INDIAN BUSINESSMEN IN KENYA DURING THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: A CASE STUDY

"No French Title"

John Irving Zarwan (1)

1 Yale University [New Haven]

Despite a fairly extensive secondary literature on Indians in . East Africa, there remains a number of significant gaps in our knowledge of their activities. In the most studied field, the political arena, internal. Indian politics, especially on the . caste/community level, have been totally ignored. Similarly, the economic role of Indians in East Africa has been presented only in the most general terms and we still do not have a clear understanding of the actual activities of individuals and their firms. There is a pressing need for specific studies. One of the more interesting and impotant phenomena of Indian behavior in East Africa is the relationship between social networks, in' particular those of caste and kin, and economic activities. To grasp better the nature of these linkages, the dissertation focuses on one caste, the Visa Oshwal Community in Kenya (popularly known as "Shahs"), as a case study, and within this community on two family groups. Asa micro-analysis, it is very much concerned with the activities and motivations of specific individuals. Using these two families as a starting point, I was able to "work outward" along kinship lines, including marriage, and contact every major commercial and industrial firm of the caste. In addition, interviews were One of the more interesting and impotant phenomena of Indian behavior in East Africa is the relationship between social networks, in' particular those of caste and kin, and economic activities. To grasp better the nature of these linkages, the dissertation focuses on one caste, the Visa Oshwal Community in Kenya (popularly known as "Shahs"), as a case study, and within this community on two family groups. Asa micro-analysis, it is very much concerned with the activities and motivations of specific individuals. Using these two families as a starting point, I was able to "work outward" along kinship lines, including marriage, and contact every major commercial and industrial firm of the caste. In addition, interviews wereconducted with a number of other people, primarily Indians, from many communities and occupations

"No French Abstract"

Mots clés: Indian

Mots clés: Kenya; Indiene

Domaines: Histoire; Philosophie

John Irving Zarwan. INDIAN BUSINESSMEN IN KENYA DURING THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: A CASE STUDY. History. Yale University, 1977. English. ⟨NNT : ⟩. ⟨tel-01259828⟩