FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE
inside: British Muslim MPs urge government to help Uyghurs in China SEE PAGE - 11 R
Let noble thoughts come to us from every side
EXCLUSIVE INVESTIGATION
Kanti Nagda MBE
With lockdown restrictions being eased and Britain moving into a new phase of the Covid-19 crisis, I want to scrutinise what happened during the lockdown within the Asian local community groups and charities, particularly in England. Those from minority backgrounds have been disproportionately affected by Covid-19. Research shows that areas with high BAME populations have higher death rates among those with coronavirus. Health inequalities among the Asian Community has prompted community leaders to demand that health departments help close the gap. Since the beginning of lockdown, Asian community groups have been working tirelessly to support those in need. This has included providing hundreds of thousands of vegetarian and special diet meals each day, assisting isolated people with shopping and medicines,
Children at ‘serious risk’ due to childhood obesity & diabetes
25 - 31 JULY 2020 - VOL 49 ISSUE 13
ASIAN GROUPS GET ONLY 2% OF NATIONAL LOTTERY FUND
carrying out religious activities via Zoom, providing essential PPE, assisting people with welfare benefits, counselling people with mental health and many more activities to keep the community safe. The Gurdwaras, Ismaili Jamat Khanas, Hindu Temples, Jain Centres, Mosques, modern evangelical Churches, and community centres have all provided an ongoing, selfless service, a foundation of the Asian culture. On 8 April 2020, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a £750mn package to ‘ensure [charities] can continue their vital work during the coronavirus outbreak.’ We have to ask ourselves the question, why have the local authorities, government departments, major grant giving bodies and other wellestablished groups not made the effort to find out how much of this funding has been awarded to Asian communities? Continued on page 17
SEE PAGE - 15
PM Modi calls for multilateralism with reformed UN SEE PAGE - 23
Foundation for Ram temple set to be laid on August 3 or 5 SEE PAGE - 26
Furloughed BAME create new jobs
Goodie Kalsi, Laura Wiggins and Raj Kumari-Byford (left)
Priyanka Mehta & Rupanjana Dutta Paid employment in Britain has plunged by almost 650,000 employees since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March, official figures show, as growing numbers of companies cut jobs. According to the Office for National
Statistics the number of payroll employees fell by 2.2%, or 649,000, from March to June. And Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic in the UK economically as well.
Continued on page 16