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Panel

8. Negotiating Margins: Power, Agencies, Representations, Resistances

(In) the Text of Negotiation

2 - Long Histories, New Realities: Trans-regional Encounters and African Migrants in India

Friday, June 13, 2025
16:15 - 18:00 GMT
Location: LBD-Conseil

    Presenter(s)

  • AD

    Anwesha Das

    Srishti Manipal Institute of Art Design and Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India

Presentation Abstract
While on the one hand India facilitates the entry of the African Union in the G20 conclave, on the other, there are growing cases of Afrophobia and xenophobia towards African migrants in India. India is seen as a destination offering business opportunities, particularly in sectors like trade, retail, and small-scale enterprise, but the legal framework surrounding migration is often ambiguous, especially for African migrants. Nigerian migrants, specifically, are frequently depicted in media and public discourse as ‘illegal’, a stereotype that stems from their purported involvement in visa overstaying and association with criminal activities, such as drug trafficking or fraud. This constructed identity of the “illegal migrant” is often racialized and tied to broader issues of xenophobia, which exacerbates their marginalization. The discrimination against the African immigrants, often manifested as anti-black sentiments, highlights one aspect of this complex problem. Colourism, which privileges lighter skin tones over darker ones, is another pervasive form of discrimination within Indian society. Casteism, being deeply entrenched in Indian society, contributes to systemic discrimination and exclusion. Despite long histories of the ties between West Africa and India through trade since 11thcentury B.C., the new realities of marginalization in the everyday life of African immigrants call for a deeper analysis of causes. In this context, this paper proposes to analyse the Citizenship Amendment Act and immigration policies of India as agencies of power impacting trans-regional encounters between West Africa and India and suggest ways for social inclusion that can lead to transformation and social change.