Type of Event: Celebration of South Asian Heritage Month
Opening Theme: Roots to Routes on British Steamships
5 pm: MEET and GREET with Chai/Tea
6 pm to 6:45 pm: Shahida Rehman introduces and discusses LASCAR, including Q&A chaired by Dr Sanjukta Ghosh (SOAS and Essex Camb BAME Forum)
7:00 to 7:15 pm: Conversations on Current Issues of BAME Focus led by Cllr Shahid Nadeem (South-End Council)
7:15 to 7:30 pm: Short screenings on South Asian Heritage and guest comments.
7:30 to 8 pm: Roundtable Open Mic led by Cllr Anand Pillai (South Cambridge) and joined by representative Councillors and Executives of the Forum.
SOCIAL READING WITH AUTHOR
‘Lascar’ was a name given by the Europeans to describe the non-European sailors. It came from the Persian word Lashkar and the Arabic word Al-Askar, meaning guard or soldier. They were a multi-racial crew recruited for work aboard British steamships dating back to the 17th century. The majority of these sailors were from East India and were Muslim, and many had no choice but to settle in England due to the harsh conditions on board ship. Lascars were probably the largest group of South Asian workers in Victorian Britain.
Lascar (2nd edition) published by Perfect Publishers, 2021 (the first edition was previously published by Indigo Dreams Publishing, 2012.
Lascar is the epic story of one man’s journey to fulfil his destiny.
When Ayan discovers his brother has cancer, the need to cover medical expenses propels him to leave poverty-stricken Bengal and emulate their late father by becoming a lascar (seaman) – shovelling coal in the bowels of the steamships trading between India and England.
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