In the heartland of British imperialism, Indian people in Britain got together to commemorate the 150 th anniversary of 1857. The meeting, held in Southhall, London, was organised by Indian Workers Association (GB), Respect (Ealing – Southall), South Asia Solidarity Group and South Asia Society.

Dalwinder Atwal from the IWA (GB) began by giving a historical account of the nationwide revolt and pointed out that the cause of the revolt was the exploitation of the Indian people, their land and rich resources. He pointed out that the people of India – Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs – all fought together to throw out the British colonialists and to create a system where people will control their destiny and end their suffering. The British colonialists tortured and murdered the patriots of 1857 who fought for real freedom, while they rewarded those who collaborated with them in the suppression of the revolts with land and commercial privileges.

The speaker pointed out that two trends always prevailed in India – the patriotic struggles of the masses of people for real freedom, and the strivings of wealthy collaborators wanting to become the new masters of the Indian subcontinent. In 1947 new rulers, the “brown sahibs”, took power and began to develop the economy to serve the interests of the wealthy elite on the foundations laid by British imperialism. Now after sixty years we see the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer as was the case under colonial rule. The new India, the so called emerging superpower, is in fact the India of the super rich and the super poor.

The meeting was thereafter addressed by many other speakers, including Lindsay German, the London Mayoral candidate for the organisation Respect, Salvinder Dhillon from Respect and the IWA (GB), Arman Riazy from the International League for Peoples Struggle, Paramjit Bains, a leading representative of the Gate Gourmet workers, Oliver New, a trade unionist and a local community activist, and Anwar Dholan from the South Asia Society.

Speakers detailed the crimes of British imperialism, in the past and the present, and drew parallels with the way the imperialists had exploited Ireland and India, and how they are aggressing on Iraq and Afghanistan today. Several of the speakers talked about the struggles being waged by the working class in Britain today against the capitalists and their ruthless exploitation, including the valiant struggle of the Gate Gourmet workers. Salvinder Dhillon spoke about the super exploitation of migrant workers, a large number of whom live in Southall. It is the working people who create wealth, he said, and they must decide how it is used. They must be the decision makers in society and shape their own future. All the speakers called for strengthening the unity of the working class in Britain and of the people of the world in the struggle against imperialism and capitalist exploitation.