A-Infos (en) UK, ACG, Stormy-Petrel #7 - From Sylhet to Spitalfields: Bengali Squatters in 1970s East London --- Shabna Begum (2023). Lawrence Wishart. London. 232 pages. £14.72. (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

"The book examines the Bangladeshi Squatter movement in the 1970s, a 
united effort against institutionalised racism of the Greater London 
Council (GLC) and Tower Hamlets Council (TLC) to ensure the minimum 
basic rights of finding tenancy agreements in places that could keep 
them safe from targeted and street racism. Begum's robust ethnographic 
research both documents the suffering and struggles of the Bangladeshi 
community in London and records their resilience and resistance in the 
face of adversity." 1

I saw this book in the library in Crisp St, near where I live in Tower 
Hamlets. I was immediately drawn to it because I have lived for 45 years 
in an ex-GLC property that was largely made up of Bengali families from 
the Sylhet region. The other link was the fact that this flat came into 
the hands of my partner as a result of the squatters' amnesty in 1978. 
This well-researched book, which includes many first-hand accounts and 
personal experiences (including her own family), provided the history 
and background that I actually knew little about.

The book starts by tracing the history of Bengalis in East London. The 
first residents were often seamen as many Bengalis worked on British 
ships. They opened restaurants for themselves and gradually increased 
their numbers, finding employment in the rag trade. They lived in 
crowded and unsanitary accommodation, often swapping beds as one person 
came home from a shift and another went out.

They gradually became more settled and wanted to bring over their wives 
and families. They needed better accommodation but found it impossible. 
The Greater London Council owned 31,000 properties in Tower Hamlets and 
Tower Council itself owned 18,000. They had strict residency 
requirements. This together with lack of support from those interpreting 
the requirements, meant that it was impossible to get a property. In 
addition, if one was offered, it was in an area that had a history of 
racist violence, such as Poplar. They wanted to live near Spitalfields 
and Brick Land where many other Bengalis were based. Therefore, 
squatting became the only option.

The book documents the racism they faced, both institutional and 
personal from many in the white working class. Yet, it was the 
connection with the white squatters' movement, with Terry Fitzpatrick a 
key figure, which made it possible for squatting to become an option. 
They learned how to go about squatting a property, how to get 
electricity and water, and soon many families had taken over properties. 
These properties were basis, to say the least, and much work was needed 
to make them habitable. The women played a key role in creating a home, 
along with defending the properties against racist attacks, such as 
smashing windows. The Bengali Action Group was formed, working closely 
with the wider squatting movement. The aim was to resist evictions and 
gain secure tenancies.

Overcoming Divisions

There were many social, ideological and class divisions within the 
general squatting movement in Tower Hamlets. The differences in outlooks 
and situation

between the Bengali and white squatters was of course significant. There 
was an uneasy relationship with white Left organisations which supported 
the squatters such as the International Socialists (now the SWP). Calls 
for working class solidarity seemed odd given the racist violence they 
had experienced from the white working class. There were others who 
appreciated the solidarity offered. Already they had an alliance with 
white squatters- Terry Fitzpatrick.

There was also an alliance with the Race Today Collective, which was a 
broader group fighting racism, sexism, and colonialism in general. It 
was comprised of many Black intellectuals and activists such as CLR 
James and Walter Rodney, and was not confined to Bengalis. This 
introduced a radical element into the movement. The Race Today 
collective thought that there could not be white working class 
solidarity with the black working class until "there had been 
considerable work around the racialised violence of capitalism and 
colonialism".

There were also divisions within the Bengali community. Many of the 
elders were still tied to Bangladesh and had the intention of returning. 
They saw themselves still as 'visitors'. There were less likely to 
support direct action. The younger generation were gradually losing ties 
to Bangladesh and saw London as their home. They were also less likely 
to have faith in the system. Middle class Asians were criticised for 
being co-opted by the system, according to the Race Today collective.

The Movement Escalates

The Anti-Racist Collective of East London was formed in 1976 and soon 
started organising major protests and demonstrations, against the advice 
of the elders. There was a big demo held on July 12, 1976. The biggest 
protests occurred after the murder of Altab Ali, a young textile worker- 
a clear racially motivated attack.

Rafique Ullah had memories of the 1971 Liberation War and came to the UK 
as a young boy in 1972. He recalled the community demonstration 
organised after the murder of Altab Ali. He had been involved in 
community organising with the Bangladesh Youth Front.

"Our elders used to say: 'Calm down we are just here to work, make some 
money and go back home'- that was their slogan. But on that day- when we 
got the message, everyone boiled! And all the youth stood up. We came 
out on the street and we said 'No- today, Altab Ali, tomorrow it could 
be me. No more!" (p. 144) There were 12,000 people on that demo. He says:

"We never had WhatsApp, we never had mobiles, we never had messengers- 
nothing! But more than 10,000 or 12,000 people came from Birmingham, 
Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds. Those were the industrial towns, our 
people used to be there, they came- by coach loads, they came. But we 
had not only Bangladeshi people- we had SWP-Socialist Workers Party- 
Anti-Nazi League support us too, they came attending our demonstration. 
(p. 144).

