In a world of ever-increasing online connectivity and AI, good old-fashioned meetings on the golf course still work.
Bridge India was delighted to be a sponsor for the first-ever East African Asians Golf Day, taking place at Mill Green Golf Course in Welwyn Garden City on Sunday 6 April.
More than 60 golfers played 18 holes, after a hearty breakfast of bacon butties, egg butties, and Gujarati staples gathia, thepla and chundo. This was followed by a half-way house at 9 holes of desi snacks, as well as a sumptuous Indian dinner.
Dinner saw the most prominent East African Asians from around the world attending, including as far as Vancouver. The evening included speeches from Ugandan High Commissioner to the UK Nimisha Madhvani, former Justice Minister and the first East African in a British Cabinet Shailesh Vara, and hotelier Tony Matharu, who spoke passionately about the global business, community and political leadership showed by East African Asians.
The event was organised by Harshad Kothari and team at SAS Consultancy. Sponsors included Bowling & Co solicitors, Marylebone, Springfields, Bridge India, Navigate Business Recovery, White Lotus Wealth, KLSA (PKF), Asian Achievers Awards, Forum Insurance, Oak Tree IT with support from HSBC UK, Taj Foods, Anish Sound & AV, LycaRadio, London Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Blue Orchid Hospitality.
It was terrific to see so many Bridge India Members attending, playing and sponsoring.
Who are East African Asians?
East African Asians include Gujaratis and Punjabis who had migrated from the Indian subcontinent to Africa and then from Africa to the UK. They include Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims. Some are Ismaili Muslims, a Shi’a denomination, whose spiritual leader is the Aga Khan. There are some Jains and Zoroastrians. Between 1968 and 1974, the main immigration period, over 70,000 Kenyan and Ugandan Asians arrived in Britain.
British rule in East Africa enhanced the position of Gujarati entrepreneurs who had operated there for centuries. It also introduced a large, though mainly temporary, population of Punjabi labourers. Following Ugandan independence from Britain in 1962 and Kenyan independence in 1963, the governments introduced ‘Africanization’ policies. The wealthy Asian middle class were an obvious target. Around 50,000 of the 80,000 Asians living in Uganda opted for British rather than Ugandan citizenship. During the 1960s thousands of Asian families from East Africa migrated to Britain. Although they had been prosperous business and property owners, those who left Kenya in the late 1960s were unable to bring much of their wealth with them. In Britain they lived in poor-quality housing and obtained low-paid work. They also found their British status did not allow them to enter Britain freely.
The 1962 Commonwealth Immigration Act subjected Commonwealth citizens to immigration controls for the first time. Alarmed by the influx of East African Asians, the British government tightened controls in 1968, requiring immigrants to show a close connection with the UK. In 1972 immigrants had to obtain work permits unless their parents or grandparents were born in the UK.
In 1972 General Amin ordered all Asians out of Uganda. Around 28,600 out of the 50,000 British passport holders came to Britain. They were drawn from a variety of social classes and age groups. Many were highly successful businesspeople and brought with them qualifications and capital that enabled them to succeed despite the constraints of racism and discrimination.
Some East African Asians invested in small general grocery and newsagent shops, which they ran as family businesses. Others invested in manufacturing and trading businesses on a larger scale.
This section background courtesy of Minority Rights Group.