|
My
name is Ehsan-ul-Haq - in English this means Kindness of God. I
was born before the partition of India in the Jalander district
on the 14 February 1939.
My
father was a headmaster but my mother had very little education
- she could only read the newspaper. My father was killed in a train
accident when I was only 21 days old and so I returned with my mother
to her home town Jalal-pur-Jattan, which is in the Gujarat area.
It
was here that I received my primary education.
I have
some memories of my childhood. At the time of partition I saw a
lot of chaos and bloodshed.
When
I was six or seven, I went to the headmaster who was a Hindu. He
remembered my father quite well, as did many people at that time.
I also remember getting lost in Rawalpinidi. My maternal aunt eventually
found me sitting in a shop drinking an orange juice.
 |
| Britain
was very different from his expectations |
As
a child, I played hockey on the main road. We had no parks or playgrounds
in the neighbourhood and had to dodge the cyclists and cars. I hid
my hockey stick and ball behind the door because my aunt wanted
me to study and not to play.
I don't
have any memories of my father as he passed away when I was so young,
but I have seen his photograph. I am looking more like him as I
grow older!
My
maternal uncle was a wonderful man - more or less a saint. He
built a mosque in the area near were he tilled his land in Jajal-pur-Jattan.
He got up at 3am reciting various hymns from the Quran on his
own. Some relatives didn't want him sleeping in the same room
as he would disturb everyone else!
 |
| Ehsan-ul-Haq |
My
mother brought me up single-handedly and she never re-married. She
was just 24 when widowed and depended on her brother for support.
I stayed
with my mother at the home of her sister and her son, Mohammed Saadiq,
who used to work in the army office. My cousin would tell me before
breakfast to clean his bicycle. In return he would give me a few
rupees as a reward and for which I was grateful.
Occasionally
he would scold me for not getting on with my studies, but he was
a generous man - taking me to buy sweets and to the Hakim's shop
where you could get cordial juices.
Unfortunately
he died very young in 1965, after I came to the UK, from a poisonous
injection in the chemist shop. The injection for boils on his skin
was out of date.
My
maternal uncle was a wonderful man - more or less a saint. He wasn't
educated but was very religious.
He
built a mosque in the area near were he tilled his land in Jajal-pur-Jattan.
He got up at 3am reciting various hymns from the Quran on his own.
Some
relatives didn't want him sleeping in the same room as he would
disturb everyone else!
I remember
as a child that there was a small river which was very dangerous.
He told me never to go there. One day, my uncle went to Rawalpindi,
and I decided to go to paddle in the river.
But
when he came back someone must have told him as he asked me: "Ehsan,
have you ever been to the river?" I said: "No uncle I haven't at
all." He asked if it was the truth, and I insisted it was.
So
he got hold of a rope, tied my hands and feet, got bitter mustard
oil and rubbed it onto my skin and made me sit in the sun. I felt
as if I had been stung by nettles. He said: "This is your punishment
for lying!"
That
was the only punishment I ever had from him, otherwise he was very
humble and a wonderful person. Children are children, and he quite
rightly did that.
My
uncle couldn't read or write. He had memorized Namaz. Because of
him I became reasonably religious and I have stayed that way since
childhood.
Migration
was an emotional experience for me. It was one of the harshest
winters for years and at the airport there was snow on the runway...in
May.
|
| Ehsan-ul-Haq |
We
used to fast together and we had a blind haafiz in the mosque during
Ramadan, to whom I would give butter milk every day to break fast
with.
I remember
Eid festivals also. During Eid, we would go to Eid-ga. It was not
really a mosque but everyone would go there only for Eid as there
were so many people. We wore nice clothes and ate a lot of food.
I wasn't fussy about presents but I was fussy about eating.
I had
my secondary education at Rawalpindi where I did matriculation (equivalent
to GCSEs). I was educated in Rawalpindi after school hours by a
lady who taught me how to read Quran.
