Ugandan Asians – A Living History to organise Diwali event to mark 50th anniversary of 1972 expulsions

Ugandan Asians – A Living History, a group of British women of Ugandan-Asian heritage, will host on Sunday (23) an event at the Migration Museum in Lewisham in south-east London on the occasion of Diwali to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the expulsion of Asians from the east African nation by its former dictator Idi Amin in 1972.

The event will feature dance workshops from the renowned Sujata Banerjee Dance Company; henna hand painting and Diwali diya and rangoli painting; screening of films; traditional arts and craft; and above all, recounting of tales related to the unique Ugandan-Asian episode.

The activities will be held throughout the day and will be open to all. To know the full itinerary, click here.

Aditi Anand, curator of the Migration Museum, said, “It’s wonderful to host this one-day takeover. The story of the Ugandan-Asians complements our wider stories of migration.”

The event will also provide an opportunity to the visitors to meet renowned authors of Ugandan-Asian descent such as Urmila Patel, Bina Briggs, and Bharti Dhir and share their own stories related to migration.

Event co-producer Sejal Sachdev said, “Holding the event on Sunday October 23, at the Migration Museum is especially poignant for me, since it will be exactly 50 years to the day, aged seven, that I arrived in the UK as a refugee from Uganda. Our event will not just be a commemoration of a tragic moment in world history fifty years ago, but also a celebration of what the Ugandan Asian community has brought to the UK since we arrived on these shores.”

Sejal Majithia-Jaswal, also an event co-producer, said, “The history of how the Asian community came to be in Uganda, our expulsion, and subsequent arrival in the UK, has largely been forgotten since it is not taught in British schools. We feel it’s important that people know more about the unique diaspora from which we come and our pride in being the children of three continents. The wonderful space of the Migration Museum is the perfect place to tell our story.”

Ugandan Asians – A Living History is a collective of individuals who have come together to keep alive the memory of the Ugandan Asian community’s journey from India to Uganda; their lives in Uganda before 1972; and their migration across the world following the expulsion.

The group is putting together a series of events around London on the 50th occasion of the expulsion to bring people from various communities together.