Both NoT Half

The first of our 2024 Bookclub talks was with actor, presenter, and now author, Jassa Ahluwalia who was in conversation with presenter and author Noreen Khan.

Jassa Ahluwalia

Jassa Ahluwalia is a British actor, writer, filmmaker and trade unionist. Born in Coventry to a white English mum and a brown Punjabi dad in 1990, he attended school in Leicester and was raised in an extended family environment. He spoke English in the playground, Punjabi with his grandparents, and spent various summer holidays in India. He came to prominence as Rocky in the hit BBC Three series Some Girls, followed by starring roles in Unforgotten, Ripper Street, and Peaky Blinders. Jassa created the hashtag #BothNotHalf to explore mixed identity in light of his own British-Indian heritage. His TEDx talk on ‘How Language Shapes Identity’ has clocked up over 170k views and his BBC One documentary Am I English? won an Asian Media Award in 2022.

They discussed 'Both Not Half', Jassa's new book about his journey of self-discovery which also challenges how we think and talk about mixed identities.

Buy 'Both Not Half' here

Prof Kim Wagner

Prof Wagner speaks about his meticulously researched history of the 1919 massacre at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar.

Sathnam Sanghera

Our final talk of the 2024 Bookclub series was with award-winning author and journalist Sathnam Sanghera. in discussion with Amandeep Bhangu. His most recent book, Empireworld, a sequel to Empireland, extends his examination of British imperial legacies beyond Britain.

Aanchal Malhotra

Remnants of Partition tells the family stories hidden within items carried between the new India and Pakistan, amid chaos and violence

Davinder Toor

Having carefully curated the world's most important private collection of Sikh art, arms and armour Davinder Toor joins us to talk about his book 'In Pursuit of Empire' which takes the reader on a journey through his collection and the story of the Sikhs

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