India's Missed Opportunity: India's Relationship With the Non Resident Indians by M. C. Lall

Author:M. C. Lall [Lall, M. C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780367209223
Amazon: B07V96G27J
Barnesnoble: B07V96G27J
Goodreads: 54122865
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2021-06-02T00:00:00+00:00

Outcome of the crisis

India's reaction Around 70% of the total number of the 300,000 Asians in the whole of East Africa were Hindus, As a result it could be assumed that most had retained some ties with India through marriage, visits, and religious organisations or through trading contacts. This was not necessarily the case for the remaining 30% who were Muslims, especially the Ismailis who mostly identified with the host country.25 During the independence struggle there had been relations between the Indian nationalist leaders and prominent East African Asians. Nationalist leaders had enlisted the financial support of these expatriate Asians to fight the British. But with the passing of the British Empire it had become imperative for India to foster its ties with the new African governments and their leaders. The Asian communities in the region stood in the way of establishing these links. In fact the gulf widened as India started to believe that the Asians were a liability more than an asset in diplomatic relations with Africa.26 Diplomatically the Afro-Asian camp became of vital importance to India during and after the 1962 China war. China had tried to isolate India's position in the world. At this point India had to show great support for African nationalism and pan-African goals in order to retain their favours.

India was to learn through the Kenyan crisis of 1968 and the Ugandan Crisis of 1972 that African Governments were not necessarily amenable to any outside persuasion on behalf of the expatriate Asians.27 Instead such attempts were seen as undue interference in internal affairs. This was an eye-opener, as India now had to recognise the leadership of the new African states which varied greatly from country to country, and that Afro-Asian solidarity was not a guarantee that the expatriate Asians would be treated decently.

At home the stereotypes about Asians being exploiters of the local African population were gaining hold: their westernisation, affluence and skills prejudiced public opinion in India towards them. Besides, unlike their counterparts in Burma or Ceylon the East African Asians had no lobbies at the state level to plead their cause.

On 11 August 1972 a statement was made in the Lok Sabha on behalf of the Ministry of External Affairs in which the Asians from Uganda were classified into 4 categories: Ugandan Citizens, British Passport holders, Indian Nationals and stateless persons.28 The Government of India recognised their responsibility for the Indian citizens only, and also recognised the right of the Ugandan Government to regulate their internal affairs according to their best judgement. India expected that those who had to leave the country would be able to do so under conditions conforming to humane and equitable standards under international law. The government also became concerned about compensation for the properties left behind belonging to Indian nationals.29 In a statement on 4 September 1972, the Minister of External Affairs S. Singh stated that the Government of India

considered the present facilities for the repatriation of cash and moveables were wholly inadequate in relation to their long residence in Uganda as well as for starting a new life.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.