Colonial history has tied a number of African Indian Ocean Rim countries to the India sub-continent since the 16th Century. Mozambique was a staging post for the Portuguese in Goa and often used over stamped Indian rupees. The British East Africa Protectorate (now Kenya and parts of Uganda) was originally administered out of Bombay and Indian rupees were its currency from 1897-1920.ii Today rupees remain the currency of the Seychelles and Mauritius and a significant Indian diaspora lives along the coast of East and Southern Africa, particularly in Mauritius, Kenya and South Africa.iii India has its most comprehensive diplomatic presence in this part of Africa, with embassies or high commissions in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Seychelles, Madagascar and Mauritius.iv
This is an interesting paper. This development really is a question of form finally following substance. As indicated by the introduction, Indian ties to Africa date at least to the 16th century. The significance of this, however, goes well beyond the diplomatic presence highlighted in the opening paragraph. The Indian (and south Asian as a whole) population across the continent is huge and plays a tremendous role in nearly all aspects of life in the individual countries. In competition with China, it gives India a home team advantage the Chinese cannot match.

Best

Tom