India’s Engagement With A Resurgent Africa: Amb. H.H.S.Viswanathan

Lecture at Central University of Jharkhand
By Amb. H.H.S.Viswanathan
7 September, 2010

Historical links
India and the African continent have been linked for centuries through trade, commerce and travel across the Indian Ocean. There are historical evidences of well-established Indian settlements in the coastal regions of Africa and some Indian connections even in the hinterland. Many Indian plants are of African origin, millet being the prime example of a crop which travelled all the way from West Africa to India. The great Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama took the help of two Indian sailors in his first and subsequent voyages to navigate him from East Africa to Calicut.

With the advent of Colonialism, the traditional trade was disrupted. However, contacts continued to flourish through other ways. Indians were taken in large numbers to the new colonies to work on the plantations, for the construction of the Kenya-Uganda railway and as subordinate staff in the colonial administration. Today there is a very large Indian diaspora in Africa of about 24 million ie. more than 2million. Some Indian enterprises have been there for a very long time, like the Chellarams in Nigeria started their business in 1923.

Prospects and challenges for a resurgent Africa- Amb.H.H.S.Viswanathan

Prospects and challenges for a resurgent AfricaLecture at Ranchi University by Amb.H.H.S.Viswanathan.
6,September,2010

Image of Africa in the past

Africa has been in the news in a very positive way in June and July this year because of the FIFA World Cup. It was a proud moment for Africa for having organized one of the best, if not the best ever, World Cup. Players like Drogba and Gyan became household names. We marveled at the meticulous organization of the event. But Africa, unfortunately, has not been getting such positive coverage traditionally. In fact, the awareness about Africa is both low and distorted. It is depicted as a Continent of war, disease and poverty with no hope of progress. Hardly any of the success stories of Africa would be reported. It is true that Africa, as a continent, has had more than its share of misfortunes. There have been historical reasons for this. Today, we see a new resurgent Africa. In my presentation, I will go into both these aspects.