to precedents in policy and practice, set by
the Indian Government. They also looked to
India for human resources, including when
Commissioner Sir Harry Johnston (1891-1897),
sought the assistance of Indian soldiers and
policemen (from the Sikh community) to fi ght
against resisting Yao and Arab slave traders in
Malawi. The presence of Indians in the Malawi
Police and Civil Service (working as clerks,
hospital assistants, and surveyors, among other
jobs) attracted more Indian traders (mostly
Gujarati-speaking) into the country, as they saw
the potential of serving the needs of both the
Indian and African populations. Many Indians
migrated freely, under the terms of ‘free’
migration within the British Empire, which
were in place up to the early 1960s. Sir Harry
Johnston also deliberately encouraged Indian
migration into Malawi, as he had envisaged that
the Indian migrants would provide the much-
needed labour and economic development of
Malawi. He considered the Indians to be more
advanced than the Africans, which could have
cemented his vision of a multi-racial society –
‘ruled by Whites, developed by Indians, and
worked by Blacks’.
Through such deliberate policies, the
population of Indians in the country continued
to rise steadily, stretching from about 250
in 1900 to as high as 3,000 in 1945. By
the early 1960s, following a significant
boom in Malawi’s economy, the number of
Indians in the country was more than that of
Europeans, with a registered high of 10,630
Indians in 1961, as compared to 8,750
Europeans in the same year. Many of the
Indian traders joined the Nyasaland Indian
Traders Association (NITA), established
in 1923, which later became the Indian
Chamber of Commerce (ICC), in 1936. They
operated businesses (in small trading centers
and urban areas) ranging from transport and
communications; wholesale trade; retail
trade; and manufacturing and repair services,
among others. In such businesses, they not
only stocked and sold manufactured goods to
Malawians, but they also provided the much-
needed employment to many Malawians,
many of whom were expected to raise money
to pay for the hut and poll taxes demanded by
As Malawi gained
independence in
July 1964, India
was one of the
fi rst countries to
open diplomatic
relations with the
newly independent
country. In 1966, the
Malawi Government
extended
employment
opportunities to
Indians in the
country and those
based in Kenya, to
work on the Malawi
Railways project.
the colonial government. That arrangement
allowed Malawians to escape the rigours of
migrating to work in the mines of Rhodesia
and South Africa.
As the fi ght for independence in Malawi
ensued in the late 1950s and early 1960s,
the Indian community also played a very
important role. As Indian nationalist leaders,
such as Mahatma Gandhi (Indian National
Congress) and Muhammad Ali Jinnah (The
Muslim League), agitated for political change
in India, they helped to inculcate the same
spirit in Malawian nationalist leaders. Many
were drawn to the philosophy of Satyagraha
(Truth Force), in which Gandhi advocated for
peaceful resistance, rather than a full-blown
armed struggle. Some prominent Indians in
Malawi were also part of the ‘Central African
Asian Conference’, formed in the early 1950s,
to oppose the establishment of the Central
African Federation (CAF), 1953-1963. When
the Federation was launched, they advocated
for more political and socio-economic rights
for the Indian community. The Indians who
were incorporated in the Nyasaland Legislative
Council in the 1950s also supported Malawian
nationalists, arguing that it was the moral right
of the Africans to demand self-rule. The Offi ce
of the Indian High Commissioner in Salisbury
(headquarters of CAF), openly urged all Indians
to support African nationalism, arguing that as
India gained independence (1947), the Africans
also deserved to be independent. The Offi ce
also granted scholarships to African students
to study in India, many of whom came back
to participate in the nationalist struggle and
later in the economic development of their
countries. In Malawi, the Indian community
pledged total support to the nationalist leaders
in the Constitutional Talks between the British
Government and the leadership of the Malawi
Congress Party (MCP) in the early 1960s. In
the 1960s, Mr. Sattar Sacranie also served as
the Legal Advisor of the MCP.
As Malawi gained independence in July
1964, India was one of the first countries
to open diplomatic relations with the
newly independent country. In 1966, the
Malawi Government extended employment
opportunities to Indians in the country
2019 • INDIA-MALAWI • 23