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*Migration Histories > South Asian > Working Lives
* Discrimination in Employment 
 
Sikh bus conductors brought the issue of discrimination in the workplace to the attention of the British government in 1969.

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Sikhs in India expressing concern about discrimination against Sikhs in Britain.
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Letter sent to the British Prime Minister by *Sikhs in India expressing concern about discrimination against Sikhs in Britain.
* Moving Here catalogue reference (PRO) FCO 37/440
The complaint referred to the Wolverhampton Transport Committee's policy of prohibiting Sikhs from keeping a beard and turban when at work. In other areas turbaned bus conductors had been accepted: Bradford had appointed its first Sikh turbaned bus conductor three years earlier in 1966.

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Sikhs wearing turbans had been accepted on buses in Bradford for some time.
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Sikhs wearing turbans had been accepted on buses in Bradford for some time.
* Moving Here catalogue reference (BHU) 316082
The Indian Sikhs argued that the beard and turban were articles of faith and were a part of the historic role they had played in the British Army. The case gained publicity when Sohan Singh Jolly, described as 'militant leader of a section of Sikhs in Britain', threatened to commit suicide if the ban was not lifted.

While the British government claimed it could not intervene in the dress rules of a private company, behind the scenes efforts were made in both India and Britain to avert a crisis. Local Sikhs, however, believed that the 'Committee were hiding behind dress rules in order to keep turbaned Sikhs off the buses'.

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This picture of a group of workers leaving a London factory in the 1970s presents a picture of racial harmony but many Asian jobseekers still faced widespread prejudice in the workplace.
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This picture of a group of workers leaving a London factory in the 1970s presents a picture of racial harmony but many Asian jobseekers still faced widespread prejudice in the workplace.
Even professional qualifications acquired in Britain did not protect a newly qualified Bradford chemist from experiencing the harsh reality of racial discrimination. Miss Kohli recounted her experiences of job hunting in the summer of 1974:

Elida Gibbs was advertising for posts and I rang up and I said, 'You need some chemists this year and I've just trained as a chemist this year. Can I come for an interview?' When they said what's your name, I said 'Miss Kohli.' Now, it doesn't sound very Asian, so maybe my name wasn't a give-away as to what I was. I finished my exams in June 1974, I came to know my degree, what I got, very soon after , so they said. 'Yes, come along.' So when I went and the gatekeeper, he saw me, and he said 'Can I help?' and I says, 'Yes I've come for an interview.... And he said 'There are no posts for chemists here. We've only got them for kitchen assistants.' And he didn't let me go any further and actually I was a bit nae at that time. I wasn't insistent. I took his word for it and came back home.

Creators: Dr. Shompa Lahiri

 
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