Balwant Singh Chadha. An appreciation
Balwant Singh Chadha, known as ‘Bob Chadha’, who has died aged 87, was a trade unionist, Labour Party member and councillor, community organiser and anti-racist activist. He ran the United Youth Club in Woodlands in Glasgow and became the first Indian-born Justice of the Peace in Scotland and was inspired by a strong commitment to humanity and social justice
Born on the 2nd April 1938 in a small village near Phagwara city in Punjab, India to his father, Dharam Singh, and his mother, Chanan Kaur, he was part of a large family with six brothers and three sisters. His left leanings were apparent from an early age. At the age of ten he set out with a cousin and a family friend to try to walk to China, driven by curiosity about the Communist country, an escapade for which he received a significant scolding from his mother.
In 1955 he joined his father, a blacksmith, in Nairobi, Kenya who had travelled there for work, with his brothers. In Kenya he was also to meet his future wife Munveer, and like many South Asians of his generation Bob left East Africa for the UK. Travelling to Birmingham to join his uncle in 1962, he became involved in the Indian Workers’ Association and joined the Labour party.
This was a time of increasing racism in the city and at a workshop in 2017 he spoke of the frightening impact of Enoch Powell’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech, which was delivered in nearby Wolverhampton in 1968. The grace of his movement at the event emphasised his account of the pain of being excluded from dances in West Midlands because of the colour bar. Bob's love of dancing and music reflected his outward-looking character and the openness of his personality.
In 1966, Munveer moved to Helensburgh for her midwifery training – and Bob followed her to Scotland which he found a welcome change from Birmingham and he decided to settle with her in Scotland. Moving to Glasgow they were the first couple to be married at the Gurdawara off Maxwell Road in August 1967 – and their first child Cheryl was born in 1968. The context in Glasgow was not easy, and they encountered discrimination in housing, and Bob challenged the racism and prejudice he and others faced in various ways.
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A key aspect of this was through youth work – and he was involved in a Youth Club at the Sikh Temple in the late 1960s. Later relocating to be based at Willowbank Street primary and Woodside Secondary respectively, it became an important community hub. Known as the United Youth Club it was a significant multicultural space when the far-right was active, and facilitated various activities such as drama and political engagement through events such as a children’s version of Question Time.
Bob had a strong drive for fairness and was a spirited character. He brought his passion for justice to his political and trade union activities which he developed through the 1970s. These included serving as treasurer for the early anti-racist organisation, the Scottish Immigrant Labour Council. He also developed his engagement with the Labour movement and was to become the first Asian branch secretary of the National Association of Local Government Officers (NALGO). A key figure in the Black and Asians sections movement, which sought to challenge the racism of the labour movement and to support the development of trade unionists of colour, he was chair of the Scottish Labour Party’s Black Section until it disbanded in 2010.
In an oral history with Isobel McDonald from Glasgow Museums he recounted that as an ordinary party member he initially experienced no racism in the party, but things changed when he sought to progress further. He discussed his long struggles to get nominated for positions and also noted the support in doing so from progressive party members such as Kay Carmichael and Janey and Norman Buchan.
Bob was supported by the former Labour provost Peter McCann to become the first Indian-born Justice of the Peace in Scotland, and he was only the second Asian person to have this position. He played a significant role in local government which included serving as a councillor on North Lanarkshire Council from 1995 to 2017 for Cumbernauld, where he lived for 45 years. In North Lanarkshire he was involved in many community organisations including the Rotary Club and supported charity and fundraising drives for concerns in India as well as in Scotland.
Generous with his time, he remained engaged and positive throughout his life with a strong sense of humour. Always very smartly dressed, he was a nervous but effective public speaker and in later years he captivated audiences with accounts of his different political activities and experiences. He was awarded an MBE for his services to local government and community cohesion in the West of Scotland.
In a context where the far-right is again resurgent, Bob’s life of activism and political engagement and the tenacity of his struggles is a powerful reminder of the struggles that have sought to shape a multicultural Scotland.
Bob is survived by his daughter Cheryl and his sons Savraj and Hermeet.
DAVID FEATHERSTONE
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