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Making history
Reviewed by Balwinder Kaur
London
Company
By Farrukh Dhondy. Hachette. Pages 240. Rs 495
 your kind are not wanted
here" and various permutations thereof were sentiments
encountered often by a young immigrant and his girlfriend seeking a
foothold in Britain of the 1960s. A scholarship to Cambridge
University marked the beginning of an exploration and an evolution of
Farrukh Dhondy as both an aspiring writer and individual in a foreign
land. In the 1950s and 1960s began the influx of foreigners into
Britain most notably from former British colonies.
Britain, however, was
unwelcoming and shunned all outsiders alike no matter what the shade
of their non-white skin. This made them stick together to demand fair
treatment and soon they became part of a movement both social and
cultural. In this case, the Black Panther Movement which with its
revolutionary internationalist, anti-racist and socialist agenda
advanced the standing of all people of colour. London Company chronicles
the highly personal struggle of many who came to Britain looking for a
better life and pay check.
 In this fictionalised
memoir of those turbulent early years are the people, the places and
the events that shaped Farrukh Dhondy into an author, playwright,
scriptwriter, translator, biographer and activist. Accompanying
Farrukh was Natasha his comrade-in-arms who left behind an affluent
family in India to run away with him not knowing what the future would
hold. Far too often these two found themselves homeless and penniless
struggling to make ends meet in this hostile place. And many a time
clinging to unexpected lifelines thrown by kind strangers. The harsh
rejection of an agent made young Farrukh give up on writing fiction.
But he wrote on what he saw unfolding around him and soon became part
of the Black Panther Movement; writing pamphlets, leaflets, case
reports and newsletters for them. Over the years, Farrukh rose through
the ranks making his way into the Central Core. When teaching
opportunities came his way so did middle-class respectability and
credibility. Soon he was on the fast track as a writer; the social
realism in his stories got him a contract with MacMillan publishers.
With candour this
account reveals the actions, ideas and agendas of a wide gamut of
fascinating individuals of varied ethnicities and ideologies:
sometimes in step and sometimes at loggerheads. There are the
impressive Fermina Christian and Alby DeLoitte who took helping others
to the next level and banded together strangers forming a vibrant
group that was the British offshoot of the Black Panther Movement.
The renowned author C.
L. R James who went from being an inspiration to Farrukh often quoted
in his lectures to becoming a personal acquaintance; whose biography
he eventually wrote. The book records both personal and professional
exploits; the adventures and growth of people who realise only in
retrospect the significance of their contribution to history.
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