Early 1980s campaigns

This file consists of correspondence; circular letters; reports; leaflets and flyers; press cuttings; and handwritten notes on campaign activities that the Indian Workers Association organised or supported during the early 1980s. The majority of these papers concern demonstrations and campaigns against new immigration legislation, racial discrimination, racist attacks on individuals, and the deportation of refugees, but there is also material relating to campaigns by national liberation organisations and Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

/1-/2 correspondence relating to Avtar Jouhl's involvement in a Trade Union Day School entitled 'Racism in the Workplace' organised by Leamington Anti-Racist Anti-Fascist Committee 6 October 1979. The initial letter to Avtar Jouhl includes details of the workshops planned for this event, 9-10 August 1979

/3 letter from Albert Bore, Chairman of the Selly Oak Constituency Labour Party, to Avtar Jouhl, discussing arrangements for him to speak at a future constituency meeting on the Indian Workers Association campaign against racist immigration laws, 20 August 1979

/4 letter from Ravi Jain, General Secretary of the National Association for Asian Youth, to Avtar Jouhl, inviting him to contribute to a discussion session on the issue of racism and the growth of the National Front in relation to events at Southall and Leicester in 1979 at the organisation's Annual Conference in Nottingham 21-23 September. The letter is dated 4 September 1979

/5 letter from the Indian Workers Association Wolverhampton branch to Avtar Jouhl asking him to participate in a conference held by Wolverhampton Anti-Nazi League to investigate the discuss the consequences of immigration controls and propose changes in the law. The letter also mentions a proposed march by the National Front in Walsall, 5 September 1979

/6 letter from Mick Powis, Wolverhampton Anti Racist Committee, to Avtar Jouhl, discussing plans for a joint meeting to discuss organising opposition to immigration proposals introduced by the new Conservative government and giving details about a public meeting to mobilise support for a London demonstration on this issue, in October, 9 September 1979

/7 copy letter from Harpal Brar, General Secretary of the Indian Workers Front (Southall) to another Indian Workers Association member addressed as 'comrade Gill', identified in the letter as national organiser of the Indian Workers Association, discussing local campaigning activities in Southall and alleged attempts by Gill to disrupt the work of the Indian Workers Front (Southall) in their campaign against the proposed Nationality law, 30 September 1980

/8 receipt of donations from Nishkam Sewak Jatha, Soho Road, Birmingham to the Indian Workers Association to purchase a printing press, 20 December 1980

/9 copy letter from Avtar Jouhl to Naranjan Singh Noor, President of the Indian Workers Association Wolverhampton branch, expressing the solidarity of the Central Committee during the libel action taken against him by a Wolverhampton head teacher, 11 January 1981. Noor had attempted to defend the right of a Sikh boy, Kulbinder Singh, to wear a turban to school, and had alleged that the head teacher was displaying racist attitudes

/10-/17 flyers, information sheets, correspondence and press cuttings relating to a national demonstration against the Nationality Bill, organised by Campaign Against Racist Laws [CARL] 5 April 1981 and supported by a number of other organisations including the Indian Workers Association, the Association of Indian Communists, and the Anti-Nazi League. These papers include a letter to Avtar Jouhl from David Owen, Social Democratic Party MP, expressing his support for the rally; information sheets and circulars issued by the Indian Workers Association encouraging members to support the demonstration; flyers issued by CARL in English and Punjabi giving details about the demonstration; mobilisation accounts for the demonstration giving details about donations received from supporting organisations; and a newspaper article from 'Socialist Worker' 11 April 1981 containing an account of the demonstration which was largely supported by people from 'Britain's Asian community'

/18 letter from Anita Goswami of Awaz, the Asian Women's Movement, to the Indian Workers Association, asking for payment towards the printing of leaflets for the 'Black People Against State Brutality' demonstration organised by Awax, Brixton Black Women's Group and the Indian Workers Association in June 1979, 2 April 1981

/19 letter from Ravi Jain, General Secretary of the National Association for Asian Youth, to Avtar Jouhl, discussing comments on a talk that Jouhl gave at the organisation's conference at Aston University, 13 April 1981

/20 flyer in English, Punjabi and Urdu issued by West Midlands Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament giving information about a Birmingham rally to take place during the four day Easter march from Wolverhampton to Rugby, 18 April 1981. Avtar Jouhl was one of the speakers at this rally

/21-/22 circular letter and flyer in English and Punjabi issued by Coventry Committee Against Racism giving details about the racist murder of Satnam Singh Gill, a student in the city and announcing a national demonstration against racist attacks 23 May 1981