Her
son helped me with the translation into Urdu. She was quite a strict
lady, but was nice also.
My
leisure activities mostly involved hockey. I practised in a ground
that had generated famous Pakistani players such as Naseer Bundah
and Rashid Kaliya. I
tried football but my toe got twisted as I kicked the ball the wrong
way. I also played guli-danda which is like lacrosse.
After
school, I decided to do a degree, as my father had two MAs in English
and one in another language. I went to Montgomery (now called Sahiwal)
in 1955. We
had land there, given to us in lieu of the land we lost in Jalander
when we moved from India to Pakistan.
I stayed
with my big uncle for a time who was a headmaster and helped me
improve my English. I played hockey for my college and toured the
country. We
got funds to feed ourselves - two eggs instead of one and lots of
milk to build up muscles!
 |
| His
marriage was arranged by his family |
After
my graduation, my mother said to me that she would like me to become
a lawyer. There was only one lawyer in the family. One of my cousins
took me to law college for admission and was quite supportive. My
other cousin, who was a lawyer, didn't want me to do it and was
quite scathing.
I passed
my LLB, and worked in Rawalpindi as an advocate. I was interested
in doing criminal cases, but my mother thought I was corrupting
society by getting criminals acquitted.
She
suggested that I become a doctor, but I couldn't because I had no
qualifications in science. She then suggested doing chartered accountancy
in England, but I wanted to do Master of Law - for which I had gained
admission and a scholarship to study at Harvard in the USA (one
of the best in the world).
However
as work permits were being given to work in England at that time,
my mother decided it was better for me to come here and so off I
went.
On
brushing my shirt against the wall I realised my white shirt
had become dirty from the grime from all the smoke. This was
quite a surprise as I had a rosy picture of England in my mind
- marble floors, tall buildings, beautiful people.
|
| Ehsan-ul-Haq |
Migration
was an emotional experience for me. I came here in May 1965 and
after a few weeks rest I started looking for articles. It was one
of the harshest winters for years and at the airport there was snow
on the runway...in May!
On
arrival I discovered that the air company had lost my baggage so
I had to go to the Pakistan High Commission student hostel in Chelsea
with only my hand luggage.
In
the dormitory, on brushing my shirt against the wall I realised
my white shirt had become dirty from the grime from all the smoke
- there was no restriction on burning coal in those days.
This
was quite a surprise as I had a rosy picture of England in my mind
- marble floors, tall buildings, beautiful people. In England I
also had my first experience of a tub bath - we always had showers
in Pakistan. I
overfilled the bath - and the spillage caused a lot of chaos.
I first
went to Cook & Company, a firm of chartered accountants, looking
for articles. They had no vacancies but I was advised to go to the
International Friendship League in Halifax to get to know about
other contacts. I was eventually articled with Kerr & Company in
Halifax, for whom I did lots of work.
Apart
from British history, which I had read in a book, I didn't know
much about British culture. At one meeting I saw a lady who looked
fairly old and I spoke to her loudly and asked: "How old are you?"
She
took me aside and told me that the question was rude! She said quietly
that she was 85! British courtesy was something that I had to pick
up in this way.
Accents
in the north of England and cockney in London also took me a while
to understand. Shakespeare and English literature didn't help much
here!
One
day in Halifax two Irish men alleged that they had been stabbed
by Pakistanis and police went to each Pakistani house in the area
and finger printed every man. I was very unhappy about this gross
injustice.
 |
| Ehsan-ul-Haq
trained as a lawyer but moved into community relations |
I contacted
the Pakistani High Commission in Bradford and eventually got an
apology from the chief constable of the area. So afterwards, I set
up the Pakistan Welfare Association, and became its first president.
I also
assisted in setting up an organization called 'International Centre'
for young overseas students, with a library, and then helped to
set up the Racial Equality Council in Halifax. In addition, the
government invited me to serve on the Race Relations Board as a
conciliation member for two years.
