Karana

The Karana or Karanes" (of Quran , the Coran) of the Indo-Pakistani is emigrated with Madagascar at the end of the 17th century. The majority are Shiite.

See too

Banians
Khoja
Agakhan ismaélien
Bhora
Demography of Madagascar

The Indian minority of Madagascar

On a total population currently estimated at more than seventeen million inhabitants, Madagascar counts less than fifteen thousand people of Indian origin. It is a very small minority of number, corresponding to less 0,10 % of the total population of the country. But it is by its economic weight that it is pointed out. The majority of the members of this community has an industrial marketing activity or, more modest the most developed, and plays a big role in the economy of the country (it contributes for a third of the Malagasy GDP). The population of Indian origin of Madagascar has a history completely different from that of the Meeting. On our island, in addition to the first brought Indian women of Goa who were at the origin of the settlement of the Meeting, the colonists recruited Indian slaves throughout S. It is as from 1848, with the engagism which the largest quota of Indians arrives at the Meeting. These Indiens volunteers are in fact of the disguised slaves. Another settlement of Indians on our island was done since Gujrât with some individuals at the 19th century, and amplified by arrived the more of 1910 to 1915. The English colonization, which had as a consequence an impoverishment of India (unemployment, food shortage and famine), involves a voluntary emigration of the Indians in particular towards the islands of the Indian Ocean. The history of the community of Indian origin residing today at Madagascar thus starts really only at the 19th century, with the arrival of men alone, followed later their families, which gradually will fix themselves on the spot. Since their arrival, the colonial ones did not refuse to let spread an negative image of the Indians in Madagascar. The latter were shown to monopolize the trade at the expense of the inhabitant, although in many areas, the Madagascans are not tradesmen, and to drain the richness of the country to send it in India, whereas the majority of the Indians did not never set out again and reinvested their benefit on the spot. Before even the military conquest of Madagascar by the French, whereas protectorate was established since ten years, the glance carried by the future colonizers judged and evaluated the share taken by the Indians in the foreign trade of the island. The Directory of 1894 notes that in the west of Madagascar, the trade was between the hands of the only Indians. The traffic was considerable, in particular with the Eastern coast of Africa, and was done almost exclusively by boutres. In conclusion of its account of voyage to Madagascar in 1894, Martineau thus appreciated the role of the Indians in the trade of the island: “the Indians are widespread on all the coasts, except in the south which they did not penetrate yet. They are tradesmen skilful, sparing, alive of little; their establishments are in general prosperous and make a dangerous competition, sometimes mortal, with the similar establishments held by Europeans”. The colonial literature, in the form of reports of military or civil administrative rounds, commercial reports/ratios or simple relations of voyage, presents an image of the Indians: “Foreign certainly they were it and that one had a typified image of the cheating of this race whose Europeans were to be wary”. “Foreign finally, they were it less than the French newcomers, with respect to these Malagasy people of which they shared a good part of the daily life”. Industrial tribunal speaks about the Indians, many in the North-West as from these “abroad who for a long time succeeded in with to make admit in the sakalava family i.e. the people. They had been made accept while being made essential to the commercial exchanges”.

The Indians in Madagascar are designated by the term “Karana”. The use of this term is pejorative. It is perhaps even qualified insolate and of disrespectful. The denomination “Karana”, formerly written Karany comes from the term “Coran” (qur' ân, referring to the crowned Book of Islam because the majority of the Indians of Madagascar is of Moslem confession). The term “Indo-Pakistani” does not have anything reality because the Indians of Madagascar are all of Indian origin from a geographical, cultural, linguistic point of view and even history, since they are originating in the Indian State of Gujrât. Gujrât is the North-western area of the Indian sub-continent. This area is mainly made up by the peninsula of Kathiawar, directed south-western and delimited in north by the gulf of Kutch and in the south by the gulf of Cambay at the entry of which the town of Surat is.

The governments, the media, report today very little the discrimination whose is victim the Indian minority living in Madagascar. This community has been put at the index for several years. The Malagasy State, whatever the party in power, refuses nationality systematically to them even if they are installed in the Large island since several generations. The people of Indian origin of Madagascar are today victim many injustices so much in terms of integrations, of not allotted nationality, discriminations… . The legal status from abroad in Madagascar distinguishes three categories: not-immigrants (remaining in Madagascar since less than 3 months), immigrants (remaining for more than 3 months) and stateless people. The Indians of French nationality, Indian or others and the stateless people are in the two last categories, although native of the territory since several generations (the juice soli not being, as in France, a criterion of obtaining the nationality of the country). In all the cases the foreigners need a residence permit. The law on the foreigners regulates their community activities, prohibiting certain professions to them and the acquisition of immovable property without prior approval of the public authorities. This last provision was even reinforced in 1978 by a note prohibiting the abroads any acquisition of immovable property without possibility of exemption. The Indians must thus ask for the renewal of permit to them residence indefinitely, since their stay of more than three months it is all their life, of the birth death. However a certain number of them, foreign installed since generations, obtained a final residence permit. The Indians can also ask for their naturalization: it is granted by decision of the public authority. However the majority of those which constituted their request file of naturalization and answered the six required conditions, were not for as much allowed like Malagasy nationals. The fact of having maintained them in the statute from abroad, results in to lock up them in a logic and a commercial behavior from abroad, not being able to reinvest without risk in a country where they can be made exproprier of their temporary possessions and from where they can be made expel at any time. This community is often pointed finger to be used as scapegoats with misfortunes of the ones and others. Their goods are plundered at the time of the riots. For example, the riots of January 27th, 1994 which burst in Antsirabé, following a procession of high-school pupils. There is at once handling of the procession of students, plundering of the eternal scapegoats, like methods of another time, another political regime. The Indian families flee towards Tananarive where they take refuge. The assessment gives a report on several deaths and wounded. During last years, this community was also often victim of kidnapping. “Madagascar knew lately a recrudescence of kidnappings towards the Indian community, six in the two months space, with sometimes of the murders. And the children are now victims of these aggressions” reported a correspondent of RFI in Madagascar one year ago. The journalist quotes the example of a man of a score of years removed in company of his father in the streets of Tamatave, first port of the country on the east coast. The abduction is carried out by a handle of armed individuals. The attackers assassinated the father. Guns on the temple, the young Indian was taken along in a cushy job. The release was worthy of a television serial with payment of a ransom by the family. Many Indians were assassinated summarily and continue to be it today without nobody being worried some.

The Indian minority of Madagascar Article published in Testimonys on Wednesday, January 3, 2007 (page 11) URL: http://www.temoignages.re/article.php3?id_article=19545

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