Saluting Asian pioneers who changed Britain for the better
NEW DIGITAL PROJECT WILL OPEN UP ‘LONG OVERDUE RICH VEIN OF RESEARCH’
THE Asian Media Group (AMG) and the University of Southampton have teamed up to recognise south Asians who have transformed the UK.
Named after the founder of AMG, the Ramniklal Solanki Pioneers Project will tell the life stories of 100 people whose work has left an unforgettable mark on Britain.
“People from the Indian subcontinent have been settling in Britain since the 1600s,” said Professor Jane Falkingham, vice-president international and executive director of the India Centre at the University of Southampton. “At first, they were ayahs, domestic servants, nannies and seamen.
“By the mid-19th century, scholars, diplomats, traders and businesspeople swelled those numbers.”
The contribution those migrants made is rarely captured in story or academic form, she added. Their stories will be curated as part of a digital project and made available at the university’s website.
“This is incredibly exciting,” said Prof Falkingham, who is also the dean of the faculty of social sciences at the university. “Our team will not only capture their personal achievements, but they will analyse the economic, social and cultural impact on contemporary Britain.
“Why did they do what they did? How have they influenced what we do today? What were the barriers to their success? These are just some of the questions we’ll be trying to answer. It promises to open up a rich vein of research which is long overdue.”
The pioneers will be nominated by the public. A panel of judges, led by Professor Lord Kamlesh Patel of Bradford OBE, will choose the final 100.
“I can think of no better way of paying tribute to those who have changed Britain for the better and forever,” said the peer, who is chair of the government regulator Social Work England. “We should acknowledge and appreciate that our great-grandparents, grandparents and parents came from all over the world, many from the old British empire, therefore, already British citizens, during difficult times.
“They arrived, in what to some was an alien environment, many with no promise of a job, no home, little or no money, only with the clothes on their backs, often alone, leaving families behind.
“[They] worked tirelessly in jobs that many were well over-qualified for, faced and overcame immense struggles including overt racism. And here we are today, continuing to make a huge contribution and a positive difference to this country which we have made our home.”
Once lockdown ends, the university and AMG, the publishers of Eastern Eye, will embark on honouring 10 pioneers who have already been chosen by the panel. They include industrialists, artists, sport stars and community activists.
“Among the stories we will be telling is that of my late, great friend, Lord Noon, better known as the ‘curry king’,” explained Lord Patel. “He brought the nation’s favourite meal to the masses. But what many won’t know about is his selflessness.
“How, when his factory burnt down, he was advised to declare bankruptcy, so he didn’t have to pay his employees. But he ignored that advice because of his moral and ethical values. What does that say about the man and his particular form of leadership? That is what this project is about. Celebrating lives, most definitely, but absolutely learning lessons.”
The launch coincides with the first anniversary of the death of the founder of AMG, after which this project is named.
Ramniklal Solanki passed away on March 1, 2020, aged 88, after a short illness.
He arrived in the UK in 1964, and was inspired by the then Indian high commissioner in London, Dr Jivraj Mehta, to launch a newspaper for the small but growing south Asian communities in Britain.
With his wife Parvatiben, Mr Solanki started the Garavi Gujarat newsweekly, as a handwritten, cylostyled black and white newssheet from a small, terraced house in Wembley, north London. From this humble beginning sprang a publishing empire that today includes consumer and business titles, digital media and events spanning three continents and reaching over five million readers each month.
“Our father was extraordinarily humble and dedicated his life to making the lives of millions of south Asians better,” said his son and AMG’s group managing editor, Kalpesh Solanki. “My brother, Shailesh, and I remember working in our kitchen with our father packing up the editions of Garavi Gujarat. He would then go around the country selling subscriptions.”
The paper grew to become the biggestselling Gujarati newspaper outside India, and is today published in two editions in the UK and US. Over the years it played a crucial role in fighting injustice and campaigning for fairer immigration laws.
When Mr Solanki passed away last year, the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, former chancellor Sajid Javid, and the London mayor Sadiq Khan, all recognised the pivotal role he played in British media history.
The Pioneers project will also examine the role of campaigning groups, such as the Southall Black Sisters, which has fought fearlessly and tirelessly for the human rights of women across the UK, righting wrongs.
It will also feature the actress, playwright and author Meera Syal, who was the subject of the inaugural Fireside Chat.
“We’re making history as we go along, and it’s not written down,” she said. “We have not been written into so much of British history, and we’re just finding that out now. So, a lot of our history has not been recorded. If you’re not recorded, you’re forgotten, so this is really important.”
In addition, the project will recognise people who are less well known yet made their mark on British history.
Sardar Harnam Singh Roudh is widely recognised as the “father” of the Sikh community in Southampton.
