BBC Asian Network marks 40th anniversary of 'The Great Asian Exodus'
August 2012

This August, BBC Asian Network and BBC Radio Leicester are joining forces to look at the fortieth anniversary of Idi Amin ordering Asians out of Uganda. Around 27,000 Ugandan Asians came to settle in the UK with many ending up in Leicester, changing the face of the city forever. Coverage to mark the anniversary includes special films on BBC Breakfast, East Midlands Today and World TV. On Friday 10th August Rupal Rajani will present a special outside broadcast from Belgrave Road in Leicester, the heart of the city’s Asian community and in October 2012, BBC Radio Leicester will mark the end of the three months that Asians had to leave Uganda.

Key highlights across BBC Asian Network and BBC Radio Leicester include:

An exclusive radio documentary where BBC Asian Network and Radio Leicester presenter Rupal Rajani returns to her roots in Uganda. She and six other family members of her family were kicked out of the country forty years ago. Her dad had a shop in Uganda and had to leave everything behind. In a unique project a BBC cameraman also travelled with her to capture some truly emotional moments and also to explore the sometimes difficult relationship between the Asians and the Black Ugandans. This documentary will be broadcast for the first time on 6th August on BBC Asian Network and also on Radio Leicester during that week.

A special week - from 4th August both stations will mark the declaration of Idi Amin that Asians had to leave Uganda. They will hear the stories of people who were given just weeks to pack up and leave their homes, and what it was like to arrive in the UK. Radio Leicester has worked with Rushey Mead Primary School in the city to allow students to capture some of the stories told by their parents and grandparents.

A simulcast show broadcast on both stations – on Friday 10th August Rupal Rajani will present a special outside broadcast from Belgrave Road in Leicester, the heart of the city’s Asian community.

A second week in October on BBC Radio Leicester will mark the end of the three months that Asians had to leave Uganda. It will focus on the difference they made to Leicester including business, language and food. It will also examine how the community has integrated and what the next generation of Ugandan Asians are like, including the issue of inter-racial marriage.

Presenter Rupal Rajani says: “I hope these special programmes on the BBC Asian Network and BBC Radio Leicester will help capture the thoughts and memories of first generation Ugandan Asians and also bring about discussion and understanding to the new generation, who may or may not be aware of their roots. They are a celebration of the positive impact that Ugandan Asians have had throughout the UK over the last forty years.”

Mark Strippel, Head of Programmes, BBC Asian Network says: “The Asian Ugandan migration 40 years ago was a major moment in British-Asian history, having a lasting impact on wider British culture and communities. These programmes celebrate the key contribution made by this community and the significance of this anniversary.”