/23 minutes of a committee meeting held by representatives of organisations involved in a demonstration to 'Stop the Deportations of Black People', including the Indian Workers Association, and several Leeds and Bradford based Asian organisations and anti-racist groups. The minutes contain information about plans for the demonstration, 21 June 1981

/24 letter from Murdoch Chambers to Avtar Jouhl accepting his request to act as legal advisors to the Indian Workers Association, 1 July 1981

/25 statement issued by the July 11th Action Committee, composed of friends and relatives of eleven Asian youths in Bradford arrested by police 30-31 July 1981 and charged with conspiracy to endanger property and life and to cause Grievous Bodily Harm on or about 11 July 1981. The statement demands that these charges be dropped and that the defendants be released

/26-/27 letter from N. Gill [national organiser of the Indian Workers Association] to Avtar Jouhl discussing various future campaigning activities 17 November 1981, attached to a circular letter from Brent Anti-Racist Co-ordinating Group which gives information about the next meeting of this group, set up to fight racism in Brent and supported by the Indian Workers Association amongst other named organisations, 10 November 1981

/28-/29 letter from N. Gill [national organiser of the Indian Workers Association] to Avtar Jouhl discussing the involvement of the Indian Workers Association in a 'Troops Out' movement meeting, and discussing other campaigning activities that the organisation might support, 8 December 1981, attached to a flyer for an 'International Evening Against Repression' organised by Supporter of the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran; General Union of Palestinian Students; Supporters of the Organisation of the Iranian People's Fadaii Guerillas; Revolutionary Left Movement (Chile); and Turkey Solidarity Campaign, 11 December 1981

/30 letter from Eddie Caughey, Sinn Fein (Britain) to the Indian Workers Association requesting a speaker to attend the Bloody Sunday Commemoration March in Coventry 31 January 1982

/31-/32 letter from N. Gill [national organiser of the Indian Workers Association] to Avtar Jouhl discussing involvement in a 'Troops Out' movement demonstration, 7 March 1982, attached to a flyer issued by the 'May 8th Demonstration Organising Committee' giving information about a national demonstration and anti-imperialist festival 8 May 1982 to commemorate the deaths of the ten Irish hunger strikers who died in 1981 and to call for 'Britain out of Ireland' and 'Self Determination for the Irish People', 25 January 1982

/33 flyer issued by Sandwell Rents Freeze Campaign asking Sandwell tenants to withhold the rent increase imposed by Sandwell Council and highlighting the cuts to Sandwell's housing subsidies by Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government, April 1982

/34 photocopy of a typescript summary of a speech made by Amarjeet Singh on behalf of the Indian Workers Association at the Labour Party Consultative Conference 17 April 1982. The speech largely concerns immigration legislation seen by the Indian Workers Association as racist, but also discusses the issue of British citizenship and dual nationality for people of Indian origin

/35-/37 correspondence between Belinda Whittle of 'Searchlight', Ruth Bundy and Avtar Jouhl, discussing financial assistance to raise money for the defence and living expenses of the 'Bradford 12', Asian youths on trial for conspiracy to endanger property and life and to cause Grievous Bodily Harm, May 1982

/38 letter from the Moslem Students Society-Britain, supporters of the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran, to Avtar Jouhl, asking the Indian Workers Association to sponsor a demonstration to mark the first anniversary of the killing and wounding of peaceful protestors in Tehran against dictatorship in June 1981. The demonstration was to take place 20 June 1982 in London

/39 copy letter from Avtar Jouhl to Naaz Hafeez, Selly Oak Constituency Labour Party, giving a summary of the affiliation of the Indian Workers Association and other Asian workers groups to the Campaign Against Racism and Fascism [CARF] in Birmingham, and attempts by the Communist Party of Great Britain (Birmingham) to form a breakaway organisation known as ABCARF, 24 May 1982

/40 letter from Friends of Nasira Begum, Friends of Jaswinder Kaur, Friends of Nasreen Akhtar and Cynthia Gordon Action Group to Avtar Jouhl giving details about a meeting to organise a joint demonstration for these campaigns at UMIST [University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology], undated

/41 photocopy of a newspaper article from 'The Guardian' about inequalities faced by Britain's black population being similar to those faced by immigrants who arrived in the 1950s and 1960s, undated

/42 letter from 'Rudy' to Avtar Jouhl referring to unspecified proposals by James Hunte, and asking for Indian Workers Association support, undated

/43-/46 handwritten notes in English and Punjabi by Avtar Jouhl on current campaigns

/47 leaflet in Punjabi thanking all Gurdwara Committees and congregations from Willenhall and Wednesfield who took part in a protest march in London 5 April 1981 against the Nationality Bill