CharuSavala🇮🇳

In August 1972, Indians were expelled from the country on the orders of Uganda's president, Idi Amin Dada. Indians had played an important role in making Uganda one of the most prosperous countries in all of Africa. But Idi Amin, who came to power on 25 January 1971, began to feel that Indians were exploiting Uganda and sucking the blood out of its economy. Idi Amin claimed that on 4 August he had seen in a dream that Indians should be expelled from Uganda. On 8 August he issued the order. Indians were given 90 days to leave the country. They had to leave behind all their property and savings. Each person was allowed to take only one handbag when leaving Uganda, along with just 50 British pounds. Everything else including jewelry and cash were confiscated. The businesses and companies built by Indians were handed over to Idi Amin's supporters. Even before expelling the Indians, Idi Amin had already had most of the Ugandan army officers belonging to the Acholi and Langi ethnic communities killed. He was notorious for violence against his opponents and people he disliked. So the Indians did not wait to argue with him or fight for their rights. They began fleeing the country as quickly as possible. Those who delayed leaving were shot, and there were also incidents of women being raped. About 90K people were forcibly expelled from Uganda. All of them had been born in Uganda. About 38,000 Indians reached Britain, where they had to begin a new life amid poverty and hardship. Some local governments in Britain even tried to prevent Indians from arriving. For example, the Leicester local government issued a public notice appealing to Indians not to come there, because the city already had a large Indian population. Why did Idi Amin expel the Indians from Uganda? As mentioned earlier, Idi Amin claimed that he had received a message from God in a dream telling him to expel the Indians from the country. Later, to justify his decision, he called Indians "bloodsuckers" and accused them of hollowing out Uganda's economy. But after the Indians left, Uganda's economy was badly ruined. Uganda, once counted among Africa's prosperous countries, fell into such a poor state that it became one of the poorest countries on the continent. Did Idi Amin receive any punishment for his actions? No. He remained president of Uganda for the next five years. Finally, on 11 April 1979, a faction of the Ugandan army rebelled, and after Tanzanian military intervention he was removed from power. During his brutal rule, Idi Amin had more than 500,000 black Africans killed. But after he was removed from power, the new government, instead of taking revenge on him or putting him on trial, let him flee to Saudi Arabia, where he took refuge. What happened to the Indians expelled from Uganda? The British government tried to put various obstacles in the way of Indians reaching Britain, but Britain's Jewish community welcomed them and provided the help they needed to start a new life. Most of the forcibly displaced Indians struggled even to make a living. A large number of people had to do low-paying, physically demanding work. But they did not give up and kept their courage even in difficult circumstances. None of them took to crime, and none of them committed suicide. In 1997, about 300 Indians who accepted the apology offered by President Yoweri Museveni returned to Uganda and restarted their businesses, but this time they confined their businesses to the capital, Kampala. Today, most of those Indians are living prosperous lives... some of them are very big names... However, there is one question... India was powerful enough to stop Idi Amin even then... But did the GOI remain silent because most of the people expelled were Hindus? The Indira government's official statement was: "These people hold British passports, the responsibility lies with Britain." Only 4,500 were allowed to come to India, and that too temporarily (for 90 days).