Desi Writing Blog
Vernacular Voices:
British South Asian Writing in Punjabi, Urdu, Gujarati and Bengali
Welcome
These blog posts are short pieces on aspects of the British Asian vernacular literary world. Writings in South Asian languages by authors who settled in the UK from the 1950s come in the form of poetry, short stories and occasionally novels. These authors are rarely known outside of the language communities and thus these posts give an insight into them and their writings as well as a general idea of publishing and publications in the literary formation.
Follow Us
A S Kharalvir – Punjabi Writer and social/political activist
From a rural background in Punjab, Mr A S Kharalvir migrated to Britain in the early 1960s, but as a schoolboy had come under the influence of leftist circles. In Britain he was Treasurer of the Indian Workers’ Association and in the mid-1990s, President of the Asian Rationalists Society, remaining a key fundraiser and the main contact in the UK for their magazine, Taraksheel (progress). He was part of the group of men in Coventry who in 1967, started a weekly magazine, Awaaz, which could not be sustained beyond three or four weeks due to financial difficulties. Along with other comrades he established the Shaheed Udham Singh Library under the auspices of the IWA (GB) which lasted for a year from 1967-68.
Kharlavir published a collection of short stories, ਜਿੱਤ ਦੇ ਆਸ਼ਿਕ਼ jit de aashiq (Lovers of Victory) in 1969 in honour of and celebrating the Vietnamese (against US imperialism) and Naxalites (against Indian landlordism). In the introduction to the collection, he offers a rationale and approach: ‘This is my first collection of short stories and is not meant as a work of erudition or art, rather it is my attempt to contribute to the struggles for a better life. I hope the readers will appreciate the effort.’ Rather typical of the writers of this generation, Kharalvir envisioned his art in the service of revolutionary change.
In 1970 along with Ajmer Coventry, Iqbal Sandhu and Dosanjh he was part of the collective that produced Lalkaar, the weekly magazine of the Indian Workers Association, which was published out of Coventry until the 1980s. This periodical documented news from India as well as local issues relating to immigrants (laws, campaigns, racist violence etc.). As an activist-writer, Kharalvir published many poems and stories in Lalkar, this one from 1981 is typical of his straightforward style and deep commitment to social justice, with the title Haramee (Bastard!). The story is set in a pub and all the characters are ostensibly white. The pub scene, from the landlord, to a man playing on a slot machine, to those playing cards is carefully drawn with the main protagonist, Tom, expressing his disquiet with the blaring Television. The programmes offer an insight into the world in which anti-Marxist propaganda; the Israel-Palestine conflict and the USSR are being represented and critiqued by Tom. More pointedly each character works allegorically, the distracted white working class (glued to the slot machine); the bourgeoisie, pub landlord, who’s support for Israel and disdain for the working-class shown by referring to the gambler as ‘ bastard’ (the title of the story), under his breath. This is a lovely example of the kind of writing that was popular amongst IWA activists, as it is rooted in a local scene, but moves seamlessly from that to international issues.
In a similar vein, Kharalvir remained active throughout his life on the same scale. Locally he was involved in many campaigns, such as Coventry Against Racism, as well as fundraising for disability charities. Truly a transnational activist, he was President of the Taraksheel Society in the UK and also managed the accounts, as Treasurer, of the Progressive Writers Association for many years.