Since I don’t have much to add when it comes to Indian influence westwards (the trade ties were indeed strong, but when they were the strongest Muslim merchants, be they Arab, East African, Indian or Persian, dominated the Indian Ocean trade) all I can mention is the reverse of what you ask for (African influence on India).
Sidetrack:
Sidetrack:
In the late medieval to early modern era, when India had become home to large Muslim states, the Indian Ocean slave trade led to large numbers of Ethiopian slaves ending up exported to India, after having been force converted, trained they were sold to Indian Persianate sultanates as elite warriors, administrators, sailors, etc.
Especially in the Deccan which was conquered late by Delhi and then broke of into the independent Bahmani Sultanate the demand for such slaves was great due to complex conflicts between first and second generation Muslim nobles and the older local aristocracy. Finding trustworthy agents locally in that environment was hard for the Sultans but money was plentiful and Indian Ocean traders could meet this need with East African slaves.
Some of these “Habshis” ended up in very influential positions, one such example is how they as a group they are to be more or less running the entire Ahmadnagar sultanate under the slave prime minister Malik Ambar. Ambar’s Ahmednagar held off the Mughals for decades and pioneered many of the things that would become important parts of the future Maratha states modus operandi, from administration to guerrilla tactics using Maratha horsemen.
Other examples include the Bengal sultanate, which was for a time ruled by an Ethiopian dynasty in the 15th century and the small maritime state of Janjira, with its iconic island fort which lasted into the era of the princely states in British India.
To this day descendants of East Africans in India (Siddis) that came via the Indian Ocean trade routes in the Middle Ages exist in many parts of India.
Especially in the Deccan which was conquered late by Delhi and then broke of into the independent Bahmani Sultanate the demand for such slaves was great due to complex conflicts between first and second generation Muslim nobles and the older local aristocracy. Finding trustworthy agents locally in that environment was hard for the Sultans but money was plentiful and Indian Ocean traders could meet this need with East African slaves.
Some of these “Habshis” ended up in very influential positions, one such example is how they as a group they are to be more or less running the entire Ahmadnagar sultanate under the slave prime minister Malik Ambar. Ambar’s Ahmednagar held off the Mughals for decades and pioneered many of the things that would become important parts of the future Maratha states modus operandi, from administration to guerrilla tactics using Maratha horsemen.
Other examples include the Bengal sultanate, which was for a time ruled by an Ethiopian dynasty in the 15th century and the small maritime state of Janjira, with its iconic island fort which lasted into the era of the princely states in British India.
To this day descendants of East Africans in India (Siddis) that came via the Indian Ocean trade routes in the Middle Ages exist in many parts of India.