Coming of Age : 1976 and the Road to Anti-Racism

man rights, women’s rights, or even racism. One particular case stands out in my memory
that concerns the leader of the Grunwick strike, Jayaben Desai.
Jayaben was a fearless fighter for social justice for workers, but was also a member
and supporter of the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), the UK branch of the Hindu nationalist
extremist group Rashtriya Swayamaevak Sangh (RSS) in India known for its hostility
to and attacks on Muslims. I remember a conversation with her in which she was berating
Muslims in India. ‘Their houses smell’, ‘they breed like rabbits’ etc. I pointed out that
what she was saying about Indian Muslims was exactly the same as the far right National
Front was saying about all the black migrants, including us. Her response was: “What I am
saying about Indian Muslims is true, what the NF says about us is not”!
On the other hand, it is fair to say that without Jayaben there would not have been
a strike. 60% of those on strike were female, and the leading force was Jayaben Desai.
There was a lot of simmering discontent among the workforce but no one else was able
to articulate workers’ grievances in Gujarati as she did. Her English was far from perfect,
but her fearless quick-witted retorts to rude managers gave courage to others to come
out and stay out. The most famous one of these is the one where she says before walking
out:
“What you are running here is not a factory, it is a zoo. But in a zoo there are many
types of animals. Some are monkeys who dance on your fingertips, others are lions who
can bite your head off. We are the lions, Mr Manager.”
Equally impressive is her retort to a manager who said ‘you can’t win with that Sari on.
Why don’t you change into a mini-skirt?’ ‘I will tell you something, manager’ she retorted,
‘Mrs Gandhi wears a sari and she runs a country of 600 million people. You can’t even run
a little factory’.
I also realised that strikers and their supporters had contradictory views on fundamental
issues. Among the other contradictions that struck me at the time was the proud declaration
by most female strikers, including Jayaben, that while picketing they had never
failed to provide cooked meals, a clean and tidy house, and care of their children, no matter
how early they had to rise each morning! British feminists who joined the picket would
not have shared or appreciated this view! However, I found during our attempts to get
more women to join the strike that the issue was much more complex. It is best articulated
by Ann Rossiter (10) in an article published in Spare Rib. It says: “It takes a great deal of
guts for an Asian woman to come out on strike and stand on a picket line in the full glare
of publicity day after day. All sorts of psychological pressures are brought to bear on her.
Members of her family may gossip and deprecate her, as it is considered a dishonour for
Coming of Age | 155
Coming of Age Final version 16.10.indd 155 17/10/2017 12:08