Southall Businessman Seeks Election to GLA as an Independent

THE MUSLIM WEEKLY 2004
Dalawar Majeed Choudary, 37 a local businessman from the Broadway Southall, has decided to put himself in the race to become the Greater London Assembly member for the Ealing and Hillingdon Constituency. Taking into account that the Greater London Authority deals with London wide issues including Policing, transport, fire, planning and waste disposal coupled with the fact that the local councillor covers a constituency equivalent to 5 parliamentary constituencies, this is a vital platform for tackling issues that effect the ‘Gateway to London’ from the West.

I initiated our conversation by asking Mr.Choudary about his main motivating factor for entering the political arena. His answer echoed that of many RESPECT candidates in that Labour had betrayed Muslims on Iraq and Afghanistan and that their policies were having a ripple effect domestically, thus there was an imperative to protest.

The list of grievances and signs of neglect were endless in his constituency, he argued. Non-recognition of the need for Islamic schools, lack of facilities for car parking in a shopping metropolis, a distinct absence of leisure resources particularly for women, the rarity of public toilets, inadequate public transport, provision of burial facilities for Muslims by the borough etc.

I asked him to elaborate on the burial issue. He explained that there were only 25 burial places available in Southall. “We have been campaigning for an existing vacant plot with Ealing Council without any success. Furthermore, they have been insensitive to Islamic burial rites i.e if someone dies on a Friday, they are not likely to be buried before Tuesday.”

On the business front, the neglect was astonishing considering Southall’s close proximity to the airport, he described the local labour force to an extent, being the backbone of British Industry.

He put the insensitivity of local MP Piya Khabra into perspective, citing examples where in Parliament, he had described the local Somali community as a bunch of trouble-makers. When fertilisers discovered in nearby Hanwell were linked to the ‘War on Terror’ a few months back, Mr Khabra thought that he wouldn’t be surprised if there were terrorists lurking in the Borough thinking it to be an ideal hiding place.

So how did Mr.Choudary put himself forward to the community?

He described the elders of the community (1st generation immigrants) realising it was high time the next generation became active in ensuring that everybody’s needs were addressed, furthered by the West London Mosques Forum putting forward a similar point, gradually paved the way for local Gurdwaras and Mandirs to reflect the same.

Thus, having broad appeal was an essential recipe for success but maintaining that must be an ardous task I thought. “We have had our up and downs but have lived in harmony for the past 40 years and we have been able to keep our foreign agendas separate” he assured me.

On a parting note, I was curious as to why he was standing as an Independent. It was important to initially register the community’s protest by voting, subsequent results would give greater leverage in negotiation. Indeed, parties were already clamouring for support, suggested Mr.Choudary.