Bengaluru, July 23, 2020: The Siddi community, India’s little known African-origin tribe, got its first lawmaker on July 23.
Shantharama Budna Siddi was among five people nominated to the Karnataka Legislative Council by Governor Vajubhai Vala.
The Siddis are said to have descended from the people of the East African region. They are included in the list of Scheduled Tribes (ST) in Karnataka.
They are spread along the coast of Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Their main population is, however, concentrated in Junagadh district of Gujarat. With an estimated population of 50,000-60,000, they are mostly practicing Muslims, although those in Karnataka are Catholics.
According to news agency ANI, Shantharama Siddi had been working as a social worker and was a post holder at the Vanavasi Kalyan Prakalpa, a tribal welfare initiative of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He is also a graduate from Hitalahalli, a village situated between Sirsi town and Yellapur in Uttara Kannada district.
Along with Shantharama, CP Yogishwar, Adagur H Vishwanath, Talwar Sabanna and Bharathi Shetty have also been nominated to the Upper House in the state.
Yogishwar had left Congress to join BJP in 2017 but failed to retain his seat in the 2018 Assembly polls, similarly, Adagur H Vishwanath had quit JDS and joined BJP but lost his seat.
Siddi community
An isolated and reclusive community, the Siddis are believed to the descendants of the Bantu people in East Africa. The Siddi community is mainly agriculture-dependent, although it’s hard to find many landowners; most of them work as laborers in the fields instead.
Largely ignored by the government and hardly known by their fellow countrymen, their socio-economic condition is poor and those migrate to bigger towns or cities find odd jobs.
https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/karnataka-siddi-community-indias-little-known-african-origin-tribe-gets-its-first-lawmaker/625759