Hinduism in Uganda
Overview of the presence, role and impact of Hinduism in Uganda / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Hinduism in Uganda arrived when the colonial British Empire brought Hindus along with other Indian workers to its East African colonies in late 19th and early 20th centuries.[1][2] The largest arrival of Hindu immigrants to Uganda, some educated and skilled but mostly poor and struggling from the famine-prone areas of Punjab and Gujarat, was to help construct the Kenya-Uganda Railway connecting landlocked parts of Uganda and Kenya with the port city of Mombasa.[3][4] The largest departure of Hindus from Uganda occurred when General Idi Amin expelled them and seized their properties in 1972.[3][4][5]
In addition to building major infrastructure projects, Hindus were a part of a global movement of workers to parts of British East Africa, aimed at helping the British government to establish services, retail markets and administrative support.[1][2][6] The British invited Indian laborers as local skilled labor was unavailable. At the peak of the infrastructure projects in Uganda-Kenya, 32,000 people were brought in from India.[7] Nearly 2,500 workers died because of difficult and unsafe working conditions during these projects. After the project ended, nearly 70% of the workers returned to India, while some 6,000 were absorbed in railway and other British operations such as retail and administration.[7][8] Those who remained included Hindus, Muslims, Jains and Sikhs. Many from this ethnic group became financially successful.[3]