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As British South Asians reel from the riots of summer 2024, this book tells the inspirational story of how the community organised against racism in the past and how it continues to fight in the present.
British South Asians have a long tradition of radical political activism. The 1970s and 1980s saw the community grappling with prejudice in the workplace and violence in the streets. But this history is deeper than you might think, from students agitating for independence at the heart of the British Empire to seafarers organising global strikes on the eve of the Second World War.
In Come what may, we’re here to stay, Taj Ali reveals how successive generations fought for rights, dignity and a sense of belonging while actively shaping the country they now call home. He shows that British South Asian political life has often been defined less by religious difference than by shared commitments to anti-imperialism and anti-racism. In pursuit of these goals, alliances have been forged with other movements, from Irish republicanism to Black Power.
As racism rears its ugly head again, Come what may, we’re here to stay asks: are we are doomed to repeat the past or will we learn from our mistakes and build a better world together?
‘A consequential recounting of a long and illustrious history of South Asian resistance and organising in Britain. It reminds us yet again of the vital importance of solidarity and alliances across race, religion and class in changing the world we share.’
Priyamvada Gopal, author of Insurgent Empire
‘This is forgotten history that needs to be told as a matter of emergency.’
Sathnam Sanghera, author of Empireland
‘Ali's isn't a nostalgic trip down memory lane but an insightful account of community struggles and solidarities directly relevant to our current conjuncture. This book traces the transnational, class and gender-based nodes through which anti-racist struggles were fought and won, and whilst there is no blueprint that can be lifted from these accounts, there is rich learning to draw.’
Shabna Begum, CEO, The Runnymede Trust
‘This is a British history – and one that should be better known across the nation.’
Kavita Puri, HistoryExtra
‘Like all the great people’s historians, Taj Ali has an eye for the past in the present. Cut from the same cloth as the rebels and radicals that inspired him, this fast-moving narrative captures the heartbeat and solidarity rhythms of South Asian working-class struggles across the centuries.’
Liz Fekete, Director, Institute for Race Relations
Prologue
1 The Highgate revolutionaries
2 Punjabi pioneers
3 Seafarer struggles
4 Early struggles in post-war Britain
5 Black Power
6 Finding home
7 Fighting back
8 A national movement
9 Self-defence is no offence
10 Solidarity
11 Rushdie, rioting and religious divides
Epilogue
Index