A woman who was a founding member of the Bristol-based anti-racism charity SARI has died at the age of 92. Maya Bahra, from Bath, also played a part in setting up Easton Community Centre, and other support groups and centres in Bath.
Tributes have been paid to the 92-year-old, who was described as being ‘ahead of her time’ in race relations. The mother of four married Gurdayal Singh Bahra, who passed away in 2008, and together they were one of the first Asian families in Bath, when they moved to the UK from India in 1953.
She was one of the founding members of the charity Stand Against Racism and Inequality - SARI - which is now one of the leading organisations supporting victims of racist incidents and attacks in the West of England. She was rewarded for her tireless work in the community with an invitation to a Buckingham Palace Garden Party in 1997.
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A former chair of SARI, Esther Deans MBE, told the BBC Mrs Bahra came from a ‘generation of changemakers such as Roy Hackett and Barbara Dettering’. “They were determined to make things better for the next generations," she said.
“She knew about the many issues that our community was facing and this was at a time when people didn't recognise these issues," Ms Deans added. “We would not be where we are right now if we didn't have people like that. She was the lioness for Sari, fighting for it every time. We want to appreciate her life and her legacy,” she added.
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