This and that

Obituary of Jayaben Patel Jayaben Desai, leader of the Grunwick dispute, dies aged 77 :
The trade unionist's 'strikers in saris' achieved recognition for the rights of Asian female workers."
Sarfaz Manzoor in How Asian women made trade union history and shattered stereotypes:
"Asian women workers found that they were combating not only white male employers but also struggling against white male trade union leaders. The reason Grunwick remains so historically potent is that it marked the first time that the trade union movement gave real support to Asian employees.

Instrumental in gaining that support was the charismatic Desai. One image of her during the dispute has become iconic: Desai, tiny and birdlike, dressed in a sari and with a handbag dangling from her left arm, stands with her back to the camera, confronting a wall of grim faced policemen. It encapsulates the scale of the struggle and the courage of those who waged it. Like so many others in the exhibition, it invites one obvious question: where did those women derive the courage to stand and fight for their rights?
.......
But where did that courage come from? This was, after all, the mid-1970s, when there were far fewer Asians in public life – none in the government, or reading the news on TV – and the rightwing National Front was gaining political ground.

"You have to remember that, back in India, we came from an aristocratic background," Desai says. "My ancestors used to be ministers and dignitaries under the Raj. Desai is the name of a title, like lord, and my ancestors were very wealthy compared to the rest of the population. We were landowners and we were respected because of our position."

This disconnect between the life many of these Asians had left back in the sub-continent or during their time in east Africa and the one they faced in Britain appears to be crucial in understanding what drove women such as Desai towards activism. "These women were not lumpen, ignorant workers," Pearson stresses. "Desai had been educated in India and, like her, so many other Asian women had to take on jobs that were far below their skill level, to help support their families."

But the fact that they were working in menial and manual jobs did not alter their own sense of who they were or reduce their claims for justice and dignity."
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"When he came for the press conference, the first question was, "Again? How?"

Typically Laxman just praised Zaheer Khan and Cheteshwar Pujara for hanging around with him, not a word about his own innings, only about partnerships. On the surface, Laxman didn't answer the actual question. If you go deeper, he did. He makes the other batsmen feel good, comfortable and calm. Not just the man who is batting with him, but also the ones waiting their turn in the dressing room."

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