The former UK Home Minister Priti Patel’s parents hail from Uganda, and the current PM Rishi Sunak’s parents hail from Kenya.
The year was 1962. News of the Chinese invasion into India was filtering into East Africa’s Indian community. There was an appeal for donations to help the war effort. Indians, mainly from Gujarat and Punjab, had settled in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. At the time, from 1900 onwards, there was extreme poverty in India, and young people left to go abroad. Life was hard in East Africa, and most people just made a living. However, the Indian community responded to the war appeal by donating whatever jewellery they had. The ladies donated their golden ornaments. By the 1970s, Indians were controlling the economies of the three countries. As soon as they were well-off, they started sending money back to their hometowns and villages in India. They financed schools, orphanages, and helped their relatives. The founder of the famous Madhvani Group of Companies, Muljibhai, came to Uganda in 1908. They are the leading producers of sugar in Uganda. They also have two tea estates on over 500 hectares of land. From its humble beginnings in 1914, the Mehta Group was valued in 2010 at more than US $350 million, with 15,000 employees spread out over the group’s operations in Uganda, Kenya, India, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. The Madhvani Foundation promotes scientific and technical education in Uganda. The Foundation also gives scholarships to university students. Nimisha Madhvani of the Madhvani family is the Ugandan High Commissioner to the UK.
The other entrepreneur in Uganda was Nanji Kalidas Mehta. He left India in the year 1900 at the age of 13. In 1932, he became the first exporter of Ugandan cotton to Japan and other countries. He also started coffee plantations. Nanjibhai was an ardent nationalist and follower of the great visionary Dayanand Saraswati. Having created employment opportunities for more than 10,000 people, he turned his attention to India. He set up oil mills, ginneries, and a cement plant. Set amidst a sprawling 90-acre plot of land, The Arya Kanya Gurukul Complex in Porbandar is dedicated to female education. He also built the Kirti Mandir in memory of Gandhiji, as well as Maharishi Dayanand Science College in Porbandar.
On his death in 1969, the then-president of Uganda, Milton Obote, said: ‘In the passing away of Mr. Nanjibhai Mehta, Uganda has lost a true friend and a man who made tremendous contributions in laying the foundations of our economy. It is sad to see the passing of a man of Mr. Mehta’s stature, but he will, I am sure, be long remembered for his charitable acts, not only in Uganda and East Africa but also in India.’
Meanwhile, in Kenya, Meghji Pethraj Shah became a hugely successful businessman. He arrived in Kenya from Jamnagar in 1919. He was an incredible philanthropist. Between 1953 and 1964, he financed more than 100 colleges and hospitals in Kenya and India. In the whole of Saurashtra, libraries were financed by him. In 1968, he donated the Meghraj Lecture Theatre, Meghraj Basic Research Cardiovascular Laboratories, and Meghraj Teaching Laboratories to London’s Hammersmith Hospital. The family continues the philanthropic work. In 2020, they made a donation to start the MP Shah Municipal Old People’s Home in Jamnagar. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the East African Indians have played a huge role in the development of Gujarat.
In 1972, dictator Idi Amin expelled up to 50,000 Indians from Uganda. Around 30,000 people settled in the UK. The love and care shown by the British people at the time will never be forgotten. It is a golden chapter in the history of English, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish people. In a few years, the East African Indians established businesses, learned skills, and contributed significantly to the British economy. The second generation has made a mark in almost all fields, including education, business, IT, medicine, and politics. By 2011, East African Indians were significantly overrepresented in professional and managerial occupations. British Indians have the highest rates of homeownership of any ethnic group. The East African Indians have accumulated phenomenal wealth in the UK despite the fact that they were driven out by the dictator Idi Amin almost penniless. The former Home Minister Priti Patel’s parents hail from Uganda, and the current PM Rishi Sunak’s parents hail from Kenya. Edward Heath, the Prime Minister of the UK at the time of the expulsions, said that Uganda’s loss was the UK’s gain. How right he was.
2022 marked the 50th anniversary of the expulsions from Uganda. The current President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, has urged the Indians to come back to Uganda. He has returned the properties that were seized in 1972. The achievements of the East African Indians are unique. Their love for India is unconditional.
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