Why Karnataka is Focusing on Siddi Athletes

The Siddi youth were a picture of concentration and soon, trails of sweat flowed down their faces.
| Photo Credit:
Sudhakara Jain/The Hindu
According to Nagarathna K.M., Deputy Director of DYES, Vidyanagar in Bengaluru currently has 25 Siddi boys and 14 Siddi girls undergoing training. Of these trainees, six are athletes, while the remaining 34 are novice boxers. “We hope that with DYES support, these children will secure government jobs through sports quotas, achieve national recognition, and serve as role models for their community,” said Nagarathna.Three sports hostels—in Bengaluru, Uttara Kannada, and Chamarajanagar districts—receive annual funding of approximately Rs.1.5 crores through this scheme. The Chamarajanagar hostel offers training in fencing and does not include any Siddis, whereas the hostels in Bengaluru (boxing and athletics) and the Uttara Kannada (wrestling) predominantly consist of Siddi youth, with Bengaluru hosting just one non-Siddi tribal trainee among the boxers.

Siddis have ‘unique advantages in sports’

While numerous tribal communities exist in Karnataka, the significant proportion of Siddis among selected athletes reflects a longstanding belief that members of this African-Indian diaspora make for great athletes and sportspersons. Boxing coach Dhanasanjayan illustrated this by pointing to a six-foot metal fence, explaining, “In my experience, Siddis are physically fitter. When asked to scale this fence, they swiftly leaped across, while other trainees found it challenging”. His coaching has proven fruitful, with several young Siddis winning medals in state-level boxing championships.Maryani arrived at this sports training centre in 2022 after being identified as a promising boxing talent. He was part of the initial cohort of Siddi youth supported by DYES through a scheme aimed at identifying athletic talent among tribal communities in Karnataka (the Siddis are recognised as a Scheduled Tribe in Karnataka). This scheme was funded by the Tribal Sub Plan, mandated by the Karnataka government to ensure departments allocate budget shares proportionate to the tribal population. Since tribals represent nearly seven per cent of Karnataka’s population, seven per cent of each department’s budget is exclusively reserved for tribal communities.Nevertheless, a senior athletics coach based in Bengaluru, who requested anonymity and is familiar with the DYES scheme, raised a pertinent question: “Why are only Siddis selected for this scheme when it is meant for all tribals? Karnataka has 50 communities recognised as Scheduled Tribes. Has the department conducted any scientific tests or pilot studies demonstrating that Siddis possess special physical advantages? There’s no justification for exclusively privileging Siddis, he said.Although this initiative was inexplicably discontinued after a few years, several Siddi athletes achieved prominence, with some even competing internationally for India. Kamala Mingel Siddi, a beneficiary of the 1989 scheme, represented India in three South Asian Federation (SAF) Games (now the South Asian Games). Other Siddi sportspersons from that period secured government jobs through sports quotas. More recently, the Siddi community’s inclination towards sports has continued, resulting in accolades in wrestling, kabaddi, and boxing. For instance, Sushil Kambrekar, a Siddi from Haliyal, was selected last year by the pro-Kabaddi team Bengal Warriors.

Samantha Saver Siddi, 17, from Ugginakere village in Mundgod taluk, considered by Dhanasanjayan as the best female boxer, shared her experience: “When I first arrived here, I missed my family and our traditional food, which includes a lot of meat, seafood, and even a special red ant chutney. But now I’m accustomed to the food provided here, especially since we get chicken and eggs daily.” The communal housing arrangement has further fostered their orientation and enthusiasm for prolonged training in Bengaluru.

Inside, two boxing rings occupied the centre, with a row of punching bags lining one wall. The teenagers, aged between 14 and 19, formed two separate lines—one for boys and the other for girls—as Dhanasanjayan initiated their warm-up exercises. They jogged on the spot, stretched, did push-ups, jumped, and in one exercise, adopted a boxer’s stance, jabbing the air in front of them. Focused and disciplined, they soon had sweat streaming down their faces. After warming up, the trainees moved to the corners of the warehouse, quickly pulling on red and navy-blue boxing gloves and placing transparent gumshields in their mouths. Equipped and ready, they paired off; some headed to the punching bags, others stepped into the rings.

Dhanasanjayan entered the practice ring where Nikhil Maryani, (Right, wearing red headgear) 18, from Vagginakere village of Mundgod taluk in Uttara Kannada district, was already eyeing his opponent, Steevan Salgatti, also 18, from the village of Tottilagundi in Yellapur taluk in Uttara Kannada district. 
| Photo Credit:
Sudhakara Jain/The Hindu

