Ramniklal Solanki, who arrived in the UK in 1964 as a correspondent for Indian newspapers and went on to found the multi-title Asian Media Group that closely reflected the achievements and setbacks of the Indian diaspora over several decades, passed away on Sunday after a brief illness aged 88.
Home secretary Priti Patel, whose parents arrived from east Africa, paid tributes to Solanki: “Generations of British Gujaratis including my parents avidly enjoyed his publications. He wrote with great empathy chronicling the plight of the East African Indian community through expulsion and the challenges of settling in Britain”.
“But as the British Indian community flourished, its success was celebrated and acknowledge by Ramniklal through new publications recognising the professional contribution of our community to the cultural and economic strength of Britain”, she added.
Described as a giant in Gujarati-language journalism and pioneer of the Asian media in the UK, Solanki’s career began over six decades ago when he wrote for local papers in Gujarat and as the London correspondent of the Mumbai-based Janmabhoomi Group of newspapers.
He was the founder-editor of the Garavi Gujarat newsweekly and the Asian Media Group, whose titles include Eastern Eye, Asian Trader and Pharmacy Business. His contribution was honoured with royal honours OBE in 1997 and CBE in 2007.
Lacking finance and latest technology, Solanki and his wife Parvatiben launched Garavi Gujarat as a cyclo-styled, black and white news-sheet from a small house in Wembley on April 1, 1968. It soon gained a following, becoming the largest-selling Gujarati newspaper outside India and a focal point for the community.
Solanki and his publication closely covered the arrival of Asian immigrants expelled from east Africa in the early 1970s, as the families faced hostility while adjusting to a new life in Britain. He visited refugee camps and heard accounts of those affected by the political upheaval in Idi Amin’s Uganda.
Solanki’s group hosts annual events and awards such as GG2 Leadership Awards, the Asian Business Awards, and Asian Trader Awards, which are attended by leading lights from politics and other spheres, including diplomats from the Indian high commission. In 2014, former Prime Minister David Cameron was the chief guest.
Solanki is survived by wife Parvatiben, sons Kalpesh and Shailesh, daughter Sadhana and 11 grandchildren.
