The reason was that they had nothing to hope for the moment and after. Tragedies were happening on their left and tragedies on their right and tragedies before and behind. So, they wanted to make their days and nights a comedy by being as unrealistic as possible. Not to mean that they had no expectations and ambitions or they were totally blunt and boozy. They were sharp people and very intelligent to react to situations but what had gone wrong was traditional tribal hatred and rivalry. They could just forget all those catastrophic dimensions of life as insignificant if they had a leader capable enough to give them hope and prosperity. There were none.

Obote, the former president was fairly doing his work but Amin had spoiled it by capturing the system few years before my arrival. Life became very miserable for the people of the Lango tribe because Dr. Obote was a man of the tribe. Amin considered the people of Lango as his first class enemies and they were hunted down immediately after he had his iron fist on power. The educated ones in the top posts and occupying significant positions had to flee for their life to nearby countries. Some were slaughtered in their offices and at their homes and some were arrested and taken to military prisons, about whom the world never heard any news.

The social and political scenario at the time of my joining Dr. Obote College in Lira, Lango District was what I had briefly scribbled above. I met a society living a life in fear and desperation and there was no way out but suffer.

As a bachelor free from all cultural and social bindings of the Indian ways of life, I found my new life very enjoyable with the African friends. They took me to their evening beer parlors where they sit in the open in circles in front of a grass thatched hut. The hut might be of a local village woman who brewed the beer or could be one where people live with family, who did brewing to make some extra money. Summarily, toxic concoctions were brewed out from any grains or bananas by all house holds for family use or for sale. In the evening such places would have large social gathering of people from all walks of life. There were no discriminations of any kind in the circles; a farmer sat with a teacher or doctor or a businessman to drink the brew called “Kongo Lango”. This was brewed from millet, one of several grains used as their staple food.