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Kala Tara: the Asian Youth Movement and the fight against fascism in the 1970s

Workers' Liberty | 05.07.2010 18:03 | Anti-racism | Migration | Social Struggles

A film screening to open the Ideas for Freedom 2010 event.

7pm, Friday 9 July
The Exmouth Arms, Starcross Street, Euston, London NW1

In the 1970s, many thousands of British Asian youth became active around the Asian Youth Movement, a radical, secular, socialist-influenced network fighting against racism, police brutality and the threat of the far right.

Kala Tara (Black Star), a film named after the Bradford AYM's paper, tells the story. We are showing it to open Ideas for Freedom, the weekend of socialist discussion and debate hosted by Workers' Liberty.

We will be discussing what lessons the left can draw for the fight against racism and fascism today, and why the decades since the AYM's heyday have seen a shift from secular, leftist towards religious and communal politics.

Facebook event  http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=130233467015005#!/event.php?eid=130233467015005&ref=mf

Workers' Liberty
- e-mail: awl@workersliberty.org
- Homepage: http://www.workersliberty.org/ideas

Comments

Hide the following 3 comments

Respect to the AYM

05.07.2010 19:36

Sounds interesting. I was in Sheffield Anarchists in the 70's and 80's and we had a very good relationship with the AYM, as did our comrades in Bradford. What a shame they're not around today.

Joe Black

What a pity...

06.07.2010 08:14

It is a great pity that the AYM is no longer socialist and secularist in outlook. Many Asian youths are being seduced by Islamist ideas that are fundamentally opposed to everything wothwhile that socialists and anarchists stand for. They now increasingly have some romantisized notions of Islam and think that this is where their future prosperity lies as people, which couldn't be further from the truth. In order to win them back to socialism and anarchism, we must be able to challenge their notions of Islam ie. that Sharia is what they should be striving for. Instead they need to be won round to supporting Human Rights, not so called "God's Laws" that have nothing to do with God, and everything to do with Islamist oppression of human beings on a massive scale worldwide.

Supporter of the One For All campaign

West Yorks

06.07.2010 14:47

Any plans to show this film in Leeds or Bradford?

M