South Asians in Kenya

It is hardly every day that Pakistanis and Indians are honoured for some of their shared ancestry and heritage in any corner of the globe. Their sense of division is otherwise so strong and fed by decades of distrust that it is downright impossible to lump them together anywhere without arousing a howl of protest. On July 22nd, the East African nation of Kenya conferred a unique status upon all its citizens of Indo-Pakistani origin. And the move appears to have caught the governments of Pakistan and India completely off guard, considering their lack of response. On that count many of the self-appointed groups in either country that zealously guard the national interests also missed the news. The South Asians of Kenya have served as model citizens and played a key role in setting up learning and health institutions.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has proclaimed citizens of Indo-Pakistani origin as his country’s 44th tribe — although it is not fully clear how that would change their constitutionally-guaranteed rights in Kenya. Members of the Asian community, as Kenyans of South Asia were previously called, have been living in East Africa since the late 19th century and some even before that. Eight years ago, census takers in Kenya recorded that there were 46,000 people of South Asian origin. Another 35,000 of these Asians are thought to be without citizenship for reasons best known to the authorities there. Gaining the status of an official tribe seems to be a largely ceremonial act that will make little or no material difference to its holder in the long run. But it does raise the hope that the stateless among them would be entitled to the same rights and responsibilities as other citizens. Piecemeal though it may be, the South Asian community members have a reason to celebrate: they can’t be discriminated against and intimidated or excluded, as correctly observed by the country’s interior cabinet secretary. Of course, Kenyatta’s decision can be seen as motivated by next month’s general election. Let’s not begrudge him for that though.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 24^th, 2017.

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