History of the African diaspora in India

While numerous tribal communities exist in Karnataka, the significant proportion of Siddis among selected athletes reflects a longstanding belief that members of this African-Indian diaspora make for great athletes and sportspersons.
| Photo Credit:
Sudhakara Jain/The Hindu
When Siddi boxers initially arrived in Bengaluru, other sporty teenagers residing at SJNNYTC often called them “Africans”. “They were surprised when we spoke Kannada, but they quickly became our friends upon realising we were also from Karnataka,” said Rohan Mohan Siddi, 18, from Yellapur. Although the SJNNYTC campus provides schooling, senior trainees enrolled in Pre-University College (11th and 12th standard) attend classes at a nearby government college, where Rohan encountered curious questions about his racial background.Over the past three years, Dhanasanjayan, who represented India internationally in boxing during the late 1980s and early 1990s, has regularly visited schools in the Yellapur, Haliyal, and Mundgod taluks of the Uttara Kannada district to identify promising Siddi youth for training in Bengaluru. While satisfied with his selections, he noted that many talented Siddis prefer wrestling, as the Haliyal sports hostel offering wrestling is closer to their villages.

This initial surprise and fascination regarding African-looking Indians are understandable yet reflect ignorance about India’s extensive African diaspora history. The term “Siddi”, used to describe Africans in India, is believed to be derived from “Sayyid”, which means “master” or “lord”, highlighting the influence of Muslim culture in the migration of Africans to India. Historical accounts suggest that the name could have been derived from the title borne by Arab captains (sayyids) of vessels that brought Africans to India, either as slaves, soldiers, or merchants. Another theory links “Siddi” to sahibi, an Arabic term of respect used in North Africa. Some historians are of the opinion that it is inaccurate to describe all African migration to India as a consequence of the slave trade as, throughout history, free merchants also travelled to the subcontinent from Africa along established routes in the Indian Ocean.

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Sports schemes: Successes and questions

A few minutes before 4:30 pm, on March 11, a group of Siddi youth residing at the sports hostel of the Sri Jayaprakash Narayan National Youth Training Centre (SJNNYTC) in Vidyanagar, north Bengaluru, sauntered toward a large building resembling a warehouse. They had strolled over from their nearby hostels, situated within the expansive sports campus operated by the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES), Karnataka government. The youth, all hailing from Uttara Kannada district and belonging to an ethnic community descended from India’s historical African diaspora, stood grouped together, awaiting their coach. Precisely at 4:30 pm, coach Dhanasanjayan B. arrived, and the group promptly followed him into the warehouse.

For centuries, the Siddi community remained isolated in remote hamlets in the jungles of Uttara Kannada, leading to significant marginalisation. However, their athletic talents have offered avenues of success. The current DYES scheme is not unprecedented; in 1988, the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports launched a Special Area Games (SAG) scheme for Siddis, selecting 65 athletes in two batches for training in Bengaluru.

Also Read | Wrestlers’ protest: Hanging on in troubled hunt for justiceAs the Karnataka government advances this current initiative for Siddis, it would be prudent to revisit the reasons behind the failure of the 1988 scheme. One reason cited in the 1990s was that Siddis experienced cultural alienation upon relocation to Bengaluru. However, interactions with Siddi youth at SJNNYTC indicate that cultural alienation is no longer a significant issue.Many of the people who arrived in India came from East Africa and they served as soldiers in various Muslim and Hindu kingdoms across the subcontinent. They achieved upward social mobility over the years, married local women, and gradually integrated more deeply into Indian society with each generation. The Habshi Sultans of Bengal (1486–1493 CE) were of African origin, but the greatest influence of Siddis was felt in the Deccan, where high-ranking Africans served prominently in the courts of the Bahmani, Ahmednagar, Bijapur, and Golconda Sultanates.With the establishment of the Portuguese Asian Empire in the 16th century, the region of present-day Mozambique became another significant source of slaves to India. Gwyn Campbell, a historian of the Indian Ocean, writes that “it is probable that the cumulative number of African slaves to Asian markets over the centuries well exceeded the 10 to 12 million landed in the Americas.” According to oral accounts, Siddis in the Uttara Kannada region (located just south of Goa, a Portuguese colony for over five centuries) migrated there seeking safety from persecution. They have since lived in villages adjacent to dense forests. Karnataka’s Siddis are religiously diverse, reflected among the boxing trainees who include Christians, Hindus, and Muslims, conversing in a dialect that Maryani described as a blend of Konkani, Hindi, and Marathi. Dhanasanjayan entered one practice ring, where Nikhil Maryani, 18, from Vagginakere village in Mundgod taluk of Uttara Kannada district, was already eyeing his opponent, Steevan Salgatti, also 18, from Tottilagundi village in Yellapur taluk, Uttara Kannada district. The two boxers briefly bumped gloved fists before the whistle signalled the start of their sparring. They weaved, ducked, and launched strategic punches while Dhanasanjayan circled around, urging them on: “Have you seen Mohammed Ali’s punches? He was more than 100 kg but moved lightly on his feet and lasted 15 rounds!” After several intense minutes, both Maryani and Salgatti were drenched in sweat. Dhanasanjayan blew his whistle, stopping the vigorous match. “I want to win an Olympic gold medal for India in boxing,” Maryani told this correspondent, before striding over to a punching bag and fiercely striking it.