Culture - Music and Art used as a weapon

Culture - Music and Art used as a weapon

'Yes Memsahib' originally a play performed in Britain in 1979.

Set against the backdrop of Mrs. Thatcher’s notorious speech warning that “alien” immigrant cultures were “swamping” Britain—delivered shortly before her first election win—Jatinder Verma’s play draws a parallel between the historical betrayal of Asian migrant workers in colonial East Africa and the contemporary marginalisation of Asians in Britain. 

We can see how culture was used as a weapon against racism — and the Asian Youth Movement (AYM) played a key role in this. Through posters, poetry, music, theatre, and visual art, AYM challenged racist narratives and reasserted pride in South Asian identity. Culture became a tool not just for resistance, but for education, mobilisation, and solidarity. It allowed young Asians to speak on their own terms, to expose injustice, and to connect their struggles with wider anti-colonial and working-class movements. In a society that tried to silence and marginalise them, culture gave them a voice — and made their presence unignorable. 

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