A DEBATE on the Gujarati community in the UK has heard the contribution of Eastern Eye’s publishers being highlighted in the House of Commons.
Gareth Thomas MP singled out, among others, the Solanki family, which runs the Asian Media Group (AMG) – the publisher of Eastern Eye – for praise during the debate held on Wednesday (30).
Thomas, the Labour Co-op MP for Harrow West, said: “The Solanki family are a north-west London Gujarati family who originally came from east Africa. The father, Mr Solanki, came over in 1964.
”They run the Asian Media Group. The business is now run by the second generation, with a third generation of Gujaratis actively involved in taking that successful media business forward,”
The Westminster Hall debate was the first instance of the House of Commons debating the subject.
Bob Blackman, Conservative MP for Harrow East who secured the debate, urged the government to compile data on the size of the community and the contribution it makes.
Several MPs from across the political spectrum joined in the debate, raising issues such as direct flights to the Indian state of Gujarat, difficulty in getting visiting visas for family members, supporting Gujarati language teaching and strengthening business links with Gujarat.
The MPs also noted the role played by the community in the ‘revolution’ of the British corner shop.
“It does not get much more free-market than taking over a corner shop and turning it into an outrageous success, which has happened for a number of UK businesses,” Blackman said.
Roberta Blackman-Woods, Labour MP for City of Durham, noted: “That entrepreneurial success is even more commendable when one considers the often severe racism that many migrant communities faced in the 1970s and ’80s.”
Responding to the debate, Communities Minister Luke Hall said the Gujarati community possesses some of the most prized qualities in British society: “a formidable work ethic, a strong sense of charity and an unbreakable bond of community.”
“I remember from my time working in retail, the phenomenal impact that famous work ethic had on changing opening hours around consumer need in many retail businesses. It helped to transform a quite old-fashioned set of retail laws in this country forever,” he said.
Hall, who has worked for supermarket chains Lidl and Farmfoods, added that the community’s greatest effect on UK business lies at the most local level, through the thousands of local shop owners.
