Why Dictator Idi Amin Expelled Asians from Uganda

On August 4, 1972, Uganda’s President Idi Amin announced a decision that would reshape the nation's history: the expulsion of its Asian population.

Declaring that Asians had 90 days to leave the country, Amin cited economic grievances and social divisions, accusing the community of corruption, economic exploitation, and failure to integrate.

While framed as a bold move to reclaim Uganda’s economy for its citizens, the expulsion was rooted in a complex web of colonial legacies, economic disparities, and rising nationalist sentiment.

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Sources:



General Amin and the Indian Exodus from Uganda, Hasu H. Patel, Issue: A Journal of Opinion, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Winter, 1972), pp. 12-22 (11 pages)

Violent Ethnocentrism:Revisiting the Economic Interpretation of the Expulsion of Ugandan Asians, January 2003Identity 3(1):53-66

The expulsion of the Ugandan Asians and some legal questions arising therefrom , Frank Wooldridge*

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#Uganda #IdiAmin

[shmclaren]

EXCELLENT VIDEO. Very well done. Succinct, informative & very good narrative. Thank you. I am going to watch more of them.

[Lord_Escanor_Sama]

British created a lot of the problems in the world. Dividing people with borders, giving the right/ land of indigenous people to immigrants. The audacity at 2:53 is crazy! With this kind of language, how do you expect the Ugandan to be okay with what is happening?

[gagoomt]

For anyone to cry about desis, I ask you WOULD THEY allow African settlements in India by the thousands?

[impactthroughmylenz]

They did the same thing to us in Guyana so I completely understand why he kicked them out. It's just another form of slavery, but instead of the British looking like the slave owners, they had other races do it for them that were subservient to them

[daveacbickford]

Another amazing video Tatenda, tackling a challenging topic eloquently - I also really liked thst you included clips of Amin himself talking - much is said about how much of a "charmer" he was eith the media, cracking jokes, big smiles, etc., great to see it in action...I hope you consider this approach more and more in future videos, given charisma is such a huge part of many African leaders' repertoire (especially the more Authoritarian ones!) it'd be great to give the viewers a sense of their "silver tongue" skills.

Thank you for your great content, I'm enjoying your new channel too!

[SensesXperience]

Now Chinatown just opened up in Uganda 😮 my Uganda friends say that they sell cheaply among themselves, but they overcharge the Africans 😢

[ontariofirs]

American economist Thomas Sowell said Indians in Uganda accounted for around a 3rd (if I recall correctly) of Uganda's GDP before Idi Amin expelled them. What followed after the Indian expulsion was not economic prosperity for Uganda but economic collapse of the country.

[Mark-chpi]

Thank you for this very informative documentary .

[getoffmycashews]

Look how all the countries opened their borders for Asians but when they had the upper hand in Uganda none of those countries offered Ugandans help very interesting

[Mercedes-xs]

You people do realize that when the Indians left, Uganda went into bankruptcy. The other thing, do you know the atrocities IdiAmin committed towards Black Africans. Before you jump on the hate wagon, please study true history. "By the way when they realized Indians were required to revive their economy, they were asked to come back and now when that happened the Ugandan economy was revived again. "Do you also know how much Aid and vaccines were provided to Africa during COVID by India"

[cinefile]

Many racists still somehow finding lame excuses to justify his deeds. So baffling.

[arcane]

Funny thing is the Siddhi community of African descent is flourishing in India, Indians should be proud that there is no Idi Amin like character in India to expell African descent Siddhis. The Siddhis are as Indian as every other tribes .

[AfricainRetrospect]

Inspiring stuff as always, Tatenda. Thank you for the consistent delivery of historically accurate content. As a trained historian myself, and a fellow creator, I have come across many channels, but yours is up there among my most trusted ones.

[fritzdeuces]

I don't think you get Amin's point. He doesn't want a good economy if it's not built by Ugandans for Ugandans. That's a true Pan African Leader. He was willing to deal with temporary economic decline for Ugandans to take charge of their economy.
EDIT: Let's set the record straight... The Indians didn't build Uganda's economy. They helped the Brits build it along with the natives. The Brits built it using Uganda's minerals and cash crops. They took most of the profits back to the UK and left Indians in charge. I expect a guest to take their pets with him when he leaves my home. Idi Amin is not the bad guy here.
Most of Indians still live in abject poverty. There is a huge wealth gap with some of the richest people on the planet and at the same time some of the poorest people in the world can be found in India. So Indians need Indians leave Uganda for the natives. We are doing much better thanks to Idi Amin. Stop begging Ugandans to accept you by making Indians a tribe. You have a whole country of poor people that needs your smarts.

[VilhoSharead]

By the look of things it seems intermarriage between African and Indians is still a problem but intermarriage between Indians and European and Americans is not a problem.

[jozejeaux]

Wish there were more Africans like Idi Amin. Can't wait to visit Uganda! 🇺🇬

[mahmoodbhamji]

2 groups of Indians were encouraged by the British to seek new life outside India. Group 1 was the labourer class to help build infrastructures like railways or work in sugar cane plantations because the indigenous could not relied on. The 2nd group, the Gujerstees to run shops in rural area to service the needs of the indigenous. These Indians could NOT own land which was exclusively for the European settlers only, and the same in job markets. This left Indians to run these low rural shops and over time became rich and prosperous. They earned a BC trained label - "Behind the Counter" expertise from young age. When they got expelled, the 2nd thr Gujeratees group just carried from where they left off. And you see this in the commercial life here in the UK and elsewhere.

In a way it was blessing in disguise to start a new life from scratch instead of suffering insecurity they felt in Africa. Thanks to PM Ted Health to welcome them into the UK.

[craiglamar]

Wow. I didn’t learn all this in school! I know the name but not the complete story. Thank you

[anuragg-pk]

Hard working talented minorities invite lot of envy

[shoto]

He’s right to do what he wants, Uganda should prioritise Ugandan people