In a first, India's mini African village in Gujarat to vote at special tribal booth
Nestled 20 km from Gir Forest National Park, village 'Jambur' is is also known as 'mini Africa'. The community came to India from Africa in the 7th century and has since lived and taken up Indian and Gujarati traditions.
Ahmedabad, Dec 01: People from Jambur, also known as India's mini African village, are celebrating their first opportunity to vote in their own special tribal booth in the first phase of Gujarat polls. The state is going for polls in two phases - December 1 and December 5.
Rahman, a senior citizen of Jambur village, has expressed his happiness, saying that it is a matter of "great pleasure" for the community that the Election Commission has made a special booth for them to vote. "This is happening for the first time which makes us very happy. Our forefathers are from Africa and we came to India many years ago. When the fort was being built in Junagadh, our forefathers came here for work, First, we settled in Ratanpur village and then gradually settled in Jaanwar village. We have got the status of Siddhi tribal community," ANI quoted Rahman as saying.
Although their ancestors are from Africa, they follow Indian and Gujarati traditions.
"The village is situated in the middle of two rivers. Everyone lives together here. I am contesting elections from here for the third time. We want that we should also go to the assembly. We get rights so that we can do more good work. We are called Africa of India. We are known as Siddhi tribal community. The government keeps on giving help to the tribals, there is no problem in that, but our local community suffers here, we do not get that much of facilities," Abdul Maguj Bhai, who contested as an independent from Talala, told the news agency.
#Watch | People of Gujarat's mini African village- Jambur, celebrated their first opportunity to vote in their own special tribal booth (30.11)#GujaratElections pic.twitter.com/LFrG6q8ukT
— ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2022
He informs that farming is the main occupation of the tribes. "Apart from farming, the people of our community perform local Jus Siddhi tribal dance. The programs are performed at various places, wherever tourists come. This is also our source of income," he added.
In
the
Gujarat
2022
polls,
a
total
of
39
political
parties
are
contesting
and
a
total
of
788
candidates
including
718
male
candidates
and
70
women
candidates
are
in
the
fray.
As
many
as
2,39,76,670
voters,
including
1,24,33,362
males,
1,1,5,42,811
females
and
497
from
the
third
gender
are
eligible
to
vote
in
the
first
phase
of
Gujarat
polls.
Nestled
20
km
from
the
Gir
Forest
National
Park,
this
village
is
a
part
of
Junagadh
district.
The
community
is
believed
to
have
come
to
India
in
the
7th
century.