Ugandan Asians

Seema Malhotra Excerpts

Thursday 6th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston) (Lab/Co-op)]

I, too, pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for North West Cambridgeshire (Mr Vara) for securing the debate. The 40th anniversary of the arrival in Britain of the Asians who were expelled from Uganda is a wonderful occasion that allows us to pay tribute to those who left so much and suffered so much on the way, but who have now contributed so much to Britain.

I want to add a few words to the moving speeches made by so many hon. Members, including my right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester East (Keith Vaz), my hon. Friend the Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart) and the hon. Member for Wolverhampton South West (Paul Uppal). The range of contributions on and references to places across Uganda shows that the voice of the Ugandan Asians has spread across this country. We have seen their contribution in areas far and wide as well as in constituencies such as mine.

I was born in Britain and I am a British Asian. Although my family did not come directly from east Africa, members of my extended family did. They hid so well the suffering and sacrifice they had to make from the next generation that I never knew until I was much older what had happened and how the community had supported itself and stayed strong in times of great hardship on arrival. I want to mention someone who was very dear to me but who died a year ago, just before my election: Mr Jagpal founded the Vedic Cultural Society, which makes a strong contribution to our community in Hounslow and brings people together in faith as well as in cultural activities. He was a true example of the role of those individuals. They resettled their families and their children at new schools and started new jobs, in which often they had had no experience, simply to make ends meet; and, in the amazing tradition of parents under stress, created a better life for the next generation, ensuring that those who came after did not face the same suffering as they did but went on to play a huge part in their nation.

I am incredibly proud of Britain. That time is marked out in our recent British history as a time of great compassion, of great welcome to those from abroad and of when we saw the diverse fabric of Britain at its very best. It absorbed those people within the nation and made Britain the diverse nation it is. We have seen the value of that this year in our winning the Olympics. Indians took part in the opening and closing ceremonies and showed that we have managed as Asians in Britain to become a strong part of the fabric of this country. We maintain links with our separate histories, but do so in a way that makes Britain even stronger in the world.

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North West Cambridgeshire for securing the debate and pay tribute to all those in my community who, through businesses, schools and their community contributions, play such a huge part in our public life in Britain.