Search | South Asian Britain

Photo of Bengali family demonstrating for Bangladesh's independence

Bangladesh Liberation Movement

Event March 1971 ‐ 16 December 1971

British Bengali communities united in a joint effort to galvanize support for an independent Bangladesh in 1971

Crepe Sizes Strike

Event 27 May 1972 ‐ 9 June 1972

In May 1972, Pakistani workers walked out over poor working conditions

1972 Expulsion Order

Event 4 August 1972

President Idi Amin ordered the expulsion of Uganda’s South Asian population on 4 August 1972, resulting in many members of this displaced community coming to the UK

Mansfield Hosiery Strike

Event 27 September 1972 ‐ 29 December 1972

In September 1972, 500 South Asian men and women walked out of the Loughborough-based Mansfield Hosiery Mills to challenge discriminatory employment and working practices

Imperial Typewriters Strike

Event May 1974 ‐ August 1974

Over 500 workers, most of them South Asian, walked out of this Leicester-based firm in protest against a lack of promotion opportunities and unpaid bonuses

Grunwick Dispute

Event 20 August 1976 ‐ 12 July 1978

A protest, by mainly South Asian female workers, against a lack of dignity and rights in the workplace at a film-processing plant in Willesden, north-west London

Battle of Brick Lane, 1978

Event 14 May 1978 ‐ September 1978

The racist murder of Altab Ali triggered a protest march from Brick Lane to Downing Street, followed by a summer of mobilization against the National Front