From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Asians in South Africa constitute 2 per cent of South Africa's population, and most are of Indian origin, although there is also a small Chinese community. Most are descended from indentured labourers who were brought by the British from India in the 19th century, mostly to work in what is now the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The rest are descended from Indian traders who migrated to South Africa at around the same time. The province's largest city, Durban, has the largest Asian population in sub-Saharan Africa, and the Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi worked as a lawyer in the city in the 1920s.
Most are either Hindu or Muslim, and while a few still speak Indian languages like Telugu and Gujarati, which have constitutional protection, most younger Indians speak English exclusively, and use Afrikaans as a second language.
Although Indian languages are seldom spoken or understood, English-subtitled Bollywood films and television programmes are popular among South African Indians. These are broadcast both by the South African Broadcasting Corporation's SABC 1 television channel for a few hours each week, and by the DStv satellite television service, which carries Zee TV, B4U and an Indian-language Sony channel. DVD and video versions of Bollywood films are widely available, and large movie theatre chains like Ster-Kinekor increasingly show Bollywood films.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) also has an Indian-oriented radio service called Lotus FM.
The much smaller Chinese community is mostly descended from migrant workers who came to work in the gold mines around Johannesburg in the late 19th century, although many were repatriated. More recently, there have been immigrants from Taiwan, with which South Africa maintained diplomatic relations. This caused difficulties for the apartheid regime, as Chinese South Africans were classified as 'Asian' and hence 'non-white', whereas Taiwanese Chinese, along with Japanese, were considered 'honorary white', and thus granted the same privileges as whites.Many Chinese South Africans dislike the label 'Asian', which they associate with being Indian or South Asian, and many have also emigrated to Canada, especially to Vancouver.
The "Cape Malays", who are descended -at least in part- from Asians were classified as "Coloureds" under apartheid.
See also: Demographics of South Africa, Culture of South Africa
