‘THANK YOU, YOUR MAJESTY’
British Asians salute the Queen for her ‘selfless service’
POLITICAL and business leaders from the British Asian community have paid tribute to “their inspirational Queen” for her “selfless service” ahead of her platinum jubilee.
The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, told Eastern Eye that he remembered being a child celebrating her silver jubilee in 1977, and he was “so excited to get a glimpse of the Queen and so proud to be British”.
Senior Conservative peer Lord Gadhia said she had “played an exemplary role in uniting diverse communities throughout her remarkable 70-year reign”.
Writing in this week’s paper, the secretary-general of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland, praised the Queen’s “special qualities embodied as head of the Commonwealth”.
Lord Bilimoria, founder and chair of Cobra Beer and president of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said, “The Queen is one of the best examples of service leadership.
“It’s a service and duty, and I’ve seen that time after time, and she takes it very seriously.
“She’s very knowledgeable, very sharp, and on the ball every time. It’s because of the way in which she has conducted herself through all the ups and downs of the 70 years of her service.
“My late father, General Bilimoria, said the true test of leadership is not in the good times. It’s in times of adversity.
“And the Queen, my gosh, how many times of adversity has she had to cope with in 70 years, and she has been steadfast.
“Her leadership has been consistent, and she has been a rock for the country, including the Asian communities.”
The honorary consul-general of Uganda and business leader, Jaffer Kapasi, has met the Queen many times since the 1980s.
He represented the business community in the East Midlands and Dawoodi Bohra Muslims.
Like thousands of Asians, Kapasi, his mother, father and eight siblings were expelled from Uganda in 1972. The country’s leader, dictator Idi Amin, allowed the family to flee 50 years ago, and they arrived in Britain with just £55 in their pocket.
“I’ll give one example of how she actually looks after her subjects,” Kapasi said.
“We waited to view the archives at the National Archives centre to see what happened when Idi Amin expelled us.
“I was shown this letter where the Queen’s officials advised her not to send a Christmas card to Idi Amin, and this was in 1973.
“In fact, the Queen made a written note saying, ‘please do send the president a card, because he may decide to deport another group of people from his country’.
“So, you can see how well she knew about the expulsion and her commitment to making sure that we (Britain) don’t want to upset any other head of state or any other presidents so that citizens don’t come to harm,” Kapasi said.
“Look at the role the Queen has played in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
“She’s held the Commonwealth so well and made sure that there was a balance. She has served and represented her country very well.”
Restaurateur Cyrus Todiwala is another businessman who has met the Queen more than a dozen times. The most memorable occasion was cooking her Diamond Jubilee lunch 10 years ago, he said.
The owner of Café Spice Namasté is replicating that menu – Indian shepherd’s pie and bread and butter pudding – at his restaurant for the platinum jubilee.
“You automatically feel a little bit more shy to make conversation, but she puts you at your ease,” he recalled.
“I call it a craft to put you at ease because people are in awe of you all the time.
“For some individuals, they will struggle to chat with you because they are in such awe. So, they have a knack of putting you at your ease, and asking you how your day has been, and you automatically relax a bit.”
Indian Parsis, said Todiwala, regard her as “their Queen”.
“My community has had closer relationships with the crown. She has made that impression on people to be called ‘our Queen’,” he explained.
“That has to be something that resonates with the impression she has created, because India is a republic, part of the Commonwealth, but it’s a republic. There is no royal head of state or whatever.”
Bilimoria, who is also an Indian Parsi, agreed. “The Parsi community have always been renowned for their love of the royal family.
“The Queen has been a wonderful leader for our whole country and for the Commonwealth,” he said.
“She’s passionate about the Commonwealth, and of course, the biggest country in the Commonwealth is India, which makes up over half the population.”
His father was aide de camp, a military officer acting as a confidential assistant to
India’s first president, Rajendra Prasad. The general was responsible for planning the Queen’s visit in 1961.
Bilimoria did not meet the Queen until he came to the UK, but he has known three generations of the British royal family, including the Queen Mother.
“I have not heard a single person say a bad word about her. There’s complete respect for her and complete affection.
“I remember when the president of India came on an official state visit, and I was present there.
“You have the address in both houses of parliament. You have the lord mayor’s banquet. And then she hosted the state banquet at Windsor Castle, and I’ll never forget, I was asked by the minister of the household, ‘would I mind keeping her company because the president of India had retired’.
“Now there she was, she waited until the president of India retired and she stayed on for another hour after that, meeting all the guests and talking to people and showing interest in everything. “I mean, remarkable stamina.” That sense of duty is not lost on another peer.
