Passage to England

With a few pounds in his pocket and dreams in his eyes, Dharam Bir Lall embarked on a fateful journey from India to the United Kingdom in 1958, which took him to coveted stations in his career in foreign shores.

Dharam Bill Lall’s is a tale from rags to riches, from a non-entity to the halls of fame and fortune. Known to his friends as ‘Bill’, Lall rose from humble beginnings to become a successful accountant, civil servant, adviser to the UK Government, and is now a leading tycoon of East London’s business community.

In 2001, he published his first book, an autobiographical and spiritual reflection, How to Grow Rich — And Enjoy Life. The second book Journey to Riches and Happiness is being published in New Delhi. Lall, who was recently in New Delhi, talks to Parmindar Singh.

Indians, especially Punjabis and Gujaratis, have done very well. Their business expertise and enterprise is exceedingly superb. Indians from Uganda have also done very well. But they had money when they came, unlike most Indians.

Immigrant population is controlling one-third of the London’s economy. Indians in the UK are doing very well in almost every walk of life. They are chartered accountants, doctors, engineers, surveyors, property tycoons, industrialists, and all sorts of business people. A lot of IT work is now being outsourced to India. Trade Unions are fighting because the original inhabitants are losing jobs to outsourcing.

When I first arrived in England, I came up against notices like: "Rooms available — sorry no coloureds, no Irish, no dogs". Despite that kind of rejection, I found the UK a wonderful country.

"I had, and still have, great faith and love for England, I believe if you have the passion, drive and aspiration to succeed, there is no better greater country than the UK. There is opportunity for anyone to succeed regardless of race, religion nationality or background."

In Britain, I studied to be a chartered accountant. On qualifying, I worked as an accountant in Birmingham and Milan before returning to London in 1970 to take up a civil service appointment at the Ministry of Defence.

When I was being formally installed by Lord Rix, Chancellor of the University of East London, for the award of an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration, to the warm applause from the 2,000-strong audience of UEL graduates, and friends celebrating their degree success at the Barbican Hall in the City of London on November 20, 2003, that surely was one of the most proud moments of my life.

I had gained wonderful professional experience of over 45 years in UK, as a migrant, as a business man and as a chartered accountant. I thought I must share it with other people. It might benefit the younger generation, especially the Asians. I have therefore authored, How to Grow Rich and Enjoy Life.

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