Young Roots
Aik Saath is a charity that works with people from all communities, faiths and backgrounds to promote and encourage conflict resolution and community cohesion. It was set up in 1998 in response to racial tensions between the Indian and Pakistani communities in Slough. The words ‘Aik Saath’ mean ‘Together as One’ in Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu.
Slough Museum, English Heritage and Active Archive worked in partnership with Aik Saath to deliver the project. Young people interviewed older members of the Indian and Pakistani communities in Berkshire. They focused on the impact of the Partition of India on relationships between communities in Slough. The interviews were used to create an exhibition at Slough Museum, a website and anti-racism workshops for schools and community groups.
The Partition of India saw the creation of two separate states of India and Pakistan at the end of the British Empire in India in 1947. The exhibition and other activities marked the 60th anniversary of the Independence of India and Pakistan, and the 10th anniversary of racial conflict in Slough.
Young people were involved in planning, steering and promoting the project. They also developed oral history interviewing skills. The project contributed to greater cross-cultural understanding of the heritage of the Indian and Pakistani communities in Slough.