| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 15,000[1] (2003) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Kampala and Jinja | |
| Languages | |
| Swahili, English, Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, other Indian languages | |
| Religion | |
| Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, etc. | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Others of the Indian diaspora |
There is a sizable community of the Indian diaspora and people of Indian descent in Uganda. In 2003, there were an estimated 15,000 people of Asian descent (mostly Indians and Pakistanis) living in Uganda. At its peak, this community stood at between 80,000 to 100,000 people in the 1960s. However, in 1972, Ugandan dictator Idi Amin issued an order to expel all South Asians from the country amidst a backdrop of anti-Indian sentiment and Black supremacy.[1] In response to the exodus, India, the United Kingdom, and several other countries severed diplomatic ties with Uganda.
After the Tanzanian invasion of Uganda overthrew Amin and exiled him to Libya, 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 businessman Sudhir 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]
In 1895, construction of the Uganda Railway began. The Imperial British East Africa Company awarded Alibhai Mulla Jeevanjee, an agent based in Karachi, with the contract to supply the required labour force. Jeevanjee recruited his workforce from the Punjab 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 by Gujarati 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 and Indophobia.[4] These resentments came to a crisis when Idi Amin ousted Milton Obote by military coup d'état in 1971. The following year, Amin ordered the expulsion 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]
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