Journeys, work and local institutions
Punjabi histories in East Africa
Begin with migration and railway work, then compare local histories in Nairobi, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam and Kampala.
6 entries · 12 min reading, calculated from article text
Use your browser’s print command for a copy of this reading list.
Your reading goal
Distinguish a regional account from a city record and retain the date, institution and individual experience each source actually documents.
- 01Diaspora · 2 min read
Punjabi migration to East Africa
Mixed migration routes, a Punjab-linked family’s movement to Zanzibar and nonracial labour organising complicate a single story of settlement.
- 02Diaspora · 2 min read
Punjabi railway workers in East Africa
Recruitment, workers’ demands and the difference between return and settlement reveal the human history behind the Uganda Railway.
- 03Diaspora · 2 min read
Punjabi communities in Nairobi
A sports club, Punjabi-language labour newspapers and educational institutions reveal different ways Nairobi’s communities organised urban life.
- 04Diaspora · 2 min read
Punjabi communities in Mombasa
Guesthouse and school histories, a dated club record and a volunteer’s account trace different forms of Sikh community organisation in Mombasa.
- 05Diaspora · 2 min read
Punjabi communities in Dar es Salaam
A temple, Punjabi-medium schooling, boarding houses and a neighbourhood study show how learning and everyday work sustained community life in Dar es Salaam.
- 06Diaspora · 2 min read
Punjabi communities in Kampala
A medical-institution notice, contested commemoration and research on expulsion preserve different records of Sikh and wider Asian life in Kampala.
A question to carry with you
Choose one claim from your reading. Identify its source and locator. What does that source directly establish, and what would need a second source?