Class, ethnicity and religion in the Bengali East End: A political history
Class, ethnicity and religion in the Bengali East End: A political history
Cite
Abstract
This exploration of one of the most concentrated immigrant communities in Britain combines a new narrative history, a theoretical analysis of the evolving relationship between progressive left politics and ethnic minorities, and a critique of political multiculturalism. Its central concern is the perennial question of how to propagate an effective radical politics in a multicultural society: how to promote greater equality that benefits both ethnic minorities and the wider population, and why so little has been achieved. It charts how the Bengali Muslims in London’s East End have responded to the pulls of class, ethnicity and religion; and how these have been differently reinforced by wider political movements. Drawing on extensive recorded interviews, ethnographic observation, and long sorties into the local archives, it recounts and analyses the experiences of many of those who took part in over six decades of political history that range over secular nationalism, trade unionism, black radicalism, mainstream local politics, Islamism, and the rise and fall of the Respect Coalition. Through this Bengali case study and examples from wider immigrant politics, it traces the development and adoption of the concepts of popular frontism and revolutionary stages theory and of the identity politics that these ideas made possible. It demonstrates how these theories and tactics have cut across class-based organisation and acted as an impediment to tackling cross-cultural inequality; and it argues instead for a left alternative that addresses fundamental socio-economic divisions.
-
Front Matter
- Introduction
-
1
Sailors, students and settlers
-
2
Desher Dak – ‘The Call of the Homeland’
-
3
Joi Bangla!1 – 1971
-
4
British Bangladeshis
-
5
Socialism on stony ground
-
6
Black radicalism and separate organisation
-
7
Bengalis in the council chamber
-
8
Mobilisation through Islam
-
9
The Respect experiment
-
10
Diverging paths
-
End Matter
Sign in
Personal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Purchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing informationMonth: | Total Views: |
---|---|
November 2022 | 2 |
December 2022 | 1 |
December 2022 | 4 |
December 2022 | 1 |
January 2023 | 2 |
April 2023 | 3 |
May 2023 | 3 |
May 2023 | 3 |
May 2023 | 1 |
May 2023 | 2 |
May 2023 | 3 |
May 2023 | 1 |
October 2023 | 2 |
October 2023 | 2 |
October 2023 | 3 |
October 2023 | 2 |
October 2023 | 3 |
October 2023 | 2 |
October 2023 | 2 |
October 2023 | 4 |
October 2023 | 2 |
October 2023 | 2 |
October 2023 | 2 |
October 2023 | 2 |
October 2023 | 3 |
October 2023 | 2 |
October 2023 | 2 |
October 2023 | 3 |
February 2024 | 3 |
April 2024 | 1 |
April 2024 | 1 |
April 2024 | 1 |
April 2024 | 1 |
May 2024 | 1 |
May 2024 | 1 |
July 2024 | 8 |
August 2024 | 1 |
August 2024 | 1 |
August 2024 | 1 |
August 2024 | 1 |
August 2024 | 1 |
August 2024 | 1 |
August 2024 | 2 |
August 2024 | 1 |
August 2024 | 2 |
August 2024 | 1 |
August 2024 | 2 |
August 2024 | 2 |
August 2024 | 1 |
August 2024 | 2 |
October 2024 | 2 |
October 2024 | 3 |
October 2024 | 2 |
November 2024 | 1 |
January 2025 | 3 |
January 2025 | 1 |
February 2025 | 4 |
February 2025 | 3 |
February 2025 | 1 |
February 2025 | 2 |
February 2025 | 3 |
February 2025 | 4 |
February 2025 | 1 |
March 2025 | 3 |
March 2025 | 5 |
March 2025 | 2 |
March 2025 | 1 |
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.