04-20-2007, 07:42 AM
<b>Indian origins of Roma</b>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The Indian origin of the Roma, on one hand, was irrefutably established nearly two and a half centuries ago. On the other hand, we still do not know precisely when the Roma left India, why they left, or to which level of society they belonged. It is decidedly not simple to verify, but through the cooperation of linguists (experts in Indic languages in their various stages of development and, of course, experts in Romani), historians (and those include specialists in Indian history as well as Persian, Byzantine and Arabic history), ethnologists and others, it might be possible to arrive at a conclusion which comes as close as possible to the truth.
<b>Although specialists have known for a long time where the Roma come from, this fact has not yet penetrated into the general consciousness. Even many Roma have not had the opportunity of learning (e.g., in school) about their land of origin.</b> In popular-science literature half truths are still passed on about how Roma belonged to the lowest, "untouchable" castes on Indian soil. That statement does not take into account the length of Indian history, in which today's "untouchables" formerly belonged to the co-creators of an advanced civilisation. Only after they were gradually subjugated by "Aryan" Indo-Europeans, did they, as defeated people, find themselves on the edge of society. <b>Exactly because the pre-history of the Roma has not been properly evaluated, some Roma deny that India is their land of origin and look for their origin, e.g. in Palestine, in Egypt, etc. </b>On the other hand, <b>there are more Roma who find in their Indian origin one of their sources of national pride</b>. One of these, for example, is the Russian Roma poet (born in Latvia) Leksa Manush. He wrote a paraphrase of one of the two oldest Indian epic poems, "Ramajanam". Naturally even Roma historians such as the above-mentioned Ian Hancock, the late BartolomÄj Daniel or Jana Horváthová and others are aware of the Indian origin of Roma and try to contribute to filling in the picture of "Indian" Roma history.
In India there is a very strong interest in Roma. In the capital of the state of Punjab, Chandigarh, a Roma centre has been functioning for the past 70 years. It was originally founded by politician and diplomat W.R. Rishi. It publishes the magazine "Roma" and Roma literature. It published, for example, Manush's modern version of "Ramajanam".
On Indian soil there have been international Roma cultural festivals. One of them took place in Chandigarh in 1993. It was addressed by the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi.
A good understanding of Indian culture and history can contribute to the national pride of the Roma.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The Indian origin of the Roma, on one hand, was irrefutably established nearly two and a half centuries ago. On the other hand, we still do not know precisely when the Roma left India, why they left, or to which level of society they belonged. It is decidedly not simple to verify, but through the cooperation of linguists (experts in Indic languages in their various stages of development and, of course, experts in Romani), historians (and those include specialists in Indian history as well as Persian, Byzantine and Arabic history), ethnologists and others, it might be possible to arrive at a conclusion which comes as close as possible to the truth.
<b>Although specialists have known for a long time where the Roma come from, this fact has not yet penetrated into the general consciousness. Even many Roma have not had the opportunity of learning (e.g., in school) about their land of origin.</b> In popular-science literature half truths are still passed on about how Roma belonged to the lowest, "untouchable" castes on Indian soil. That statement does not take into account the length of Indian history, in which today's "untouchables" formerly belonged to the co-creators of an advanced civilisation. Only after they were gradually subjugated by "Aryan" Indo-Europeans, did they, as defeated people, find themselves on the edge of society. <b>Exactly because the pre-history of the Roma has not been properly evaluated, some Roma deny that India is their land of origin and look for their origin, e.g. in Palestine, in Egypt, etc. </b>On the other hand, <b>there are more Roma who find in their Indian origin one of their sources of national pride</b>. One of these, for example, is the Russian Roma poet (born in Latvia) Leksa Manush. He wrote a paraphrase of one of the two oldest Indian epic poems, "Ramajanam". Naturally even Roma historians such as the above-mentioned Ian Hancock, the late BartolomÄj Daniel or Jana Horváthová and others are aware of the Indian origin of Roma and try to contribute to filling in the picture of "Indian" Roma history.
In India there is a very strong interest in Roma. In the capital of the state of Punjab, Chandigarh, a Roma centre has been functioning for the past 70 years. It was originally founded by politician and diplomat W.R. Rishi. It publishes the magazine "Roma" and Roma literature. It published, for example, Manush's modern version of "Ramajanam".
On Indian soil there have been international Roma cultural festivals. One of them took place in Chandigarh in 1993. It was addressed by the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi.
A good understanding of Indian culture and history can contribute to the national pride of the Roma.
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