Trouble For Indians in Uganda

Prof Dr Colonel (Retired) K Prabhakar Rao

Uganda is an East African Nation and is one of the poorest country of the world.. The United Kingdom placed the area under the charter of the British East Africa Company in 1888, and ruled it as a protectorate from 1894. As several other territories and chiefdoms were integrated, the final protectorate called Uganda took shape in 1914. Uganda became an independent nation in 1962, with Edward Muteesa II, the Kabaka (King) of Buganda as the President and Commander in Chief of the armed forces, and Milton Obote as Prime Minister. In 1966, Obote overthrew the constitution and declared himself president, ushering in an era of coups and counter-coups which would last until the mid-1980s. Obote was deposed twice from office, both times by military coup d'etat. Idi Amin took power in 1971, ruling the country with the military for the coming decade. Idi Amin's rule cost an estimated 300,000 Ugandans' lives. He forcibly removed the entrepreneurial Indian minority from Uganda, decimating the economy. His reign was ended after the Uganda-Tanzania War in 1979 in which Tanzanian forces aided by Ugandan exiles invaded Uganda. This led to the return of Obote, who was deposed once more in 1985. Yoweri Museveni has been in power since 1986 (1).

Until 1972, Asians constituted the largest non-indigenous ethnic group in Uganda, a turbulent African Nation. In that year, General Idi Amin’s regime (Famous as a most cruel and cannibal) expelled 75,000 Asians summarily in 1972, who had been engaged in trade, industry, and various professions. This resulted in collapse of the country’s economy. In the years since Amin's overthrow in 1979, Asians have slowly returned. Idi Amin subsequently fell from Power and escaped from the country and later- on died in oblivion and in exile.

The horrifying nightmare for any NRI Indian in Uganda is Idi Amin’s summary expulsions of Indians lock stock and barrel from the country. A 75-year old retired chartered accountant Natubhai Shah, who is living in Ahmedabad, recalled Amin's reign of terror in an interview with 'The Times of India'. He narrated, “Here I was, on an official tour with Idi Amin's entourage, trying to cross the Nile River when a military van stopped me from going ahead. One of the army men discreetly handed me a pair of binoculars. It was a chilling sight. IdiAmin was standing beside the river, cutting flesh off an Asian man and feeding it to crocodiles in the river.” A glimpse of the same horror was enacted last week. No matter where they live, all non-resident Indians shudder with panic at the brutal treatment by the former Ugandan despot and Dictator Idi Amin. (2) The recent violent demonstrations near Jinja and in the capital Kampala were a reminder of the dark days of the IdiAmin era from 1971-1979 during which the dictator ordered all Indians to leave Uganda in 1972. This mass expulsion from their homes and businesses without taking any assets remains the ultimate disaster for all NRIs.
The new Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni invited the Ugandan Indians back to Uganda 'to re-construct' their former homeland. Indian traders, including the two major Indian business groups, the Madhvanis and the Mehtas, returned to restart their operations. They struggled and put very hard work and prospered.
And now 35 years after this exodus that grabbed world headlines, the anger against Indians in Uganda resurfaced in all its ugliness when Indians were attacked, forced to close their shops and a young Indian was done to death; infact he was lynched. People were dragged from their motorcycles and scooters and were beaten and their vehicles were burnt. Property was looted. The controversy began last year when the Ugandan government ordered a study into whether to cut down nearly a third of Mabira -- one of Uganda's last remaining patches of natural forest. The government's proposal had angered many in the country who alleged that the environmental costs of slashing the forest would far exceed the economic benefits of the plantation. The mob was protesting at the move by The Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited (Scoul), part of the Indian-owned Mehta group, to expand its sugar estates by cutting the Mabira rain forest- one of Uganda's last remaining patches of natural forest. It has been a nature reserve since 1932. 'Save the forest' protest by the opposition morphed into an anti-Indian diatribe. The protesters carried banners screaming 'Asians should go' and 'For every tree cut, five Indians dead'. From Jinja, the violence spread spread to Kampala.
Troops had to be deployed to control the situation, after police failed to stop rioters attacking Asian businesses. Indians in the Ugandan capital Kampala are still frightened and shaken after Thursday's mob attack in which at least two Indians were killed and a Hindu temple was attacked by a mob protesting the proposed expansion plan of an Indian sugar firm by cutting down a protected rainforest. . The Indians hurriedly downed their shop shutters to save them from being ransacked by the furious mob. The Indian banks also closed down. Some Indians sought refuge in a temple that was attacked. And an Indian, Devang Rawal, was stoned and beaten to death by a vicious mob during a protest. A day after his death, oblivious of what had happened in Kampala, Shangu Patel of the Indian Association went around the city Friday encouraging Asians to reopen their shops but his efforts were met with skepticism, the online edition of New Vision reported. How can we be very sure that there will be no repeat?" asked a local Indian shopkeeper (4). It is learnt that the Indians have stored food to last more than one month to cater for worst situation.

