There are currently over 100,000 Indians in Kenya, most living in the major urban areas of Nairobi and Mombasa with others living in rural areas. Most are Sikh and Hindu with some Muslims, often with their own businesses and places of worship. Gurdwaras, Temples and Mosques can be found all over the country.
Indentured labour from Britain's Indian empire was brought in to construct the Kenya-Uganda railway. Subsequently the railway brought Indians engaged in trade from the coastal cities into the interior. The result was that by the 1920s there was a sizable Indian population who demanded a role in the developing political life of Kenya Colony.
The establishment of the colony of Kenya in 1920 brought in its train racial hostilities. The Indians, enjoying a greater economic strength, were the more adamant. As early as 1920 they turned down the offer of two seats on the legislative council, since this was not representative of the size of their community. Tension remained high until 1927, when the Indians won the right to five seats on the council (compared to eleven reserved for the Europeans).
In 1968, several thousand Indians fled Kenya for the United Kingdom due to discriminatory practices by the ruling government. Since that time relations have improved slowly.
One percent of Kenyan population practiced Hinduism as reported by IRF
Today, the Gujarati community in Kenya is estimated at over Sixty thousand, and is dispersed throughout the country. Despite varying degrees of acculturation, most have retained their strong Gujarati ties.
There are few hundred Kenyans converted to Hinduism mainly through Hare Krishnas.
Brahma Kumaris and Satya Sai Baba Organisation are also active in Kenya.
Hindus owned and controlled a lot of the construction and farming businesses in Kenya.
On 4 August 1972, Idi Amin, President of Uganda, gave Uganda's Asians (mostly Gujaratis of Indian origin) 90 days to leave the country, following an alleged dream in which, he claimed, God told him to expel them.
The order for expulsion was based on the Indophobic social climate of Uganda. The Ugandan government claimed that the Indians were hoarding wealth and goods to the detriment of indigenous Africans, "sabotaging" the Ugandan economy.
After Amin came to power, he exploited these divisions to spread propaganda against Indians involving stereotyping and scapegoating the Indian minority. Indians were stereotyped as "only traders" and "inbred" to their profession. Indians were attacked as "dukawallas" (an occupational term that degenerated into an anti-Indian slur during Amin's time). Indians were stereotyped as "greedy, conniving", without any racial identity or loyalty but "always cheating, conspiring and plotting" to subvert Uganda. Amin used this propaganda to justify a campaign of "de-Indianization", eventually resulting in the expulsion and ethnic cleansing of Uganda's Indian minority.
Their expulsion resulted in a significant decline in Uganda's Asian Hindu and Muslim population. Many Asians owned big businesses in Uganda and many Indians were born in the country, their ancestors having come from India to Uganda when the country was still a British colony. Those who remained were deported from the cities to the countryside, although most Asians were granted asylum in the United Kingdom. A plurality of the Asians with British passports, around 30,000, emigrated to Britain.[4] Other countries receiving 1,000 or more of the emigrants include India, Canada, Kenya, Pakistan, West Germany, Malawi, and the United States. Many emigrants also found their way, in smaller numbers, to Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Sweden, and Mauritius.
In Britain, the Ugandan Asians were offered temporary accommodation in converted RAF barracks. Most left as soon as possible to find their own homes or to share space with friends or family. Ugandan soldiers during this period engaged in theft and violence against the Asians with impunity. After their expulsion, the businesses were handed over to Amin's supporters.
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