Role of Women

Begum's book discusses at length the role of women in the struggle. 
Bengali women's main role in the squatting movement was to support the 
men by defending the home: "work you do not see". Husnara, one of the 
women interviewed said it was similar to the work women did during the 
liberation war- "support the freedom fighters". Women had to do all the 
work of getting the home clean and habitable and often were at the front 
line of defending the homes from racist attacks. But it was the men who 
had the main public role. (p.130)

Mala Sen was crucial to getting the trust of Bengali women. She was 
educated and did not conform to the norms but she was still aware and 
sensitive to the cultural gender norms. She would spend evenings with 
them and convince them to attend demonstrations. Sen managed to get cars 
to pick them up so they could attend.2

From the website: Sen believed that supporting people to claim their 
rights and empower themselves was the best way to achieve political 
change. She said: "When you are a political activist, you empower other 
people to take their chance to empower themselves".

Shafia was one women who got involved. She had squatted with her family.

"The men, they knew they that they needed us to be there, what could 
they do? After all, our whole argument was that we are families and we 
are being threatened with eviction and then the others were saying that 
we are families who cannot find any house; so they needed us to be there 
with all the children so that the point could be seen clearly in front 
of their face- there is no good if there are just men standing there. 
They knew that so they let us come, but some of them still did not like 
it". (p. 154-155)

Shafia recalled the drama and excitement of the demonstration. They 
blocked the road and gained the attention of the councillors. Her 
presence was a "significant innovation 0f their prescribed social 
roles". (p. 154)

Victory

By 1977, the Conservative GLC, overrun by the sheer number of people 
living in squats, announced an amnesty, granting all squatters the 
chance to register and secure a formal tenancy. The BHAG drew up a map 
for the GLC defining a safe living area for the Bengali community, which 
the GLC accepted. Bengali families were given tenancies in their 
squatted accommodation or new accommodation within the Whitechapel, 
Spitalfields area. This map ensured that the community could remain safe 
and intact, establishing Brick Lane as the home of Bengalis in Britain. 
Begum's book clearly shows how direct action, mutual aid, and solidarity 
were crucial to the victory.

"You do not live in Tower Hamlets Forever"
Tower Hamlets is still home to the largest Bangladeshi community in the 
UK. However, it has seen considerable changes since the 1970s. Many have 
prospered, opening up businesses, with Brick Land becoming 'Banglatown' 
a draw for Londoners and tourists alike. Statistics show still high 
levels of poverty, unemployment and deprivation. Bengalis are 
well-presented on the local council, with councillors from all the 
political parties. The current mayor is Luther Rahman, from Aspire, who 
made a comeback after having been dismissed for corruption in his first 
term of office.

Bengalis have also become landlords. My own neighbour, who was born in 
the Block, managed to get a flat in the same Block and raised his 4 
children. He bought his flat under right to buy and has now moved to 
Romford, along with his brother and his family, bringing an end to 
almost 5o years of family history. Understandably he wants a bigger 
house where various members of the extended family can live, as well as 
access to a garden. Meanwhile, his flat is rented out to students. Begum 
recognises that this is a common trend, with this chapter title: "You do 
not live in Tower Hamlets forever". We tried to set up a tenants and 
residents association recently but it proved to be impossible as so many 
of the people interested were leaseholders who had sublet their flats. 
They were only interested in fighting against high service charges.

Save Brick Lane

The current campaign is discussed by Begum. She negotiates the 
complexity of the situation, discussing the current debate: the 
differences between those who make money out of its gentrification, such 
as the restaurant owners, and those who would like to preserve more of 
the original Bengali heritage. Many Bengalis don't feel the benefit of 
the gentrification, but then others do. There is an increasing class 
difference within the Bengali community, such that class is in many ways 
more important that ethnic identity. 3

Muslim Identity above All?

What Begum does not discuss is the increase in the influence of the 
mosques, often with mullahs from a more fundamentalist background, on 
the community. Looking at the photos in Begum's book, we see the 
colourful saris that were traditional Bengali attire of the first 
generation. But this has now changed dramatically. In the last 20 years 
we have seen women going from wearing saris, to abayas, lose black 
garments that cover the whole body. These are then worn with hijabs and 
face coverings.4 Whether this means young women are becoming more 
conservative politically is hard to say, but there certainly is less 
likelihood of people joining forces with other working class people. 
This is very different from the squatting movement, where many of the 
organisers were socialist and more secular.

This tradition is continued with the Bengali socialist organisation: 
(https://nijjormanush.com/).

This group is discussed in the book with their activity around Brick 
Lane, and objections to the gentrification. They are openly socialist 
and aim to reclaim the more radical traditions of Bengali heritage in 
Tower Hamlets. One of their meetings included a discussion of this book 
and the housing issue in general.

Conclusion

This is an excellent book, insightful and well-researched. It brings to 
the fore a Bengali class struggle tradition, based on working with 
others, to challenge capitalist gentrification. The fact that it is now 
a minority tradition is worrying, with Bengalis turning to being 
landlords, developers, and politicians themselves, and/or asserting a 
conservative Muslim identity over socialist and other radical Bengali 
traditions. This book is welcome in that it reminds people of what is 
possible when people come together.
_____________________________

1 https://battleforbricklane.com/

2 See: 
https://eastendwomensmuseum.org/blog/mala-sen-writer-and-race-equality-

3 activist https://battleforbricklane.com

4 /See: 
https://whitechapellondon.co.uk/second-generation-bengali-clothing-balancing-british-muslim-cultural-identities/

https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/stormy-petrel/
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