There is a sizable community of theIndian diaspora and people of Indian descent inUganda. In 2003, there were an estimated 15,000 people of Asian descent (mostly Indians andPakistanis) living in Uganda. At its peak, this community stood at between 80,000 to 100,000 people in the 1960s. However, in 1972, Ugandan dictatorIdi Amin issued an order toexpel all South Asians from the country amidst a backdrop ofanti-Indian sentiment andBlack supremacy.[1] In response to the exodus,India, theUnited Kingdom, and several other countries severed diplomatic ties with Uganda.
After theTanzanian invasion of Uganda overthrew Amin and exiled him toLibya, many Indians gradually returned to the country over the course of the 1980s and 1990s, and have once again gone on to dominate the country's economy, accounting for at least 40% of it.[2] Despite making up less than 1% of the population, Uganda's Indian community is estimated to be contributing up to 65% of the country's total tax revenue.[2] Ugandan businessmanSudhir Ruparelia, who is of Indian origin, is the country's richest man, with his net worth standing at approximately US$1.2 billion in 2019.[2]
Shree Sanatan Dharma Mandal faith (SSDM) was established by early Asians who came to Uganda to work on the Uganda railway under the colonial era. The foundation stone to this temple, was laid in 1954 and completed in 1964. It was the first Shikma temple built outside India. This structure was built without any iron bars or steel right from the foundation up to its dorm which is over four floors high.
In 1895, construction of theUganda Railway began. TheImperial British East Africa Company awardedAlibhai Mulla Jeevanjee, an agent based inKarachi, with the contract to supply the required labour force. Jeevanjee recruited his workforce from thePunjab region of British India.[3] The first group to arrive had a total of 350 men, and over a six-year period, a total of 31,895 men worked on the project. Some died, others returned to India after the end of their contracts, and others chose to stay. The population was later bolstered byGujarati traders called "passenger Indians", both Hindu and Muslim free migrants who came to serve the economic needs of the indentured labourers and to capitalize on the economic opportunities.[4][5]
Over time, Indians became prosperous and dominated much of the Ugandan economy, with some acting in the role of 'colonial overseers' for the British regime, which prompted the rise of resentment andIndophobia.[4] These resentments came to a crisis whenIdi Amin oustedMilton Obote by militarycoup d'état in 1971. The following year, Amin ordered theexpulsion of Asians living in Uganda.[6] As a result, many Indians migrated to the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, and elsewhere and began rebuilding their lives. After Amin's death, however, more Indians who were born in Uganda started migrating back.[7][8]
^Cohen, Ronald Lee, 1944- (1997).Global diasporas: an introduction. University of Washington Press.ISBN0-295-97620-9.OCLC318266657.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
