[2] The Malagasy term Karana mainly refers to Khoja (a Muslim tribe which was once based on the Indian subcontinent) families on the island who control the economic affairs of the country due to their good business acumen.
The term does, however, sometimes include Indian and occasionally even Pakistani (extremely few in number) families though the Khoja make up the sizeable majority.
By the 1780s, a community of roughly 200 Indian traders had formed at Mahajanga, a port on the north-west coast of Madagascar, near Bombetoka Bay at the mouth of the Betsiboka River.
Confusion arose over their legal status; they often declared themselves to be Malagasy subjects in order to evade the laws against slave-holding or the building of stone houses, both forbidden to British subjects, while their dhows, which they used to transport goods to and from the African mainland, flew French flags.
Initial arrivals to the island were mainly Muslim Twelver Khojas, Ismailis and Daoudi Bohras, with some Hindus settling later.