The Roma Gypsies may very well turn out to be the first Indian immigrants to the West.

And what a journey it has been.

Historians agree that the Roma’s origins lie in north-west India and that their journey towards Europe started between the 3rd and 7th Centuries AD – a massive migration prompted by timeless reasons: conflicts, instability and the seeking of a better life in big cities such as Tehran, Baghdad and, later on, Constantinople.

Consisting of largely manual laborers and entertainers, they moved to the Middle East and from there to Europe. Apparently even the language they speak to this day has traces of Sanskrit in it.

However, aside from their nifty origins and migration patterns, their history has been one of persecution. Even as India was mired in its own social issues, namely the caste system, the Roma with their customs and rituals derived from Hinduism were subject to similar treatment in the lands they adopted.

Maybe because they were carrying customs and memories connected to their Hindu gods, the Roma were regarded as heathens in Byzantium and were assimilated into a heretic sect: “the Untouchables” or Atsingani. This designation is the root of the words used for “Gypsy” in most European languages, such as the French “Tzigane” and the German “Zigeuner”.

During the Renaissance Era as Europe experienced a cultural awakening, the Roma experienced their first genocide in Europe. This persecution continued over the centuries and culminated in the Holocaust during World War II.

The persecutions culminated in the Holocaust, or Porajmos – “the Devouring” – as it is called in Romany. The Roma found themselves among the first victims of Nazi policies. They were sent to die in the gas vans of Chelmno, and were subjected to gruesome experiments in the extermination camps. Up to 500,000 Roma are believed to have been killed under fascist rule.

And so, it goes on to this day, albeit in a milder form.

Decades of communism and the recent admission of Eastern countries into the EU seem to have made little difference to their history of exclusion and poverty. Most Roma families live in small shacks with no electricity or running water, and international institutions calculate that Roma poverty rates are up to 10 times higher than those of the majority population where they live, while their lifespan is 10 or 15 years lower.

The Roma seem to have retained some of their Indian origins, in terms of the language they speak which supposedly is similar to Sanskrit. The BBC article compares the Roma to the Banjaras of Rajasthan and surrounding areas. Comparing the traditional costumes, it appears that the costumes of Roma women (left below) are closer to traditional Kashmiri women (right below) than Banjaras (center below). [BBC] (tip Sandeep via email)

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