In this audio clip from an interview with Kavita Puri in 2017, Poonam Joshi talks about the anti-racism movement in Britain in the 1970s. While recognising that there were conflicts between various ethnic communities, she also describes how there was a generally shared goal among these communities to work towards justice, equality and civil rights. When asked if the history of the British in India and of Partition should be taught in British schools, Poonam strongly agrees and stresses the importance of learning about Indian people’s experiences of British colonial rule.

About Kavita Puri’s Partition Voices

In 2017 BBC journalist Kavita Puri led a project to mark the 70th anniversary of the Partition of India. Through interviews, the Partition Voices team directly documented the experiences of those who lived through this traumatic time and subsequently moved to Britain, as well as stories from their children and grandchildren. The testimonies recall epic journeys and forced migration, violence, partings with friends and family, and the end of Empire, with some speaking about these events for the very first time. The outcome of this project was an award-winning three-part series for BBC Radio 4 titled Partition Voices, and later an acclaimed book of the same name. The full recordings and transcripts from Partition Voices are archived at the British Library Sound Archive, with collection reference C1790.

POONAM JOSHI:

I mean I grew up in Coventry in the 70s. You had the antiracism movement. And I'm not saying there weren’t problems between Indians and Pakistanis and Bangladeshis and the African and Caribbean community, but there was a shared goal that was rooted in justice and equality and rights. Then you had that shift to multiculturalism. Now with the shift to the multi-faithism, I know there are interfaith efforts but I don't think those go in any way to address what you lose when you lose the opportunity for people to actually grow up together.

KAVITA PURI:

Do you think that – and it's not taught in schools - but the history of the British in India and actually the story of pre-partition, prior to partition, should be told?

POONAM JOSHI:

Yes, I think it should, absolutely. And not just story of partition, just the story of the impact the British had in India. I mean, today it's still either told through a very romanticised lens, the kind of ‘far pavilions’ school of the British Raj, you might have a focus on partition but I remember speaking to a colleague who works on human rights who wasn't aware of the Bengal famine. I mean there is so much of Indian history under the British Empire that isn't told. So we get the stories about the roads and the parliament and the language, and of course those are much more complicated stories than that, but there is no sense of the British wanting to hear what the other side was of that story, and film-makers and producers not also looking to tell that story either.