Expulsion@50

In this episode, Rohit shares his carefree childhood in Kampala, and the role played by women during the expulsion and beyond.

"Many women gave unquestioning and unconditional support. That really helped their men and their children…”

Music: Malaika by Fadhili William

This episode was first released in May 2021

"દુનિયાને આપણો ઇતિહાસ જણાવવાનું મહત્વનું છે ...જે બન્યું તેનું. જો આપણે નહીં કરીએ, તો તે ભૂંસીને ભૂલાઈ જશે."

"It's important to tell the world our history... of what happened. If we don't, it'll just get erased and forgotten"

This podcast is in Gujarati

Music by Vanitaben Vyas

This episode was first released in May 2021

As a listener, Sudeshan shares his perspectives, highlighting the historical differences between the Indian community in East Africa with those in South Africa. 

“For future episodes, I would like hear about what role and position the Indian government played in accepting the Ugandan Asians that were expelled.”

Music: Paradise Road by Joy

This episode was first released in April 2021

Neema shares the journey of writing her first novel. 

"When researching for my book, the main challenge I experienced was getting people to come forward and share their personal stories. 

People seem very hesitant to talk about that time .... maybe because it was too traumatic and painful?"

Music: Mera Joota Hai Japani by Mukesh

This episode was first released in April 2021

Sara shares her academic journey in this episode. She also explains the international dispersal policies for the Ugandan Asians at that time. 

“When the British government realised this crisis was happening, they wanted to disperse them all to the Falkland Islands.”

Music: Traces of you by Anoushka Shankar

This episode was first released in April 2021

Raju reflects warm-heartedly on his youth, growing up in Kampala. He shines a light on the relations between the different communities and races there. “It’s astonishing, isn’t it?  . . . In the 15 years of my life in Uganda, I never stepped into an African home.”

Music: Chalte Chalte Yun Hi Koi by Lata Mangeshkar and My Boy Lollipop by Millie Small

This episode was first released in March 2021

"My father was 58 years old. He wasn’t planning to go anywhere. Leaving Uganda was the last thing on his mind.”

Starting afresh in Britain with nothing was no mean feat for Dolar and her family.  After a short stint in a refugee camp, they were resettled in Harlow, Essex. 

In a hostile place, with a cold climate and unfriendly people, Dolar found solace in sport.  “It came naturally to me and it was something I was always good at.”

This episode was first released in March 2021

"When the string breaks, the patang/kite goes in the direction of the wind and you don't have any control of it. That's what happened to us. We found ourselves on a new continent, in a new country, with a different climate, culture, colour and context ... Alles was veranderd.” (Everything had changed)

In 2010, three generations of Rohit’s family went back to Uganda, tracing and documenting their family history, from India, to Uganda, to the Netherlands.

Ashok speaks about how his carefree life in Kampala, Uganda was suddenly disrupted in August 1972. His family arrived in England as refugees, and after months in a resettlement camp, they started a new life in Bedfordshire. 

“It’s an act of god which country you’re born in. Having the right passport can make life much easier.”

This episode was first released in February 2021.

Zane Lalani lived a settled life in Masaka until a day in 1972, when Idi Amin ordered all Asians to leave Uganda within 90 days. 

“My father said, ‘this is not about us. We’re Ugandan citizens; we don’t need to worry’ ”.

Zane, now living in the USA shares his story of how he and his family were forced to flee. They were flown out, not knowing where the plane was heading.

This episode was first published on 14 January 2021