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Dilip Bhattacharyya, in Britain, 1968
© Courtesy of the Bhattacharyya family
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Journey to Leicester |
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Early upheaval
My parents have lived in Leicester since 1972; their journey from Calcutta (now called Kolkata) illustrates the struggle experienced by many immigrants. They are now retired after working in academia and social services for many years. Both used their experience of immigration in a positive way to the benefit of British society.
Bandel Village, West Bengal, where Sonali's mother's family moved to in 1948
© Courtesy of the Bhattacharyya family |
My parents both had early experiences of upheaval and forced migration. In her own words, my mother “grew up as a tomboyish girl in a village in Chittagong”, now in Bangladesh. The Partition of India took place in 1947 and forced the largest mass movement of humanity in history. Communal/religious violence claimed over a million lives as Hindus fled to India and Muslims to newly created Pakistan. My mother and her family left Chittagong and moved to Kolkata.
My father was born in Rangoon, Burma and was four when World War Two started. As an Indian family, they were a target for violence and looting, so they too left for Kolkata, arriving in 1943.
Words: Sonali Bhattacharyya
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