Siddi

Siddi, Sheedi
	Siddi community in India
Total population
	1,300,000 (estimated)[citation needed]
Regions with significant populations
Pakistan	250,000 to 1 million
India	25,000–70,000
Karnataka	10,477 (2011 census)
Gujarat	8,661
Daman and Diu	193
Goa	183
Languages
	Sidi language (historically); Balochi (Makrani dialect), Sindhi, Gujarati, Marathi, Konkani, Kannada, Swahili, Telugu, Urdu, Hindi, English
Religion
	Predominantly: Sunni Islam; minority: Hinduism, Christianity (Catholic)

The Siddi (pronounced [sɪdːiː]), also known as the Sheedi, Sidi, or Siddhi, are an ethnic minority group inhabiting Pakistan and India. They are primarily descended from the Bantu peoples of the Zanj coast in Southeast Africa, most of whom came to the Indian subcontinent through the Arab Slave Trade.^[6] Others arrived as merchants, sailors, indentured servants, and mercenaries.^[7]

^ "First African-Pakistani Lawmaker Fights to Claim Power". 2 September 2020.
^ "Sheedis in Pakistan". 16 October 2023.
^ Paracha, Nadeem (26 August 2018), "Smokers' corner: Sindh's African roots ", Dawn.
^ "The Siddis: Discovering India's little known African-origin community". The New Indian Express. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "A-11 Individual Scheduled Tribe Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix". Census of India 2011. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
^ Ewald, Janet (November 2008). "No Objection to a Wandering Unsettled Life:" Bondsmen and Freedmen in the Ports and at Sea of the Indian Ocean World, c. 1500-1900" (PDF). 10th Annual Gilder Lehrman Center International Conference, Yale University.
^ Cite error: The named reference Shah was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1] "First African-Pakistani Lawmaker Fights to Claim Power". 2 September 2020.

[2] "Sheedis in Pakistan". 16 October 2023.

[dawn.com-3] Paracha, Nadeem (26 August 2018), "Smokers' corner: Sindh's African roots ", Dawn.

[newexpress2018-4] "The Siddis: Discovering India's little known African-origin community". The New Indian Express. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2021.

[Census2011-5] "A-11 Individual Scheduled Tribe Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix". Census of India 2011. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 24 March 2017.

[6] Ewald, Janet (November 2008). "No Objection to a Wandering Unsettled Life:" Bondsmen and Freedmen in the Ports and at Sea of the Indian Ocean World, c. 1500-1900" (PDF). 10th Annual Gilder Lehrman Center International Conference, Yale University.

[Shah-7] Cite error: The named reference Shah was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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Total population
Siddi community in India
1,300,000 (estimated)^{[citation needed]}
Regions with significant populations
Pakistan	250,000 to 1 million^[1]^[2]^[3]
India	25,000–70,000^[4]
Karnataka	10,477 (2011 census)^[5]
Gujarat	8,661^[5]
Daman and Diu	193^[5]
Goa	183^[5]
Languages
Sidi language (historically) Balochi (Makrani dialect), Sindhi, Gujarati, Marathi, Konkani, Kannada, Swahili, Telugu, Urdu, Hindi, English
Religion
Predominantly: Sunni Islam; minority: Hinduism, Christianity (Catholic)