Because
of this voluntary work, I was not properly preparing for my own
exams and actually didn't take the final exam due to an absence
of job satisfaction. My
principal tried to dissuade me, but after the expiry of my articles,
I applied for a job as a liaison officer in Rochdale. This was in
1967.
I was
there for five years and helped to set up the community relations
office in a church hall. Most of the work was assisting in the welfare
aspects of newly-arrived immigrants.
That
same year, my mother wrote a letter asking me to get married. She
asked me to come back to Pakistan for the marriage to my second
cousin Tahira Adbu Rabb. My mother was surprised by the acceptance
of the marriage proposal by my bride's parents as the father was
a Member of Parliament, and had a title equivalent to that of MBE.
This was in contrast to my poor upbringing.
In
April 1968 we got married. We had no photos of our wedding as both
films used got wrongly exposed! My wife had a fairly hard time adjusting
to my circumstances especially working late and being away on conferences,
but we are happily married and are blessed with two children, Sophia
and Tayyab, who are now both married too.
The
Forest of Dean struck me as beautiful, and I decided to apply
for a job there.
|
| Ehsan-ul-Haq |
Then
one day, during a six-day conference in Bristol, I decided to visit
Gloucestershire after reading about a community relations job in
The Observer.
The
Forest of Dean struck me as beautiful, and I decided to apply for
a job there. I was offered the post, and in April 1972 started work
as a community relations officer. It was a job where you needed
a lot of diplomacy - to meet people at their own level.
People
came to me because they were aggrieved and so they needed my sympathy,
even if they may not have had a convincing case. I was well loved
by the Gujarati, Afro-Caribbean and Ukrainian communities.
There
was hardly any Pakistani or Bangladeshi community present at the
time I moved into Gloucestershire - I think I was one of the first
Pakistanis to arrive.
I assisted
the Gujarati community in obtaining planning permission for their
two mosques in Gloucester, including buying a warehouse on All Saints
Road. Both
mosques are very active, and one feels pleased going to any one
of them.
I also
worked with Cheltenham Borough Council, where I helped the Hindu
community set up their own centre using the Urban Aid Programme.
It is now known as the Hindu Community Centre.
For
the Chinese community, I arranged a meeting about section 11 of
the Local Government Act which allowed for additional facilities
to be provided to ethnic minorities if the existing services were
not acceptable.
They
wanted me to help them set up their own association, and I became
the legal advisor for the Chinese Community Association.
The
Afro-Caribbean community was the largest minority community and
it was to work with them that I initially came to Gloucester.
 |
| Ehsan-ul-Haq
first worked with other immigrants in Rochdale |
I helped
to extend the Jamaican Sports and Social Club, to bring more facilities
for younger people, and I also helped set up the United West Indian
Action Group and the Afro-Caribbean Association.
During
1969-1970 I helped a number of families from my village in Pakistan
to come to England on the basis of obtaining work permits.
My
wife was not used to making tea and inviting such people into the
house who wouldn't be invited into her house in Pakistan. She had
to overcome this class barrier and is now quite popular in the community
and meets people at their own level.
As
far as my achievements go, I hope I have been able to assist many
people. I helped to set up the Painting and Decorating Project,
employing 50 people.
The
aim was to help youngsters who had difficulty in getting jobs. Some
of these people are now painters, decorators, carpenters around
the community.
I
remember when a group of young blacks went to paint an old lady's
house. Initially she was frightened as they talked loudly and
had Rastafarian hair, but soon she would be praising them and
bringing cups of tea.
|
| Ehsan-ul-Haq |
I remember
when a group of young blacks went to paint an old lady's house.
Initially she was frightened as they talked loudly and had Rastafarian
hair, but soon she would be praising them and bringing cups of tea!
Another
project was the employment of five teachers to teach English as
a second language. The teachers helped 65 people in Gloucester giving
them either home or group tuition.
