My mother, Parvatiben Solanki, who has died age 86, was a pioneer of minority-ethnic publishing in Britain – with my father, Ramniklal Solanki, she launched one of the country’s oldest Asian titles, Garavi Gujarat, on 1 April 1968 from a small terrace house in Wembley, north London, as a handwritten, black and white, cyclostyle newssheet. Today, that paper, which many thought an April Fools’ joke, is the biggest-selling Gujarati newspaper outside India, published in two editions in the UK and the US, and read all over the world.
The manner in which Parvatiben and Ramniklal launched the paper at a time when there were very few Indians in the UK, with no financial capital, and when the technology to publish a Gujarati language newspaper did not exist, is an inspiring story.
My mother was an unassuming, quiet woman. But her calm exterior belied the steely determination that was at the core of her kind-hearted soul.
While Ramniklal was the editor and face of the newspaper, Parvatiben was the behind-the-scenes force who was instrumental to its long-term success. She possessed a razor-sharp business mind and understood every aspect of the publishing industry. She grasped the role of the newspaper as a powerful voice for Asian communities and as a tribune for equality and justice, and championed many causes in the paper – from culture, literature and religion to charitable campaigns.
Born in the small village of Nani Pethan in the state of Gujarat, India, Parvatiben was one of five children of Makanji Champaneri, a farmer, and his second wife, Laxmiben, and went to school in Navsari, the nearest town. Her father was a devotee of Dayanand Saraswati, the great Hindu reformer, and lived his life in accordance with a strong moral code, values he instilled in all his children – he had had three children, Parvatiben’s half-siblings, with his first wife, who had died.
Parvatiben married Ramniklal in 1955 and they moved to Britain in the 1960s. The harsh winters and the unavailability of Indian vegetables and spices, along with the rising tide of racism, made for some very difficult years. But, like so many of their generation, my parents buckled down and worked all hours, holding down two jobs for many years to pay for the paper until it became financially viable.
With the exodus of Asians from east Africa and the paper’s campaigning zeal, Garavi Gujarat’s readership grew, and it became a powerful voice for the community. My parents launched further titles, including Asian Trader, for convenience stores, and Pharmacy Business. In 2009 they acquired Eastern Eye newspaper, and the holding company Asian Media Group is today Britain’s biggest Asian publishing house. The group also publishes the Asian Rich List and the GG2 Power List, and hosts related award dinners and conferences.
Parvatiben’s daughter Smita died of leukaemia in 1994, and Ramniklal died in 2020. Parvatiben is survived by her children Sadhana, Kalpesh and me, 11 grandchildren, a great-granddaughter and her brother Nagindas.
