Defiance: Fighting the Far Right Season 1 Episode 2 - Episode 2

Airdate: 2024-Apr-09

Episode summary:

Three years after the killing of Gurdip Singh Chaggar, the National Front plan a rally in the centre of Southall: the heartland of Britain's Asian community at the time. When the authorities refuse to move the meeting, thousands of British Asians, including the Southall Youth Movement, gather to demonstrate their anger. Attempts to block the rally are mostly peaceful, but police arrest hundreds of members of the local community and violent clashes escalate. During the ensuing chaos, Clarence Baker, a local community organiser, is attacked by the police and ends up in a coma. Blair Peach, an anti-racist teacher, is fatally injured when he encounters the notorious Special Patrol Group of the Metropolitan Police. Peach's killing goes unprosecuted, while hundreds of young Asians are convicted in a questionable judicial process. As the community mourns Peach's death, questions arise about police brutality and the handling of the case. Asian youth movements around the country realise that they must take matters into their own hands to protect themselves against the rising attacks from the far right.

About Defiance: Fighting the Far Right series:

The story of how – from 1976 to 1981 – Britain's Asian community stood tall against far-right violence and a rising tide of racist...Show more >