By the end of British rule in Africa, there were roughly 350,000 Indians living in East Africa comprising a substantial portion of the merchant class. Under British rule, the Indian community prospered, serving indigenous African needs through their role as a middleman, a role that Jews have occupied throughout history. AdvertisementThe Indians in East Africa, like the Chinese in Malaysia and Singapore, benefitted from liberal British policy. AdvertisementHe came to view British colonialism in East Africa as oppressive and U.S. foreign policy as a form of neo-colonialism and equally oppressive. At the foot of his father, Zohran absorbed this radical worldview.