Z1205/102

Male. Indian. Teacher. Immigrant to England. b. 04.08.1934 Side A (00 mins)Birth and upbringing in the Punjab, India. Landowning family. Village life. Children well-educated. Childhood memories of the Partition of India and Pakistan - mass migration, looting, murder, starvation, religious hatred (1947). Sikh landowners. Family farm crops. (32 mins)End of Side A Side B (00 mins)Village life. Education and careers of brothers and sisters. Grandparents. Sikh and Hindu relations. Women's role in farming. Fresh vegetables. Liberal-minded father. (32 mins)End of Side B Side A (00 mins)Caste system in India. Religious belief and changes in Sikhism over the centuries. Payment in kind, following the harvest. (32 mins)End of Side A Side B (00 mins)Changes in Sikh community in Britain. Second generation Sikhs. Punjabi language lessons. Teenage years in India. (26 mins)Emigration to England 1965. Humiliating medical test on arrival. Difficulties in finding work due to racial prejudice. (32 mins)End of Side B Continued on ST102C3 (00 mins)Could not apply for school teaching posts here, despite having university diplomas, until his qualifications were confirmed by Indian authorities. Learning English in Indian schools. (05 mins)Difficulty in understanding English accents here, having been taught English by Indians. Qualified teacher status secured but discrimination evident when seeking school teaching posts evident . Supply teaching work in London available. (10 mins)Difficulties of supply teaching - different schools each day, not knowing staff or pupil's names, location of buildings, etc. Thought about returning to India. Left London and moved to sister's home in Leicester. (15 mins)Rented her old houses but with no work had to find lodger to pay rent. Tried factory job but was unsuccessful. Indian labour force situation in Leicester. (22 mins)Leicester University course in English for Asian teachers led to position in private Catholic girls school teaching Biology. Moved down to Hampshire to teach in boys independent school. (32 mins)End of Side A Side B (00 mins)Arranged marriage proposed and arranged in India. Married by proxy, then wife flew to England for ceremony here. (05 mins)Another job in Hampshire. Weekend trips to Leicester. Council house in countryside. (10 mins)Six month temporary teaching contracts continued. No opportunity to complete probationary year. Wife, also teacher, had to work in factory. (15 mins)Moved to Bedford. Bought newly built house in Marston Moretaine. (20 mins)First Asian family in village. Children aged 9 and 7 settled in well and helped bring about acceptance in village. (25 mins)Being first on site, helped with acceptance. Everyone had gardens to create. Smoke emissions from brickworks. Concern regarding land fill sites. (32 mins) End of Side B.Continued on CS102C4 Side A (00 mins)Indian arranged marriages. (05 mins)Benefits of parental decisions in arranging marriages (10 mins)Arrival of Indian wife, whom he had not previously met. The importance of trust and acceptance. The vulnerability of Asian wives brought over to England. (32mins)End of Side A Side B (00 mins)Reflections on whether he would have come to England had he known, in advance, the difficulties he would face. Taught for 20 years in Bedford. Move to Derbyshire, advising on helping Asian children to adapt to English schools. (05 mins)Cultural bias in school teaching materials. Retirement after 6 years. Now Governor of Bedford College. Waling. Gardening. (24 mins)End of Side B End of Interview Original Interview 230 mins

15 February 2002

From: 1930 To: 2002

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teacher, private land use, EDUCATION, MIGRATION, murder, POVERTY, Sikhs, NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGION, Hinduism, gender issues, employment of women, class issues, harvesting, LANGUAGE, MEDICINE & HEALTH, race issues, unemployment, University, Catholicism, biology curriculum, HOUSING, pollution, MARRIAGE, school governors, gardening, writer, Bedford College, Punjab (India), India, Pakistan, London, Leicester, Hampshire, MARSTON MORETAINE, Derbyshire