New project tells story of true economic growth

COTTON, Curries and Commerce — a history of how Asian immigrants took low-paid jobs and created the next generation of business entrepreneurs — is to be launched as a heritage project later this year.

The Oldham of today is a very different one from the 1960s — with one of the biggest drivers of change being the influx and growth of the Asian business community.

In post-war Britain, the owners of Oldham’s cotton-spinning businesses recruited workers from Bangladesh and Pakistan into low-paid, menial jobs.

Now thanks to funds provided by Oldham’s Asian Business Association and a grant of more than £25,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the story of these seismic changes can be told.

Testimony from the early pioneering workers, now in their 70s and 80s, and archives from the Asian Business Association, will be used to create the archive.

Roger Ivens, local studies officer at Oldham Local Studies and Archives, said: “The Asian Business Association was active until this year when it resolved to disband as a consequence of Asian businesses having moved into the mainstream. During its time, the association accumulated an extensive archive collection providing an irreplaceable part of the history of Oldham.”

Tariq Amin, President of the ABA Executive, said: “Oldham can point to a proud heritage of self-made millionaires that stretches back to the Industrial Revolution, yet it is an Asian businessman — Iqbal Ahmed, of Seamark International — who can lay claim to the title of the town’s most successful businessman and it is Asian-owned businesses that are helping take forward the local economy.”

A book charting the history of Asian businesses in Oldham will be completed and ready for publication by autumn, 2012.

The book, exhibition and recordings will then be officially launched at a business awards event in early 2013.