The Indian community has asked the government to recognize them as a Ugandan tribe.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the Diwali dinner hosted by President Museveni at State House Entebbe on Saturday, the Indians said the move would help them have a sense of belonging and that they would concentrate on their businesses.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Children are born, raised and study from here (in Uganda) but when they reach 18 years, they become foreigners. When we ask for national identity cards, passports and birth certificates, we are required to reveal our tribes, which is a difficult question to respond to,\u00a0\u00bb said Mr Patel Sanjiv, a member of the Indian Association Uganda.<\/p>\n
President Museveni urged the Indians to apply for citizenship and that he would support them.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0The Constitution is very clear that someone here whose origin is untraceable and those who have lived for 10 years are free to apply for citizenship. Your grandparents have been here and you were born here. So apply and I will follow it up,\u00a0\u00bb Mr Museveni said.<\/p>\n
He added that Asians have lived in Uganda for ages and should be recognized as a tribe.<\/p>\n