COVID-19

The farmers protest has taken a violent turn last week when thousands broke through the main protest and invaded one of India’s iconic sites – The Red Fort. And if that was not bad enough, they did it on India’s Republic Day celebrations.

One of the worst years in humanity’s history is coming to an end it is very sad to see that many key events and anniversaries have been marginalised. One such key date is the anniversary of women’s rights which has been rarely mentioned in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

The pandemic has changed the boundaries of what we can do, and what we cannot. Diwali no longer means that thousands of people out on the streets of Leicester or on Trafalgar Square.

The Coronavirus is taken its toll and as the second lockdown takes effect, there are lots of questions as to on what basis decisions are taken. The faith communities are particularly upset. A group of faith leaders have jointly written to the Prime Minister saying: “We strongly disagree with the decision to suspend public worship during this time.”

The world psyche revolves around the coronavirus as stories of death, economic destruction, and glimpses of inspirational individuals continue to cover the news headlines.

As the numbers of covers have begun to rise again, the data for the South Asian community does not look rosy. South Asians are five times more likely to get coronavirus than white people. Numerous reports have shown that BAME communities have a much higher chance of dying from coronavirus than white people.

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The amount of information available on coronavirus is astonishing, but with it comes confusion, mixed messages and a whole lot of fake or inaccurate news. So here we are here again hoping to simplify the key information impacting the ethnic communities currently on the news agenda.

Life in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic is severe, stressful and in many cases fatal with the UK death rate rising above forty-four thousand. It is during this time; you see and hear about the brave and enduring individuals who find ways to beat the odds against the virus.

The reasons behind why ethnic minorities are suffering greater losses over COVID than the white population continues. It is also getting more confusing as there is so much speculation, yet less clarity as to what it all means and what extra steps should BAME communities take to fight the dreaded disease.

It is breath-taking to see a young role model making his mark into the mainstream of British arts and culture. The Birmingham Opera Company has appointed locally born Alpesh Chauhan as their new Music Director.

The crisis of Coronavirus continues worldwide. Even countries with low mortality rates are not safe, as they are either lacking increased testing or they are fearing a second wave of the spread which could further bring chaos within the health and economic systems.

What we took for granted only a few weeks ago, now is a completely different world where we cannot even touch our loved ones.

The gentle giant and one of the great pioneers of Asian media in the UK, Ramniklal Solanki has sadly passed away after an illness aged 88. He lives behind a legacy of inspirational stories about his own life as well as the thousands of other lives he helped to highlight on the pages of his media empire.

So, after India threatens to boycott the Commonwealth Games, the officials negotiate and buckle down to a deal where India will host the archery and shooting events and pay the bills.

Indian professionals continue to make their mark on the top echelons of the world's tech companies. The latest one is Arvind Krishna taking up his post in April 2020 as the new CEO of IBM.

Talented Indian techies have an opportunity get funded with a new British Government fund launched to support collaborative research under the UK-India Tech Partnership.

The British Museum has managed to raise around £440,000 to buy a painting by one of India’s greatest painters which was earmarked to be exported abroad. It has been bought with support from the Art Fund, National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Brooke Sewell Permanent Fund.

India has adopted the marigold as a symbol to commemorate the Indian soldiers who died in WW1. 

It’s a sight of a new dawn. Indian culture is extending across the globe. Where Indian culture has been tolerated for the sake of diversity and community relations is now embraced by the mainstream. 

Two years have been marked to celebrate Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th anniversary and there have been many celebrations all around the world.

Britain ethnic minority population is nearing 14%. There has been a steady rise in how ethnic minorities are represented in public life at around 8% in parliament.

The threat to places of worship has been mainly targeted toward mosques and synagogues. It would be an oddity that other places of worship would face any kind of hate from vandals and criminals. But in the last year or so, things have changed, and no places of worship are safe from being hit.  

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) has appointed Kumar Iyer as their Chief Economist thereby making him their first BAME origin member of the Board of Management.

The Hindu community has welcomed the Government’s decision to help update crematoria facilities so that the needs of different faiths can be accommodated.

The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the world's largest and heaviest Bhagavad Gita at the ISKCON temple in New Delhi. It is the world’s “largest principle sacred text ever to be printed.”

More than 300 guests attended West Midland's Shri Venkateswara Balaji Temple for the opening of the Gandhi Peace Centre.

Following on from Diwali in Trafalgar Square and Belgrave Road, Leicester, the wider Europe has begun taking notice of the importance of Hindu Festivals outside India. 

In its 17th year, the Diwali festival on Trafalgar Square attracted thousands of people for an afternoon of spectacular celebration and commemorating the legacy of Indian soldiers during WW1. 

For years India has had to be stuck with the labels of unhygienic, dirty and not taking environmental issues seriously. Are such views justified?

In its 72nd year of Independence, India is a country with thousands of years of heritage. So how is this diverse nation progressing?

After years of debacle, political scrutiny, community disharmony and blame from all sides, Theresa May’s government has finally decided to ditch the caste legislation.

In a special event dedicated to the UK India-Week, there is much hope that this special relationship will only get stronger as Brexit beckons and Britain needs a major trading partner. With India progressing as an economic hothouse, it is no wonder that the UK-India Week is gaining new gravitas.

A prominent women’s organisation ‘Pukar Group’ in Leicester managed to raise over a thousand pounds by organising a community concert. 

In a democratic country, people have a right to protest. And there were plenty of protests during the recent visit of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London.

Heads of Government Meeting, London 2018

It is Easter time in the Christian calendar and people are breaking up for the Easter break. But this year, March 31st also represents a major festival in the Hindu calendar. It is dedicated to the birth one of the great superheroes of civilisation – Lord Hanuman.

Around 10,000 labourers and craftsmen helped build one of the greatest places of worship in the world?

The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha is endowed to construct the first Hindu Temple in Abu Dhabi. 

The Indian space programme ISRO has reached another landmark by launching its 100th Indian satellite.

India has adopted the marigold as a symbol to commemorate the Indian soldiers who died in WW1.