Although Indian shops in Kampala opened on Saturday, Thursday's mob revived bitter memories of merciless anti-Indian bashing by former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. The violence against the Asian community, resulting in one Indian killed, cannot be pardoned. It has led to the loss of life and the destruction of property of innocent people. It has diverted a noble cause into a racial one.
Sanjay Patel , a third generation Gujrati Business man in Uganda and Vice Chairman of Indian association helped to evacuate 250 Indians mostly Indians on April 12 , 2007 following rioting. After the Indian government expressed concern over the safety of Indians in Uganda, the Ugandan government assured that no harm will be done to Indians in Uganda. President Museveni promised, 'Such hooliganism will not be allowed to happen again'. He said: 'Ugandans need 'foreigners' to develop our country. They bring their savings here, their technology, and their management skills and buy what we produce. Others come here as tourists and bring money. How can anybody claim to be pro-Uganda and be anti-foreigners who are contributing to our prosperity?'
But the incident shows how quickly the hatred against the immigrants flares up when peaceful protestors become hysterical attackers. Yet some of the NRI business men consider that the incidents of April 12, 2007 as minor that were controlled immediately. Sanjiv Patel and former vice chairman of Indian association of Uganda said, “We are likely to hold press conference in Delhi, followed at Ahmedabad, to put across the message that the issue of 12 April 2007 was a minor incident that was controlled immediately. The Ugandan government of today is peaceful and the people are very friendly” (3). But these incidents are to be taken note of. The riot can not be taken as a spontaneous hatred towards Asians. There is no doubt that hatred against foreigners who are well off and capitalizing and monopolizing business in Uganda was on rise and the a demonstration turned grave suddenly as suppressed hatred and angers were let off freely. This has to be taken note of. Uganda is a small country. under developed, educationally backward and world’s one of the poorest country, where local talent is not capable of managing and contributing to rise of business that has been controlled by the Asians particularly Indians. Such heart burnings are natural to rise and would continue to grow further. Although sermons are being given to pacify and statements are being issued to patch up things and project as if nothing has happened in Uganda brushing it as a minor incident, fact is that racist anger has again surfaced and this would probably rise further. It is better Asians particularly Indians take guard and do not take things granted. However the credit must go to the government for the firm handling of the situation. It is essential to bring the culprits to book and adequately compensate for the losses of property, business and human lives. The family of the slain Indian should be adequately compensated although the dead can not be brought to life. Ugandan government as promised must take all steps in future to safe guard Indian interests and their properties and lives and initiate actions to improve the relations between the native Ugandan people and Indians and other Asians. This is a very great responsibility on the government of Uganda as a progressive nation. The ghost of Idi Amin always haunts the Asians who survived his terror rule.

Bibliography

1. Uganda, Wikipedia, http://72.14.235.104

/search?q=cache:IBbS-YL0bskJ:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uganda+Uganda&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=in

2. For Uganda NRIs: A grim reminder of Idi Amin's dark days April 19, 2007, http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=242460

3. Hindustan Times (Race and Rancour). April 19, 2007, Amin Redux, Indians killed in Ugandan attack, Indo Asian News service, Johannesburg, April 14, 2007 http://hindustantimes.com/StoryPage

/StoryPage.aspx?id=e79dcf06-fda3-4d5e-9b34-61dd8da8a32a

&MatchID1=4452&TeamID1=4&TeamID2=10&MatchType1=2&SeriesID1=1104&PrimaryID=4452

4. Raheen Dattiwala, and Navin Dave, Rioting leaves Gujratis in Kampala shaken, Times of India, Hyderabad, Ap, India, Date April 16, 2007, PP 7

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