The UK has a long and rich history of political campaigning and activism, but there are still historical events that many of us aren’t too aware of. Events that feel particularly pertinent given the recent riots that have engulfed the UK in the past week or so. One such period is the story of the British Asian movements that fought back against the rising tide of extremism and the far right in the 1970s and 80s.

Channel 4’s documentary series, Defiance: Fighting The Far Right, aims to shed light on this period, covering the fight for Brick Lane, the Southall protests, the killing of Blair Peach by the police and the Bradford 12.

The series starts with the killing of 18-year-old Gurdip Singh Chaggar on the streets of Southall and the words of far-right founder of the National party John Kingsley Read: “One down, one million to go.” But when the police refused to do anything about the murder, young British Asians came together and started Asian Youth Movements to protect themselves and their communities. These movements came head to head with the far-right, resulting in a brutal fight for justice.

While watching the series, I was struck with how little we’re taught about this part of history, even though it’s still so recent. These were events that formed part of the political sphere at the time and paved the way for anti-racism activism but are hardly mentioned in our education system.

The docu-series uses archive footage and new testimonials from the people who were there to show both how far we have come as a country and the challenges we still face. One person who lived through it is Pritpal. She grew up in Southall and was there on the day of the National Front demonstration in 1979, a young teenage girl at the time.

Before the documentary, these were memories that Pritpal had filed away in her mind and hadn’t thought about for a long time because it wasn’t something she wanted to be defined by. But taking part in Defiance brought many of her memories to the surface.

“It was hard to revisit some of the events. I was a little bit taken aback by how emotional I felt talking about it all for the series; it was as if I was shell shocked,” she said. “I was only a young girl at the time, so I wasn’t being challenged in the same way as some of the men in my community were, but my first real experience of racism was the morning Gurdip Singh Chaggar died.”

The young boy was killed yards away from Pritpal’s home, and it shocked her as she’d always thought of Southall as a safe place to live. “Southall became very politicised and its people very politically engaged.”

Pritpal witnessed how Southall became a hub of political activity. “There was the legal advice centre on the high street where my school friends and I would hang out. They organised raising funds for the 300-plus people who were arrested at the National Front demonstration as well as legal representation. I ended up doing some clerking for a local solicitor and getting involved in that sense,” Pritpal shared.

The trajectory of Pritpal’s life took her away from her youthful political engagement to being a mum with a successful career. Only now is she finding herself getting engaged in politics again – recognising the significance of the Asian struggle she was part of.

“I just wanted to be a regular person living a regular life. But a few years ago, I felt a particular turn of events happening, starting with the conversations around Brexit. A lot of it was so openly racist and xenophobic, and these were comments coming from the very top,” she said. Pritpal saw how racism was no longer reserved for extremists but was present within government and the major political parties. 

This fuelled her to start going to protests and rallies again, to sign petitions and play what she feels is her part in community politics.

“I have always felt proud of Southall and the way it stood up to the far right; it’s why I love that the documentary is called Defiance. I hope the series tells younger generations that working together for a common goal and collective political action can achieve results as well as inspire people to not look away.”

Defiance: Fighting The Far Right is available to stream on Channel 4.

Image: Channel 4