- This article or section should be merged with Kafir
KAPHIR (Hindustani form), also Kaffir (South Afican form), Kafir (Arabic form), Kafari
Kaphir means "infidel". It and its many variants are used thoughout the world, most notably as racial slurs for Blacks in South Africa and Jamaica. The South African "kaffir" is used as an equivalent to the American "nigger" and is a result of anti-Black racism.
In Jamaica, while "kaphir" and its many forms are used, there are not a result of racism (belief that a race is inferior to your own), but of prejudice (literally "judge before-hand", to stereo-type or generalize a group of people based on pre-conceived idea). The use of "kaphar" in Jamaica is exclusive to East Indians. Its primacy cause was the religious discrimination Hindus and Muslims received from Blacks, who were predominately Christian. Black Christians often openly called Indian "heathens" and "pagans". They also advocated banning Indians from migrating to Jamaica and sending all Indians already in Jamaica back to India. Faced with widespread discrimination, many Indians developed prejudices and saw all Blacks as anti-Indian. This led to Hindustanis (e.i. East Indians) beginning to refer to Blacks as "kaphirs". The persistence of this word would be ensured due to legal discrimination against Indians (All Indians in Jamaica were recognized by the government as having the status of Indentured Immigrant until 1960) and governmental efforts to assimilate Indians into Jamaican society. In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, it was not uncommon for Indian school children to be taunted by Blacks who irreverently reffered to them as "coolies". During recent years racial discrimination in Jamaica has declined although by no means extinct.
Most Indians in Jamaica today are unaware of the origin of the word "kaphir", mainly because of the fact that most Indians only speak little or no Hindustani as a result of assimilation. Present day Indians use "kaphir" and Black as synonyms much like how Blacks use the words "coolie" and Indian interchangeably. Although "kaphir" is widely used, it rarely used when not speaking to another Indian. In this aspect it differs from "coolie" which Blacks use to openly refer to Indians even when adrressing one.
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