In the 19th century enslaved Africans found a new life & a new identity due to their association with erstwhile Bombay.Rescued from slave ships that would brim with human cargo, men, women & children were hosted in orphanages in Bombay & received a new identity as Bombay Africans.
For hundreds of years slaves were brought & sold in Bombay.It was an important hub of the Indian ocean slave trade with captives brought into the city on Arab-owned dhows. A large part of them would be shipped to Malaysia, Indonesia & the Philippines to work in the plantations.
The inhuman living conditions meant that many ran away rather than lead a life of subjugation. Patrols set up by British administration apprehended any Black African if they were found in a group of more than two.
Zeeshan Shaikh in IE writes about Abdullah Susi, a close associate of explorer David Livingstone. In 1866, he accompanied Livingstone on his last journeys in East Africa. Later helped to carry Livingstone’s body to the East African coast in 1873. Many of the Bombay Africans played a major role in the expeditions of the Royal Geographical society, but very little is known about them.
We take help & forget our helpers. How often do we ask them their names?? Isn’t it time for us to look at them & be grateful to all the help they have given to us !!!
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