Correspondence 1978-1984

General correspondence to and from the Indian Workers Association on a wide range of administrative and political matters.
Letters are arranged in chronological order, with undated correspondence placed at the end of the sequence.

/1 postcard sent by Avtar Jouhl to his family from Pakistan while on a study tour. The postcard mentions that he is travelling on to Canada, 6 February 1978

/2 from Mick Peckmore, secretary of Sandwell Committee Against Racialism and Fascism, to Avtar Jouhl discussing the aims and constitution of this organisation and giving details about the next general meeting, 18 May 1978

/3 copy letter from Avtar Jouhl to unidentified recipient addressed as 'Don' accepting an invitation and asking him to send a timetable, August 1979

/4 from the Asian Youth Movement, Manchester to the Indian Workers Association with condolences on the death of Arjan Dass Kataria during a demonstration against immigration laws and in support of Anwar Ditta, 15 November 1980

/5-/6 from Anwar Ditta Defence Campaign enclosing a donation towards the funeral costs of Arjan Dass Kataria, 13 January 1981, together with typescript statement issued by the Indian Workers Association on the death of Arjan Dass Kataria

/7 copy letter from Avtar Jouhl, General Secretary of the Indian Workers Association, to New Cross Massacre Action Committee expressing support and solidarity for the organisation, 23 March 1981

/8 copy letter from A. Singh, Indian Workers Association Central London branch, to Teja Sahota discussing articles relating to the 'Dalits' that have been sent to 'Lalkar', 12 April 1981

/9 copy letter from Rudy Narrayan to Kath Hartley, secretary of Handsworth Labour Party giving an account of instances of obstruction and racism he has faced in his campaign to be nominated as candidate for election, 30 June 1981

/10 copy letter from Avtar Jouhl to Sardar Darbara Singh, Chief Minister of Punjab, India urging the Indian government to protest to the British government over the proposed Nationality Bill and to provide the facility of Dual Nationality for people of Indian origin, 18 July 1981

/11 newspaper article alleging that Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council was biased against applications for funding by ethnic minority organisations, including details of allegations by Avtar Jouhl that the Shaheed Udham Singh Welfare Centre's bid was excluded from recommendations in a report by the urban aid programme sub-committee, 13 October 1981

/12-/16 correspondence and associated papers relating to Avtar Jouhl's position on the Manpower Services Commission Industrial Language Training Advisory Committee as a spokesperson for the views of ethnic minorities, including annotated agendas for meetings of this committee in October 1981 and March 1982

/17 from Anthony Wilson, secretary of the Barrow and Geraldine S. Cadbury Trust to Avtar Jouhl discussing translation services in Wolverhampton and the Indian Workers Association's role in the 'Wolverhampton industrial context', 23 July 1982

/18 from Harbans Singh, officer of special duty, High Commission of India to Avtar Jouhl inviting him and other members of the Indian Workers Association to participate in Independence Day celebrations in August 1982

/19 from Suki Sitmam, Birmingham Interpreting and Translating based at All Faiths For One Race [AFFOR] to Avtar Jouhl discussing efforts to launch an interpreting and translating service in Wolverhampton and enquiring about the possibility of meeting Indian Workers Association members in Wolverhampton, 5 August 1982

/20 from 'Peter', Socialist Workers Party, to Avtar Jouhl discussing articles in 'Searchlight' on attacks on the Anti-Nazi League, 4 August 1982

/21-/24 correspondence and associated papers from the Anti-Apartheid Movement City Branch concerning a campaign for the release of the South African political prisoner David Kitson and a picket outside South Africa House in London. One of the letters asks the Indian Workers Association to mobilise support for this campaign, July-August 1982

/25 invitation from the High Commissioner for India to Independence Day celebrations at the Indian Gymkhana Club, Osterley, Middlesex, 15 August 1982

/26 from Pratibha Parmar, 'Race & Class Ltd' to Avtar Jouhl making arrangements to film an interview with him as General Secretary of the Indian Workers Association, 2 September 1982

/27 typed transcript of an interview with Avtar Jouhl about the experiences of Asian workers in the West Midlands, particularly relating to industrial disputes at Coneygre Foundry in Tipton and Imperial Typewriters in Leicester, together with a covering letter from 'Race & Class Ltd' which carried out the interview in September 1982 as part of a project entitled 'Black Communities in Britain'

/28 from Anthony Wilson, Secretary of the Barrow and Geraldine S. Cadbury Trust, to Avtar Jouhl informing him of a visit to Birmingham by the House of Commons Select Committee on Race Relations and Immigration to gather evidence on a race/ethnic question in the next national census, 29 December 1982

/29 from A. A. Wood, County Planner, West Midlands County Council, to Avtar Jouhl in response to concerns expressed by the Indian Workers Association about the inclusion of ethnic origin questions in the national census, giving details about a proposed visit by the Sub-Committee on Race Relations and Immigration to gather evidence on this topic from representatives of ethnic minority community groups in the West Midlands, 7 January 1983

/30-/31 from Prem Kapoor, 'Films From India' to Avtar Jouhl concerning a proposed film about Udham Singh. /27 includes copies of correspondence between Khushwant Singh, editor of the Hindustan Times, and Prem Kapoor, April 1983

