Preserving the History of Kenya’s Indian Diaspora

When Yuvraj Shah’s (United Kingdom, Li Po Chun UWC of Hong Kong, Middlebury ’26) grandfather migrated from India to Kenya in 1895, he joined more than 35,000 Indians who helped build East Africa’s infrastructure. Today, with Kenya’s Indian population declining by 1.8% annually to just 85,000, Yuvraj is racing to preserve these stories before they vanish.

“We are at risk of losing the histories and stories of a community which was instrumental in the nation-building of one of Africa’s most populous countries,” Yuvraj explains.

Awarded a Mellon Foundation Fellowship, Yuvraj traveled to Kenya in summer 2025 to interview Asian Indians and document their migration stories. At Middlebury, he’s creating a historical archive to preserve these histories for future generations.

Yuvraj has become a voice for migration and belonging. As the sole student speaker at Middlebury’s TEDx event and Opinion Editor for the Middlebury Campus, he writes about preserving cultural heritage while integrating into new communities.

“The migrant can and should grow. The migrant will one day not even be a migrant anymore,” he writes. “It is important to allow people to retain their history while integrating into a new space.”

His work ensures that Kenya’s Indian diaspora contributions—from railway construction to business development—are not forgotten as communities disperse globally.

This profile is part of the “Undergraduates in Action” series from the 2026 Annual Report