He moved to England alone in 1951 with just £3 in his pocket, but within a decade, he opened the city’s first Indian and West Indian Continental store.
“My grandfather was inspirational and influential in my life,” said Amarjit Singh, a lawyer, political adviser and chief executive of the India Business Group. “Like many south Asians, he arrived with little, but he contributed so much richness to this melting pot of a nation. When he passed away, the entire city came to a standstill in tribute to the passing of a great man.”
UK Research and Innovation India is also supporting this project.
SOME ethnic minority groups in Britain were relatively less badly affected in the second wave of Covid-19 than they were in the first, a government report into the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on minorities said last Friday (26).
The quarterly report previously found the increased risk to ethnic minorities from Covid-19 was largely driven by factors such as living circumstances and profession.
Disparities have improved for some ethnic groups including black Africans, black Caribbean, Chinese and Indians, the latest report found, highlighting that ethnicity or genetics were not in themselves inherent risk factors.
“The latest data shows this is not a onesize-fits-all situation. Outcomes have improved for some ethnic minority groups since the first wave, but we know some communities are still particularly vulnerable,” said Kemi Badenoch, the minister for equalities.
The report found that there remained a higher risk of infection for Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, after adjustment for other factors, though the reasons for this were not yet clear.
Although some disparities remain, the government highlighted the work being done to tackle the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on black and ethnic minority groups, including working with broadcasters in a range of different languages as well as funding grassroots advocates in order to promote awareness.
As well as being at higher risk from Covid-19, there is also evidence that vaccine hesistancy is higher in ethnic minority groups. The government said only 49 per cent of black or black British adults reported that they were likely to have the vaccine, and cited data showing approximately 60 per cent of black people over the age of 70 had been vaccinated, compared to 75 per cent of south Asians and 90 per cent of white people.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel, and as the vaccine rollout continues, I urge everyone who is offered one to take the opportunity to protect themselves, their family, and their community,” Badenoch said.
Reacting to the report, Dr Vanessa Apea, consultant physician at the Barts Health NHS Trust, said it was “promising” to see the progress made in response to the first report’s recommendations.
However, she stressed that more work still needed to be carried out.
“The positive impact of communitybased organisations is made clear in this report,” Dr Apea said. “It is crucial that they continue to be engaged and resourced to support all communities.”
The government highlighted its efforts to combat the impact of the pandemic on BAME communities, including working with ethnic minority titles and ensuring health information communications were translated into different languages.
THE son of a British man held in India – in a case linked with a Dubai princess who claims she was kidnapped – has appealed to prime minister Boris Johnson for help.
Arms dealer Christian Michel, 59, has been detained in India since December 2018 after being extradited from the United Arab Emirates over a helicopter deal.
India last Saturday (27) dismissed calls by UN rights experts for him to be freed, rejecting suggestions that his detention had been politically motivated and without any legal basis.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) said Michel’s imprisonment lacked a legal basis. And it raised concerns that his extradition “was a de facto swap” for India’s capture and return of an unnamed high-profile detainee to Dubai in March 2018, without providing more details.
WGAD demanded Michel’s immediate release and compensation from both nations. His 26-year-old son, Alaric Michel, welcomed last Friday’s (26) comments by the UN panel, and told Sky News he hoped the British prime minister would now intervene. “I hope he will take into consideration that he is a UK citizen and a UK citizen under his protection as prime minister of our country.”
His father was being held “in some of the worst conditions” and the family was concerned about his health, he added.
The detention of Michel has suspected links to Sheikha Latifa, the daughter of Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum. She was captured by Indian commandoes at sea in 2018 after trying to flee the UAE.
In videos secretly sent to friends she has said she was abducted by her family, something her relatives have denied, insisting she is being cared for at home.
Johnson himself expressed concern about the videos in comments last Wednesday (24).
Sky News meanwhile acquired a video of Christian Michel – filmed while he was in detention in Dubai – in which he links his pending extradition to Latifa’s case.
“In 2018, everything changed. An event happened in the Indian Ocean which completely changed my life and the proceedings that I was under,” he said.
“So now I’m sitting in a jail in Dubai facing extradition. None of this would even concerned me, but for a number of meetings that took place in July, after the return of Latifa.”
Michel was working in the UAE as a middleman and consultant for a subsidiary of the Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland, itself a subsidiary of aerospace and defence group Finmeccanica.
He was accused of arranging kickbacks to Indian officials to secure a deal to supply 12 helicopters in 2010.
India cancelled the deal in 2014 amid allegations of bribery.
Its foreign ministry last Saturday accused the UN group of bias, accusing them of having an “inaccurate understanding of the country’s criminal justice system”. Michel’s removal was permitted under an extradition treaty between the states, India said.
“The arrest and subsequent custody were done as per the due process of law and cannot be considered arbitrary on any grounds,” it added.
January