Prime Minister Indira Gandhi shared the concern of members in the Rajya Sabha to-day [February 22, New Delhi] over the reported hardships of people of Indian origin in East Africa and agreed to look into them with urgency, sympathy and seriousness. “My heart bleeds as much” as the member’s, she told Dr. B.N. Antani (Swat.) who spoke with feeling about the difficulties of Indians in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania where he had lived for 30 years and complained of callousness and indifference on the part of official representatives of India. Replying to questions arising from a call attention motion on the subject, Mrs. Gandhi referred to the historical background of these countries on their becoming independent. Many people of Indian origin had not become one with the Africans after they became free. She had pointed this out when she visited them. Earlier, making a statement in response to the motion tabled by Mr. Dahyazhai Patel (Swat.) on reports of Indians being forced to leave Kenya, the Deputy External Affairs Minister, Mr. Surendrapal Singh, recalled that the Government had given permission to those who wanted to return to India and had extended them certain customs facilities. The Government would be “prepared to consider any future cases on the same basis” although it hoped that Indians who have settled abroad would adjust themselves to the changing circumstances in their countries of adoption. There were about 370,000 persons of Asian origin in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, of whom about 10,700 were Indians. Mr. Singh said that the Kenya Immigration Act of last year had been extended to license all trades, restricting non-citizens to trade in certain items and in certain areas. No such development had been reported from the other East African States. Neither the Immigration Act nor the Trade Licensing Bill affected Indians who had taken up citizenship of Kenya. Referring to the condition of people of Indian origin who held British passports, he said the Indian Government had taken up the subject with the British Government which was in touch with the Kenya Administration over the exodus of persons from Africa.
