the target of demonstrators during periods of unrest.<ref>{{harvnb|Singhvi|2000|p=106}}</ref><br />
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==Business==<br />
Financial interests of the community on the island are diversified. Businessmen [[:fr:Ylias_Akbaraly|Ylias Akbaraly]] and [[Hassanein Hiridjee]] are members of this community. <br />
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==See also==<br />
{{Portal|India|Madagascar<br />
}}<br />
*[[Chinese people in Madagascar]]<br />
*[[Hinduism in Madagascar]]<br />
*[[Islam in Madagascar]]<br />
*[[Demographics of Madagascar]]<br />
*[[India–Madagascar relations]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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==Sources==<br />
*{{citation|title=A vibrant minority: The Chinese and Indians, who make up a tiny minority in Madagascar, are doing very well for themselves|last=A.|first=Kathirasen|periodical=New Straits Times|publication-place=Singapore|date=2001-07-31|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-82613088.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022025533/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-82613088.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-10-22|access-date=2008-10-28}}<br />
*{{citation|chapter=Madagascar|title=The Statesman's Year-book: The Statesman's Year-book: Statistical and Historical Annual of the States of the World for the Year 1916|pages=905–908|publisher=St. Martin's Press|year=1916|last=Martin|first=Frederick}}<br />
*{{citation|title=The True Story of the French Dispute in Madagascar|last=Oliver|first=Samuel Pasfield|author-link=Samuel Pasfield Oliver|year=1885|publisher=Unwin}}<br />
*{{citation|last=Singhvi |first=L. M. |chapter=Other Countries of Africa |pages=89–109 |title=Report of the High Level Committee on the Indian Diaspora |publisher=Ministry of External Affairs |publication-place=New Delhi |url=http://indiandiaspora.nic.in/diasporapdf/chapter8.pdf |year=2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206063957/http://indiandiaspora.nic.in/diasporapdf/chapter8.pdf |archive-date=2012-02-06 }}<br />
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==Further reading==<br />
*{{citation|chapter=The Chinese and the Indians|pages=26–44|title=The Great Red Island: A Biography of Madagascar|last=Stratton|first=Arthur|publisher=Scribner|year=1964|oclc=1670237}}<br />
*{{citation|title=Karana Et Banians: Les Communautes Commercantes D'Origine Indienne A Madagascar|last=Blanchy|first=Sophie|publisher=Harmattan|date=2004-01-22|isbn=978-2-7384-2656-7}}<br />
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{{Ethnic groups of Madagascar}}<br />
{{Indian diaspora}}<br />
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[[Category:Ethnic groups in Madagascar]]<br />
[[Category:Malagasy people of Indian descent]]<br />
[[Category:Indian diaspora by country|Madagascar]]<br />
[[Category:Indian diaspora in Africa]]</div>KatherinDenmark