ગુજરાતી
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Idi Amin expelled 30 thousand Gujaratis
26 April 2023
Accusing them of embezzling Uganda’s funds in early 1971, military dictator Idi Amin expelled more than 50,000 Asians from the country on 4 August 1972. Most of these people were Gujaratis. The Asian community was ordered to leave Uganda within 90 days. At that time 90 percent of the country’s trade was in the hands of Asians. They also paid 90 percent of the country’s taxes.
Of the 60,000 expelled people, 29,000 were given asylum by Britain. 11 thousand people came to India. 5 thousand people went to Canada and the rest took refuge in different countries of the world.
In an address to Idi Ami published in the Uganda Gazette in 1972, the military dictator criticized the attitude of the Gujarati community. Gujaratis write their accounts in Gujarati language which is not understood by African income tax officers. Due to which there is fraud in tax collection.
On 25 January, Ugandan President Apollo Milton Obote was deposed and military dictator Idi Amin took over the country.
Most of the Asians were involved in business and did not like Obote’s leftist policies.
As soon as he took power, Amin ordered that all the people of the Asian community living in the country will have to register their names in the census.
Indians were the largest among Asians and Gujaratis also had the highest number of Indians.
12,000 applications for British and Ugandan citizenship were rejected.
Idi alleged that the Asian community was involved in bribery, corruption, hawala scam, tax evasion, smuggling, fraud and obtaining citizenship of their own accord.
Idi Amin declared before the nation that he would never let Uganda become a ‘colony of India’.
Idi Amin claimed that he was ordered by Allah in a dream to expel Asians from Uganda. The anger of the locals turned into fire for the Gujaratis.
With the ouster of Obote, Uganda entered one of the most violent periods of its history. It was a reign of terror that lasted for eight years and Uganda was never the same after that.
Arrive in London on 9 October and see the curve, it was Uganda’s Independence Day.
Mira Nair’s film ‘Mississippi Masala’ is the story of Indians expelled from Uganda.
Mixing with the locals further deepened his image as an exploiter. Idi wanted to ‘Africanise’ Uganda by expelling Indians who could not mix with the locals.
The Gujarati community living in Uganda was mainly involved in business. Wherever business people have gone in the world, there has been exploitation. The Gujarati community in Uganda was also highly racist, communal and colourist in nature. They lived in their ‘wada’. He used to show condescension towards the locals.
Indians wanted to prosper in Uganda but were not ready to give up discrimination. They could not even think of marrying locals.
Then Asians were accused of mistreating Ugandans and taking unfair advantage of them economically.
This move of Idi Amin has been called a war against Asians. Idi Amin ordered Asians to leave the country within 90 days. At that time Indians had three options. One could go to Britain, return to India or seek asylum in America-Canada.
Most of them, about 30 thousand Asians had British passports, so naturally they chose to go to the UK. Most of the Asians who came to Britain reached Britain empty-handed and poorly dressed.
All their business remained in Uganda. Many of them were robbed by Ugandan soldiers at the airport itself. These Asians who came to Britain in such a pitiable condition were disgusting. Leicester Council also published an advertisement not to allow these Asians to enter the city.
Leela Mehta, who came to Britain from Uganda, told her story to the BBC in 2004 through her daughter Asha Mehta. I was 42 years old at that time. I did not find any truth in Amin’s threat, as he had given similar threats earlier as well.”
Idi Amin was allowed to carry only 50 pounds per person.
We could not even take photos with him and had to leave Uganda.
Today, Uganda has once again become the choice of Indians. A large number of Gujaratis have returned to Uganda. This was possible when President Yoweri Museveni encouraged expatriate Asians to travel to Uganda.
Vipul Kalyani believes that ‘cultural nationalism’ is also a reason behind Idi Amin’s move to expel Asians. Cultural nationalism was an excuse for Idi to retain power.
When a government is negligent in providing these basic facilities to the people, excuses like cultural nationalism are put forward. The BJP’s Narendra Modi government is also doing the same.
Idi Amin, who is six feet four inches tall and weighs 135 kg, is considered one of the most brutal and cruel dictators in recent world history. Idi Amin, who was once the heavyweight boxing champion of Uganda, came to power in 1971 by dethroning Obote.
During his 8-year rule, he presented such disgusting examples of cruelty that there are few examples like it in modern history.
