Introduction

Summary

Among South Asian merchants and businessmen dispersed across the world, the Sindhis are probably the most ubiquitous, if not the most conspicuous. They are found in the main tourist destinations as well as in the major business centres. In the Canary Islands, which attract tourists from all over Europe, they own hundreds of bazaars in which they sell cheap electronic goods imported from the Far East as well as souvenirs. In Nigeria, they control a fair share of the country's supermarkets and have a stake in the textile and other manufacturing industries. In Hong Kong and Singapore, in spite of the Chinese domination of business, they are actively engaged in the import-export trade. In the United Kingdom, some of the richest Asian business families, whose rise has attracted considerable attention, belong to this group. There are few countries of the world where one does not come across some traders from that community. Their origins as well as the precise nature of their activities remain, however, somewhat mysterious, and they generally adopt a low profile; the expanding literature on the South Asian diaspora generally has little to say about them. And yet their business acumen is legendary, and in India they have a well-established reputation as shrewd operators.

They are Hindu, but hail from a region which is now part of Pakistan.