Expulsion of Asians from Uganda
In early August 1972, the President of Uganda, Idi Amin, ordered the expulsion of his country's Asian minority, giving them 90 days to leave the country. At the time of the expulsion, there were about 80,000 individuals of Indian descent (mostly Gujaratis) in Uganda, of whom 23,000 had their applications for citizenship both processed and accepted. Although the latter were ultimately exempted from the expulsion, many chose to leave voluntarily. The expulsion took place against a backdrop of Indophobia in Uganda, with Amin accusing a minority of the Asian population of disloyalty, nonintegration and commercial malpractice, claims that Indian leaders disputed. Amin defended the expulsion by arguing that he was "giving Uganda back to ethnic Ugandans".