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Life for migrants is not the same as life in the country they are from. There has to be understanding and adaptation on both sides. This has been particularly relevant for Asians in Wolverhampton and was noted in the local press as early as 1962.
There have been a great many Asians that have settled in Wolverhampton, the largest majority being of Indian descent and according to the 2001 census many of these being Sikh – 7.6%. Sikhs first began to meet and worship in Wolverhampton during the 1960s and one of the first Sikh temples was the Guru Nanak Satsang Gurdwara on the Cannock Road. Due to the large influx of immigrants to Britain, communities were changing and the way of life held traditional for many English was changing. In 1967 on the front of the local newspaper the Express and Star there was the headline ‘Sikh in bus row.’ A Sikh man, Tarsem Singh Sandhu had been sent home after defying Wolverhampton Transport Committee’s policy of prohibiting Sikhs from having a beard and turban when at work. The situation and appeals on behalf of Tarsem Singh Sandhu went as far as the then Home Secretary Roy Jenkins. There were requests that he should include legislation covering Sikhs in the extensions to the Race Relations Act of 1965. It was also pointed out that Sikhs had been wearing beards and turbans for centuries, including during over a century of service in the British forces.
Express and Star - 9 August 1967 ‘Sikh in bus row’ The situation was to continue for the next couple of years and there was a proposed protest march on Wolverhampton with Sikhs coming from all over the country. Eventually the situation was resolved, unfortunately not the full satisfaction of either side. Express and Star - 7 March 1969 ‘Indians to meet to hear plan’ Express and Star - 9 April 1969 ‘Hopes for end to ban’ Express and Star - 10 April 1969 ‘Turbans and Wolverhampton’
It was during the 1960s the Wolverhampton politician Enoch Powell was very vocal with his views on immigration and race policies. This drew the national press to Wolverhampton and the city at one point was thought to be the most racist city in Britain. An attempt to counter this and prove the nation wrong, one Express and Star reporter went out to see what it was like for immigrants in the city.
Express and Star - 19 July 1968 ‘Prejudice on trial’ It is maybe with such a radical politician that incited both great hatred as well as admiration from other quarters that Wolverhampton is now conscious of the needs of all its population.
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