Indian South Africans: Challenges of Cultural Identity in South Africa

The Indian population in South Africa formed a distinctive quality of diaspora in their host land country. First appears in the Colony of Natal as slaves, but now many Indians hold important positions in the field of politics, the business, the community organizations and different professions. However, the integration of Indian South Africans is still not successful in the South African Society because of their distinctive cultural identity and specific characteristics for which they are easily not accepted as the citizen of the South African country by the indigenous African Blacks. Indian South Africans saw as exclusive diaspora particularly in regard to their habits, customs, religions and as well as their higher standard of educational qualifications and their significant economic status. The indigenous Africans black peoples see Indian origin peoples with great suspicion and disbelief not only for their thought about the Indians that they were beneficiaries of the apartheid discriminatory policies and do not want to integrate but also for their different cultural identity which makes exclusive as compare to indigenous African blacks. Nevertheless, the uncertainty about the future of the Indians still exists even after the establishment of democracy in the country.