News: London's
India Club to bid farewell after over seven decades of serving curry
What's in the news?
● The
historic London curry house known as the India Club, which has historical ties
to India's fight for independence, is sadly closing its doors permanently.
India Club:
● India
Club, located on a busy stretch of road in central
London, has been a historically and culturally significant space for the
South Asian community in the city for decades.
Historical Backdrop:
● It
was set up in the 1950s as a place
for early Indian immigrants to meet and connect.
● The
India Club was started by the members of
the India League - a Britain-based organisation that campaigned for India's
independence in the 1900s.
● India's
first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru
is said to have been among the Club's founding members.
● Many
nationalists were part of the founding members of the India club including Krishna Menon – the first Indian High
Commissioner to the UK.
● India's
freedom activists initially used the Club as a meeting space, but later it
became a place for people from the South Asian community to forge friendships
over shared meals and events.
● Even
the interiors of the Club were designed to mimic the coffee shops of
pre-independence India, where people met to chat about culture and politics
over cigarettes and cups of chai.
● In
an ode to its rich socio-political history, the walls are lined with portraits
of prominent Indian and British personalities who visited over the years, such
as Dadabhai Naoroji, the first British Indian MP, and philosopher Bertrand
Russell.