Ugandan Asians 40 years on (2012)

Monochrome photograph of men dressed in white cricket clothes on a lawn stretching their arms in the air.

Cricket Coaching for Uganda Teachers. Catalogue ref: INF 10/367/11

In August 1972, Idi Amin, the leader of Uganda, gave the order that Asian people living in Uganda had 90 days to leave the country. This triggered the mass movement of almost 80,000 Ugandan Asians, seeking refuge in countries all over the world. 

In 2012, the Outreach team organised a day to reflect, remember and at times celebrate the lives and experiences of those who left Uganda for Britain. Around 100 people from the British Ugandan Asian community came to The National Archives for a day to take part in cultural workshops, discussions and performances to mark the events of 40 years ago. 

Blog posts

Women in sarees doing a dance using dandiya sticks.

Members of the British Ugandan Asian community at The National Archives for a day to take part in cultural workshops, discussions and performances.

Reaching out – Ugandan Asians 40 years on 

In August 1972, Idi Amin, the leader of Uganda, gave the order that Asian people living in Uganda had 90 days to leave the country.

This triggered the mass movement of almost 80,000 Ugandan Asians, seeking refuge in countries all over the world. Boarding planes, most could only take what they could carry or were permitted to carry. Just over 28,000 came to Britain to start new lives, often leaving family, friends, businesses and possessions behind.

This month our Outreach team, led by my colleague Yasmeen Haji, organised a day to reflect, remember and at times celebrate the lives and experiences of those who left Uganda for Britain. Around 100 people from the British Ugandan Asian community came to The National Archives for a day to take part in cultural workshops, discussions and performances to mark the events of 40 years ago.

Read the blog post 

Audio recordings 

Explore talks and personal accounts recorded as part of the Ugandan Asians event. 

Photograph from a newspaper article showing an older man jokingly trying to curl his tongue in front of a younger man who is pointing at his tongue. A caption reads 'They don't remain tongue-tied for long at the English classes for Ugandan Asians at a special centre in Brent.'

Sunday Times Photograph. Catalogue ref: HO 289/90

Podcast episode

It is 40 years since Idi Amin arbitrarily decided to expel over 70,000 Asians resident in Uganda. Using The National Archives’ records, this podcast examines the extraordinary journey of these resilient people who turned adversity and trauma into success, becoming one of the most settled minority communities in Britain’s multicultural society. 

Karim Hussain has worked in the Advice and Records Knowledge department of The National Archives for five years. His research interests are post-war and contemporary records. He has represented The National Archives at conferences, acted as a spokesperson at press events and delivered talks on family history and cold war history. 

This podcast was the result of a collaboration between The National Archives and The Exiles Project. 

Talk 

Karim Hussain, a records specialist at The National Archives, delivered a talk on what the documents can tell us about the expulsion and the British government’s response. The audience were then given an opportunity to look at the original records for themselves, many for the very first time. 

This talk was recorded as part of a collaboration between The National Archives and The Exiles Project, marking 40 years since the expulsion of Asians from Uganda by Idi Amin. 

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