9. Shahid Minar

Question 1

Explain how the new Commonwealth Immigrants Act actually increased migration to the UK

Answer 1

• In 1962, the Commonwealth Immigrants Act limited immigration of British subjects and citizens from colonies and Commonwealth to those who had vouchers
• This led to an increase in numbers coming to settle permanently as immigrants where trying to ‘Beat the Ban’
• Men who went home to East Pakistan for several months risked being refused vouchers to return, so many brought their families over to the UK

Question 2

Explain the factors involved in the rise of the curry houses in Spitalfields

Answer 2

• Spitalfields was close to the wealthy City of London and the Bengali-run restaurants could offer cheap, tasty food to city workers
• Licensing laws meant people could still drink alcohol after pubs closed, as long as they had it with food

Question 3

Explain how the housing allocation system discriminated against Bengali and Somali men

Answer 3

• The Labour council allocated housing according to a ‘ladder’ system: when a flat became available, it went to whoever had been on the list longest
• Allocation was not on a basis of need and this presented Bengali men with impossible choices because the rules discriminated against them
• They applied for family housing, hoping to bring their families over when it became available
• According to the council rules, the fact that their families were separated should have given them priority, but the rule did not apply if their loved ones were overseas
• Another rule that discriminated against Somali men stated that if a man was away from the country for over three months he lost his place completely and could not apply for another year
• This was disastrous for Somali men, most of whom were still working on merchant ships which meant they were away for many months and were left permanently homeless with no chance of getting council housing or being joined by their families

Question 4

Explain how the Bengali Squatters Movement developed

Answer 4

• Most of the remaining social housing in Spitalfields was run by the Greater London Council (GLC)
• In the summer of 1975 homeless families (22 adults and 50 children) broke into empty GLC houses in Old Montague Street and occupied them
• This was the start of the Bengali Squatters Movement, which spread to other buildings in the area
• In some cases it was planned, in others people were squatters by accident when they found they had been cheated by fake landlords to pay key money for houses that were derelict
• Then in February 1976 Male Sen and Farrukh Dhondy from the Black radical group Race Today and Terry Fitzpatrick from the Squatters’ Union brought squatting families together to launch the Bengali Housing Action Group (BHAG)
• This was the start of Bengali direct political action in Spitalfields

Question 5

Describe the differences between the Conservative party and the BHAGs view of housing plans after the 1978 election

Answer 5

• Leading Conservatives said they admired the self-help and entrepreneurial spirit of the movement
• They invited BHAG to give them a list of the estates thy felt were safe for Bengali families
• However, the Controller of Housing, Len Bennett, interpreted this to mean Bengali-only estates
• This caused an outcry from BHAG who were against what the press called a ‘ghetto plan’ that they felt would force them into poor quality housing
• Their statement said ‘We will not settle for segregated slums’

Question 6

Describe the pressures that caused tensions to rise in Spitalfields

Answer 6

• Tensions were very high, made more so by the wider political situation
• At the same time as Bengali women and children were arriving, the 1973 International oil crisis and deep economic depression were hitting working-class communities
• Prices were rising and so was unemployment, this encouraged the growth of the far right in the form of the openly racist and racist National Front