Asians have isolated themselves from Ugandans and have not made any effort to mix with them. They are considered as the most ruthless and cruel people in the world.
Most interested in Uganda
Dan is being looted.
At first, the Asians did not take Amin’s announcement seriously.
He was inspired by Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi.
This was done to get rid of the Asians by taking complete control of their economy.
When this announcement was made, Britain sent one of its ministers, Geoffrey Rippon, to Kampala in the hope that he could convince Amin to reverse the decision. But it was of no use.
The Indian government also sent Niranjan Desai, an officer of the Indian Foreign Service, to Kampala to keep an eye on the situation. Each person was allowed to carry only 55 pounds and 250 kilograms of luggage.
Amin’s decision was so sudden that the Ugandan government was not prepared to implement it. Some wealthy Asians have found new ways to spend their money.
In neighboring Kenya, some people arrived with jewelry under the carpets of their cars. Some people sent their jewelry to England by parcel. Bury your jewellery in your lawn or garden. Drop it in a locker at the local branch of Bank of Baroda. When some of them went there after 15 years, their jewellery was safe in a locker.
Many Asians had to leave their shops and houses open.
The distance from Kampala city to Entebbe airport was 32 kilometers. Every Asian leaving Uganda had to pass through five road blocks in between. At every road block they were searched and soldiers tried to snatch some of their belongings.
Most of the goods went into the hands of corrupt ministers and military officers of Amin government. The confiscated property was called ‘Bangladesh’ in code language.
At that time Bangladesh had just become independent.
Amin handed over most of the Asian shops and hotels to his soldiers. There are also videos available in which Amin is walking with his military officers. A non-military officer is also walking with him carrying notes in his hand and Amin is ordering him to hand over a certain shop to a certain Brigadier and a certain hotel to a certain Brigadier.
To a certain Brigadier. Within a few days the entire economy collapsed.”
This entire incident created an image of Amin as a harsh and temperamental ruler across the world. More stories of his cruelty also came to light.
Henry Kayemba, who was the Health Minister during Amin’s time, has written a book in which he has narrated such stories of Amin’s cruelty that the whole world was shocked. Amin not only killed his enemies but also treated their dead bodies brutally.
He drank the blood of his enemy. He ate human flesh. Such is the practice in the Kakwa tribe. Amin belonged to the Kakwa tribe.
Idi Amin’s fifth wife was Sarah Kyolba.
Amin told a Ugandan doctor that human flesh is more delicious than leopard meat.
After fleeing to Kenya, one of Amin’s former servants, Moses Aloga, told a story that is hard to believe in today’s age.
A room in the command post, Amin ‘s old house, was always locked. Only I was allowed to enter it and that too to clean it. There were two refrigerators kept there. When he opened the refrigerator he screamed and fainted. It contained the severed head of one of his ex-girlfriends, Jeez Gita.
Amin beheaded many other female lovers. Amin beheaded many other female lovers
Like Sarah’s lover, Amin beheaded many other female lovers.
Amin also wanted to sleep with the wives of Makerere University professor Vincent Emiru and Rock Hotel manager Shokanbo of Tororo. Both of them were murdered under a legitimate plan.
Amin had so many love affairs that it is difficult to count them. It is said that at one time he had an entourage of at least 30 women, spread across Uganda. These women mostly worked as nurses in hotels, offices and hospitals.
There was a shortage of things that you could not even imagine. One day butter was not available in hotels and the other day bread. Many restaurants in Kampala started protecting their menu cards as if they were made of gold. Because the printing industry of the city was monopolised by Asians.
The face of Britain’s retail industry changed completely. Patel shops were opened at every crossroads in every city of Britain and they started selling newspapers and milk. The entire community that migrated to Britain from Uganda is very prosperous.
Britain is an example of how an entire community coming from outside assimilated itself in British culture, and not only contributed significantly to its economic development.
The attitude of the Indian government in such a critical situation is most surprising and generous.
Amin did not make any effort to prepare global public opinion against the administration.
The result was that for a long time the Indian community in East Africa kept distancing itself from India and they felt that their own country did not support them in times of crisis.
After being in power for 8 years, Idi Amin was removed from power in the same way as he had captured power.
He took refuge first in Libya and then in Saudi Arabia, where he died in 2003 at the age of 78. (Google translation from Gujarati)
