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In a first, India's mini African village in Gujarat to vote at special tribal booth

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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.

In a first, Indias mini African village in Gujarat to vote at special tribal booth

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.

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.

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