During
this time I realised that a lot of youngsters were homeless, especially
Afro-Caribbean youngsters, and so I persuaded Stonam Housing Association
to buy the old Sir Thomas Rich's School headmaster's house, off
Eastgate Street, for one pound.
Around
£120,000 was spent renovating it and we re-named it Winnie Mandela
House - Nelson Mandela was imprisoned at that time and his wife
was homeless.
I was
invited to the opening of Widden School where it was my responsibility
to introduce The Queen to my chairman Bernard Westcar. I also introduced
the Duke of Edinburgh to other community members.
Beforehand,
I had been to the library to get a book to help me practice the
correct etiquette. I was upset, however, when I introduced Mr Mahmood
Moolla, who came from Burma, and the Duke said he didn't
look Burmese.
In
1977 I became in the director of the Council for Racial Equality
and when the organisation closed down in 1993 I took a similar job
in Swansea where I stayed until my retirement in February 1999.
A lot
people still come to see me at home on immigration related issues.
The main benefit to being in this country has been the good upbringing
of my children, which I may not have achieved in Pakistan.
My
children never had to work during their education - no paper rounds
or such. They have never experienced any hardship - both went to
excellent grammar schools and both have graduated and are now working.
 |
| Ehsan-ul-Haq
defended Muslim traditions in the press, such as the slaughter
of halal meat |
Sophia
is now working as a human resource management consultant and my
son is working for Heinz in Luton. I would say that I am quite religious,
although I do not perform my prayers on time.
Four
year ago I performed Hajj with my wife. I went there and I forgot
about all worldly things - one wishes one can stay there forever.
I stayed near the Holy Kaba one day, and I just drank the holy water
there - I didn't want to eat or go to the toilet! I would like to
go back again for Umra.
We
prayed all the time - Medina is a wonderful place, where the Prophet
Mohammed is buried.
Food
wise, I eat anything. I like making kebabs, samosas, salad, pickles
and chutney. I have always had difficulty eating food on training
courses and residential courses where Halal food was not available.
I
am not fussy about dress - I wear my shalawar kameez at home and
European clothes a lot of the time.
I
feel very optimistic that our young generation will enjoy a
better quality of life and a fairer treatment that those who
arrived here in the 60s and 70s. |
| Ehsan-ul-Haq |
Sports
wise, I played hockey for Halifax for five years, I like gardening,
playing cricket with my son. I went to a golf club, but the atmosphere
of smoking and alcohol didn't suit me.
Despite
my retirement, I am still active, helping to run the Lahore Balti
at Eastgate Street.
I originally
came to the UK with the objective to go back to Pakistan after my
studies. My children do like Pakistan but wouldn't like to live
there.
I have
been working all my life providing for my family. My wife has played
an important role disciplining the children as I was perhaps too
sympathetic with them. Both
marriages for my children were arranged, but we did not force them
to marry anyone - they chose their spouses.
When
we moved to Gloucester we temporarily lived in a small council house
on London Road. We next moved to Abbeydale and then to our present
location in Cheltenham Road.
It
is a detached house with four to five bedrooms and a large back
garden where I grow many cooking vegetables. It is on a busy road
but is a nice family house. We
have many fruit trees - walnut, apple and plum.
Overall,
as a result of direct migration from Pakistan I have become a better
citizen. I respect and care for life. I may not have achieved that
in the Pakistani class system, where servants do everything for
you.
Financially
I may have earned more as an accountant or a solicitor. All my colleagues
at the law bar are far better off than me - but their health is
worse and some of their children are on drugs and others have not
achieved anything.
I had
enormous job satisfaction throughout my career and am proud that
I was able to help so many people and to fight racism and injustice
in society.
I feel
very optimistic that our young generation will enjoy a better quality
of life and a fairer treatment that those who arrived here in the
1960s and 1970s.
»
See 'The Pakistani Community'
|
