Factionalism and Violence in British Pakistani Communal Politics

Abstract

In a serious affray in the Central Mosque in Manchester, in 1985, a man died of a heart attack (Arabia, 1985). In 1988, during a fight between two opposed British Pakistani neighbourhood-based associations another man died of a coronary, after being punched in the chest (Manchester Evening News, 1988). At certain phases in the history of the local British Pakistani community, political violence in the public arena has seemed close to the surface. Pakistani public meetings are often confrontational and charged with passion. The intensity of political action is a potent and tangible current running through these events.

Earlier versions of this chapter were presented at the Pakistan Workshop at Satterthwaite in May 1988, and to the Punjab Research group in July 1988. I am grateful to participants in these workshops and to Hastings Donnan, the coeditor of this book, for their penetrating comments. I would also like to thank Mr Munir Choudhri for his immense help during the research and the insight he gave me into the political culture of local British Pakistanis.