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The Documentary: Three Pounds In My Pocket: Three pounds in my pocket

Three pounds in my pocket

18/08/2021 GMT

Three Pounds In My Pocket

BBC World Service - The Documentary, Three Pounds In My Pocket, Three pounds in my pocket

British South Asians and the 1990s: a golden decade

British South Asians and the 1990s: a golden decade.

Since 2014 Kavita Puri has been charting the social history of British South Asians in post-war Britain. Many came with as little as three pounds due to strict currency controls.

This series looks at critical decade for British South Asians - the 1990s. We begin with Norman Tebbit and his so-called 'cricket test', which questioned the loyalty of those who supported India over England in international cricket. It was a far cry from the multicultural Britain that would be ushered in by Tony Blair's New Labour in 1997.

Amidst this changing political landscape, the children of the three pound generation were finding mainstream cultural success. Goodness Gracious Me was a hit on national television, films like East is East found success, and there were hit records from acts like Apache Indian, Bally Sagoo and Panjabi MC. Regular British Asian music nights at commercial venues began, such as Bombay Jungle at Soho's Wag Club, and soon hundreds were queuing up in central London to get in. British South Asians reflect on the 1990s.

(Photo: DJ Ritu and her band Sister India. Credit DJ Ritu)

The Documentary: Three Pounds In My Pocket

Since 2014 Kavita Puri has been charting the social history of British South Asians in post-war Britain. Many came with as little as three pounds due to strict currency controls.

This series looks at critical decade for British South Asians: the 1990s. We begin with Norman Tebbit and his so-called 'cricket test', which questioned the loyalty of those who supported India over England in international cricket. It was a far cry from the multicultural Britain that would be ushered in by Tony Blair's New Labour in 1997.

Amidst this changing political landscape, the children of the three pound generation were finding mainstream cultural success. Goodness Gracious Me was a hit on national television, films like East is East found success, and there were hit records from acts like Apache Indian, Bally Sagoo and Panjabi MC. Regular British Asian music nights at commercial venues began, such as Bombay Jungle at Soho's Wag Club, and soon hundreds were queuing up in central London to get in.

British South Asians remember the 1990s: a golden decade.

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