Conclusion

Abstract

The period between 1895 and 1940 was a profoundly important one in the history of the Indian professional diaspora to East Africa. Indian medical schools were bearing more fruit and, increasingly from 1900, their graduates were seeking employment opportunities further afield than within the borders of their subcontinent. Indian doctors, already familiar with the character and expectations of British rule, could conceive of a move within the British Empire as a logical step, even if it was simultaneously also a rather intrepid one. Whether coming of their own initiative, or at the behest of the British government, Kenya seemed to present certain prospects—its mild climate, relative proximity to India, comparatively fertile hills and already multi-cultural coastline leant it an appeal to Indians hoping for a better and more prosperous life.