Next RAS Lecture - Thursday April 11th 6pm 'African Soldiers, Governors, Nawabs and Cultural Brokers in South Asia'

"Unlike African movement across the Atlantic, the easterly migration of Africans to Asia has been far less recognised. African traders and missionaries moved voluntarily to Asia.  Free movement of Africans did not stop whilst the slave trade moved Africans involuntarily. African soldiers were a valuable asset in South Asia.  From being palace guards and elite slaves, Africans rose to positions of authority and even governed parts of India.  Through their strategic capabilities and democratic system of electing leaders based on ability rather than purely on heredity, Africans entrenched power and ruled, until India’s independence,  the States of Sachin (for over hundred and fifty years) and Janjira (for three hundred and thirty years).  African elites lost political power but they still live in India.  Assimilation and marginalisation have made Africans invisible.  Their cultural traits have been transformed or lost, but their cultural memories are strong in music and dance,  codes and signifiers of their African heritage.  More importantly music and dance enable them to carve out a niche and negotiate a place for themselves in contemporary society."