“The Queen is patron to over 600 charities which provide invaluable support to millions of people in the UK and around the world,” Gadhia told Eastern Eye.
“One such example is the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust which supports a number of different programmes.
“For example, the GirlDreamer programme equips women of colour in the UK with the skills to fulfil their dreams of social change.
“Its recent work has focused on increasing women’s participation in sport.
“Currently only 31 per cent of women in the UK actively participate in sport, and this number falls to 12.5 per cent among Asian women.
“This is just one example of her contribution to ethnic minorities.
“Her 70-year reign has been an inspiring example of devoted service.
“In her recent Commonwealth message, the Queen stated it was her pleasure to renew the promise made in 1947, that her life will always be devoted in service.
“This commitment to a life of service resonates with the Hindu, Sikh and Jain values of sewa – or selfless service.
“She unites multiple diverse communities through her shining example of selfless service.”
Khan echoed the admiration for her service to her subjects.
“The Queen has lived a life of extraordinary public service, devoting her time to representing her country and carrying out her duties with amazing grace and humility,” the mayor of London said.
“In the last 70 years, the Queen has led our country through some of the most momentous times in our history – from presenting the World Cup to England at Wembley in 1966 and welcoming the Olympics to London in 2012, to witnessing the first colour television broadcast in 1954 and opening the spectacular new Elizabeth line in our capital last month.
“London and the whole country have certainly developed beyond recognition over the last seven decades, but the Queen has been a constant in our lives – a pillar of strength and a reassuring presence in a changing world.
“She has also been at the forefront of celebrating our country’s great diversity.
“From visiting a mosque in Scunthorpe and Sikh temple in Leicester as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations, to bestowing multiple honours on community heroes from all backgrounds.
“The simple fact is no one else brings the country together in such a way.
“I’m hugely looking forward to seeing Londoners from different backgrounds unite and take to the streets in her honour this week.”
For another member of the Lords, the Queen exemplifies the fairness of his adopted home.
“I have been privileged to have served as a member of the royal household, when I was appointed a government whip and a minister of the crown in her government,” said Lord Dolar Popat, the prime minister’s trade envoy to Rwanda, Uganda and Democratic Republic of the Congo, writing in Eastern Eye.
“I was the first British Indian to serve in the role, which entailed representing her and carrying out duties on her behalf.
“Representing the crown is perhaps my greatest privilege in life.
“It reflects [the fact that] the UK is a great and inclusive country to make a life in.
“The fact that a Ugandan-Asian who came to this country as a refugee can walk the corridors of power in parliament is an example of how much things have changed in the UK with the help and guidance from the Queen.”
The point of the Queen, said Kapasi, is that she is a force for good.
“My role is to make sure that we trade in the United Kingdom, not just in trade, but in education as well. If you look at the other aspects, there’s culture, there’s music the Queen enjoys.
“She has always made sure that Uganda is also represented in not only the Commonwealth but in all the other as
pects of life, and my role has been to actually promote these activities.
“Later this year, we’re having Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
“Again, I think she will play a leading role in uniting people.
“We will have athletes uniting people of different colours, different races, different languages, coming to a common platform, and representing their own flags in celebration of sport.
“Obviously, it boosts local economy in terms of people coming and spending money in this country.”
But after 70 years of loyal service, thoughts are turning to the Queen’s successor, especially with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, later this month.
“The Queen will be represented there by the Prince of Wales, who will eventually succeed her as head of the Commonwealth,” the secretary-general, Patricia Scotland, said. (See Comment, page 8)
“But we will undoubtedly feel her active care and presence, and continue to benefit from her enduring commitment and wisdom.”
In a survey published on May 19, the think-tank, British Future, found that young people appeared to be “ambivalent about the monarchy”.
Four in 10 said they wanted to keep it while 37 per cent felt that the end of the Queen’s reign would be the right time for Britain to become a republic.
Some have felt that way because of the recent scandals engulfing the monarchy, such as Prince Andrew’s court case against American Virginia Giuffre.
She said she was the victim of sex trafficking and abuse at the hands of the late Jeffrey Epstein from the age of 16.
Giuffre said in court papers that part of her abuse involved being lent out to other powerful men, including Prince Andrew.
“Prince Charles will have his job cut out, though I personally think he’s the best man for the job,” said Todiwala.
“Having met him many, many times, I know how passionate he is about Britain in the first place, and the number of things that he does without people coming to know is unbelievable, really.
“The only struggle he will have is acceptance for the time being, until he proves himself. He’s got a very tough job to follow.
“He’s involved in so many conservation things. If only he had any political clout, I think you would be much better off in this country. We’re all shouting and screaming about sustainability, and he is the king of sustainability.”