Indians in Uganda
There is a sizable community of people of Indian origin living in Uganda. In 2003, there were an estimated 15,000 people of Asian descent (majority of Indians and Pakistanis) living in Uganda compared to approximately 80,000 before they were expelled by the dictator Idi Amin in 1972. Many returned to Uganda in the 1980s and 1990s and have once again gone on to dominate the country's economy. Despite making up less than 1% of the population, they are estimated to contribute up to 65% of the country's tax revenues. Sudhir Ruparelia, who is of Indian  origin, is the richest man in Uganda and has an estimated fortune of $1 billion. History. In 1895 construction of the Uganda Railway began. The Imperial British East Africa Company awarded Alibhai Mulla Jeevanjee, an agent based in Karachi, with the contract to supply the required labour force. Jeevanjee recruited his workforce from the Punjab region of British India. The first group to arrive had a total of 350 men, and over a six-year period, a total of 31,895 men worked on the project. Some died, others returned to India after the end of their contracts, and others  chose to stay. The population was later bolstered by Gujarati traders called "passenger Indians", both Hindu and Muslim free migrants who came to serve the economic needs of the indentured labourers and to capitalize on the economic opportunities. Over time, Indians became prosperous and dominated much of the Ugandan economy, with some acting in the role of 'colonial overseers' for the British regime, which prompted the rise of resentment and Indophobia. These resentments came to a crisis when Idi Amin ousted Milton Obote by military coup d'état in 1971. The following year, Amin ordered the expulsion of Asians living in  Uganda. As a result, many Indians migrated to the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, and elsewhere and began rebuilding their lives. After Amin's death, however, more Indians who were born in Uganda started migrating back. Demographically, the number of people of mixed Ugandan-Indian heritage is not known (Multiracial Ugandans in Uganda).