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Tribute to Batook Pandya

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20/2/2014
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Monday was an extremely sad day as Bristol faced a major loss in that Batook Pandya MBE, Director of SARI, will no longer be with us.

We have seen tremendous tributes expressed by many people and organisations which truly reflect Batook’s outstanding achievements, what he stood for and the overwhelming confidence we all had in him.

[caption id="attachment_342" align="aligncenter" width="300"]

Batook Pandya and Paul Stephenson

Batook Pandya and Paul Stephenson[/caption]

In 2012 during the many cutbacks, Bristol’s black and minority ethnic (BME) communities identified a lack of a communal voice and the ability to influence decisions which affected them. This resulted in the formation of the BME Voice and Influence (V&I) project and the BME V&I Advisory Group. Batook was a major contributor in assisting with the challenges in raising the profile of BME V&I and was eager to move away from ‘the same old rhythm’ to create a more unified and supportive environment of collaboration.

Batook took pride in acknowledging and recognising the excellent work being done to deliver crucial services for diverse BME communities and was instrumental in planning and chairing the first BME Community Awards in 2013 at the annual BME Fair.

In summer 2013, Dr Richard Stone, an original panel member of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry returned to Bristol to evaluate what improvements, if any, there had been in race relations in the city 20 years. Batook was the first person he called to give evidence on behalf of SARI, as had been the case when the McPherson Inquiry came to Bristol in 1999. His commitment to the legacy of Stephen Lawrence led him to instigate action on reviving Bristol’s Joint Declaration on Race Equality, an initiative among statutory public agencies and others to work in unison to champion race equality.

Whilst Batook would have been the first to declare that the important and strategic work he was involved in was collaborative, he always had a certain way of expressing his wisdom, experience and knowledge that stood him out as a leader and that has no doubt put Bristol in a better place.

People of his calibre leave behind legacies for others to follow and step up to so that challenges bear fruit and changes are adopted. Batook will be missed dearly but the breadth of his achievements and reach will continue to flourish.

This piece is by Zaheer Shabir & Roger Griffith, Joint Chairs for Bristol BME Voice and Influence Advisory Group

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