/32 from Margaret Henry, 'Race & Class Ltd' to Avtar Jouhl giving information about the film for which he was interviewed in September 1982 which will form part of a series entitled 'Struggles for Black Community' to be broadcast on Channel 4, and asking for confirmation that Jouhl's name and that of the Shaheed Udham Singh Welfare Centre can be credited, 5 April 1983

/33 from Harbans Singh, officer on special duty, High Commission of India, to Avtar Jouhl, making arrangements for a meeting to discuss Indian Independence Day celebrations 1983

/34 from Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants [JCWI] to recipient addressed as 'Prakash', giving details about the process of affiliating the Indian Workers Association to the JCWI, 31 March 1983

/35 from A. Gill to Avtar Jouhl apologising for not being able to meet him or attend meetings, April 1983

/36-/37 correspondence relating to the involvement of ethnic minority representatives on the Race Relations Sub-Committee for the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, including copy reply from Avtar Jouhl on behalf of the Indian Workers Association explaining why the organisation will not participate, citing racist immigration and nationality legislation, 25 May 1983

/38 from Stephen Lambert, BBC Assistant Producer, to Avtar Jouhl, thanking him for his participation in a programme entitled 'Inquiry: Will Britain Work Again?", 27 June 1983

/39-/41 copy letters from Avtar Jouhl on behalf of the Indian Workers Association to Labour MPs Clare Short, Neil Kinnock and Jo Richardson in support of Richardson's private member's bill to rectify the Equal Pay Act, due for its Second Reading in the House of Commons 9 December 1983

/42-/43 from British Representatives of the United Federation of Labour concerning the repression of trade unionists and the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka and asking for the support of the Indian Workers Association in the campaign for the release of political prisoners and the restoration of democratic rights, 12 December 1983

/44 from Jo Richardson MP to Avtar Jouhl, thanking the Indian Workers Association for their support of her attempt to get a Second Reading for her Sex Equality Bill, 3 January 1984

/45-/46 copy letter from Avtar Jouhl to Harpal Brar, editor of 'Lalkar', discussing the need for the publication to focus on 'the struggles of Afghan and Kampuchean people against the Soviet and Vietnamese aggression' and enclosing an article on this issue for publication in the February 1984 issue of 'Lalkar', 10 January 1984

/47 copy letter from Avtar Jouhl on behalf of the Indian Workers Association to the Headmistress of Bordesley Green Girls' School, Birmingham welcoming the introduction of Urdu language teaching during school hours and asking that Punjabi teaching be introduced rather than being taught after school, 19 March 1984

/48 from Rhodes Boyson, Minister of State for Social Security in Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government, to Clare Short MP in response to her letter about the payment of British pensions abroad, 10 January 1984. Clare Short had presumably contacted Rhodes Boyson on this issue following an approach by the Indian Workers Association

/49 from Robert Jones, secretary of the May 8th Committee, to friends and sponsors, giving a list of individuals and organisations supporting the organisation's call for a demonstration demanding 'Britain Out of Ireland': 'Self Determination for the Irish People' on 8 May, 24 April 1984

/50-/51 from A. Chandan, Steering Group for the Punjab Conference, to Avtar Jouhl, giving information about the conference scheduled to take place at Lanchester Polytechnic in Coventry 7-8 April 1984, together with a list of the main speakers and workshop co-ordinators at this event

/52 from David Foster, Central News, to Avtar Jouhl, confirming a studio interview over the issue of 'sweatshops' in the West Midlands area, 2 October 1984

/53-/54 undated correspondence and associated papers relating to the establishment of the International Commission to enquire into reported violations of International Law by Israel during its invasion of Lebanon in 1982. The Indian Workers Association sponsored this commission

/55 from an Indian Workers Association member apologising for not being able to attend a meeting, undated

/56 anonymous notice on the paradox of skin colour; 'When I am born, I am Black'

/57 from Chris Reeves, Platform Films to Avtar Jouhl, regarding questions for an interview to be carried out

/58 from Ekta, a monthly publication for the Asian community in Gravesend, to Avtar Jouhl, inviting him to speak at martyr's day celebrations in Gravesend 15 March. This letter is undated

The file also contains some correspondence in Punjabi:

/59 from Avtar Jouhl to the editor of 'Des Pardes' Southall about a change of arrangements to a demonstration 5 April 1981 in Hyde Park

/60 from Buta Singh Rai from Slough to Avtar Jouhl about Indian Workers Association membership details, copies of the constitution and membership cards, 3 April 1982

/61-/62 from Nirmal Sondhi, secretary of the Bedford branch about a forthcoming Central Committee meeting and a resolution to cut expenses on food and drinks after the programmes, 8 September 1982

/63 from Baldev Singh Mann, editor of the Communist monthly Hiraval Dasta to Avtar Jouhl appealing for contributions to a book to be published in the form of biographies of Communist martyrs of Punjab, 2 August 1983

/64 from Avtar Jouhl to Ajmer about a forthcoming demonstration and bi annual conference in Coventry 7 October 1984

/65 from Harminder, Indian Workers Association Blackburn branch to Avtar Jouhl 21 May 1984