Skip to content

This Site is Intended for Healthcare Professionals Only

Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

AMG’s founder and editor-in-chief, Ramniklal Solanki, passes away

RAMNIKLAL SOLANKI, a giant of Gujarati journalism and pioneer of British Asian media, passed away this morning , after a brief illness. He was 88.

Mr Solanki was in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, when he suffered a stroke last week. He was admitted to hospital and passed away peacefully on Sunday surrounded by his family.


Mr Solanki was awarded an OBE and CBE.

Mr Solanki was the founder and editor-in-chief of Garavi Gujarat newsweekly and Asian Media Group (AMG), which is today Britain’s biggest and most successful Asian media businesses.

Among its market leading consumer and business titles are Garavi Gujarat newsweekly, Eastern Eye newspaper, Asian Trader and Pharmacy Business.

Mr Solanki’s contribution was recognised by the Queen who honoured him first with an OBE in 1997, and later, a CBE in 2007.

Mr Solanki’s long and distinguished career in journalism began more than six decades ago when he wrote for local papers in Gujarat and as the London correspondent of Janmabhoomi Group of newspapers headquartered in Mumbai.

But it was his arrival in England in 1964 that set him on the path to building what would become one of country’s most reputable ethnic media publishing houses.

Mr Solanki was urged by the then Indian High Commissioner, Dr Jivraj Mehta, to start a Gujarati newspaper to serve the growing Indian community in Britain. His ambition was to unite and integrate the community and to keep India’s rich cultural heritage and the Gujarati language alive for future generations.

With no financial capital and lacking the technological means to publish such a newspaper, Mr Solanki and his wife Parvatiben launched Garavi Gujarat as a cyclo-styled, black and white newssheet from a small terraced house in Wembley, north London, on April 1, 1968.

Garavi Gujarat publishing house was opened in 1976.

The paper rapidly gained a loyal following, soon becoming the biggest-selling Gujarati newspaper outside of India and a focal point for the community.

The Solanki family celebrated 50 years of Garavi Gujarat in 2018.

For more than 50 years, Mr Solanki’s tenacity as a news journalist and his thought-provoking columns won him and the paper many plaudits, and the paper gained a reputation for its fearless, campaigning journalism.

The arrival of Asian immigrants from east Africa a few years later led Mr Solanki to publish stories of families who faced hostility as they adjusted to a new life in Britain. Many of the migrants suffered hardship and Garavi Gujarat highlighted their struggles, with Mr Solanki visiting refugee camps around the country, hearing first hand accounts of those affected by the political upheaval in Uganda.

In 1972, Garavi Gujarat turned from a fortnightly into a weekly. In subsequent years, Mr Solanki interviewed every British prime minister, from Harold Wilson to Tony Blair.

Mr Solanki with Margaret Thatcher

Today Garavi Gujarat is published in the UK and US, and has become the biggest selling Gujarati newspapers outside India.

One of the highlights of Mr Solanki’s career was helping to solve the murder of an Asian woman, Rokaya Bibi, in the 1970s. He became personally involved in helping the police solve this case. In the words of detective superintendent John Swain, who was in charge at the time: ‘One journalist, Ramniklal Solanki did much to publicise this murder in Gujarati newspapers. He kept in close touch with my office, and it was largely as the result of his enthusiasm in this case that it was ultimately solved.’

Mr Solanki was also commended by Scotland Yard for his efforts.

AMG also publishes Asian Trader and Pharmacy Business, aimed at independent news agents and pharmacists, respectively, in the UK. Its US publications include Asian Hospitality, whose readers are hotel and motel owners and Priya magazine, which features Asian businesswomen.

Its most recent acquisition was the purchase of Eastern Eye newsweekly and the Asian Rich List in 2009.

As the business expanded, AMG also hosted annual events associated with the newspapers and magazines. They include the GG2 Leadership Awards, the Asian Business Awards, Asian Trader Awards, the Vape Awards, the ACTAs (Arts, Culture and Theatre Awards) and Pharmacy Business Awards.

Mr Solanki with London Mayor Sadiq Khan and AMG group managing editor Kalpesh Solanki.

Each ceremony is attended by Secretaries of State, Cabinet ministers and the events attract more than 800 guests. In 2014, then prime minister David Cameron was the chief guest at the GG2 Leadership Awards.

Mr Solanki and Theresa May launched the Asian Rich List in 2013.

Mr Solanki is survived by his wife Parvatiben, sons Kalpesh and Shailesh, daughter Sadhana and 11 grandchildren.

The funeral will be held tomorrow (2).

More For You

Air pollution in UK linked to thousands of deaths and chronic health conditions

A report by the Royal College of Physicians claims that air pollution was causing harm to almost every organ of the body.

iStock

Royal College of Physicians paints grim picture of air pollution in UK

Doctors warn that around 99 per cent of the population in the UK are breathing "toxic air", and around 30,000 deaths will be linked to air pollution in 2025.

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) claimed in a report that air pollution was causing harm to almost every organ of the body, and shortening life by 1.8 years on average.

Keep ReadingShow less
Community pharmacies falling behind on data security toolkit submissions

The last date for submission is 30 June 2025.

Pic credit: iStock

Community pharmacies falling behind on data security toolkit submissions

More than 50 per cent of the community pharmacies in England have failed to complete their Data Security and Protection Toolkit 2025 with the deadline in less than two weeks.

Necessary guidance regarding the toolkit has previously been provided by Community Pharmacy England (CPE) earlier.

Keep ReadingShow less
Digital guide launched to help patients with osteoporosis

In the UK, over three million people have osteoporosis.

Pic credit: iStock

Digital guide launched to help patients with osteoporosis

The Royal Osteoporosis Society (ROS) has launched a free online service called BoneMed which is aimed to support patients with osteoporosis in taking their medicine and remove barriers to adherence.

After completing a five-minute online survey, patients will be emailed a summary of the medicine they have been prescribed and six further updates throughout the year on their medication.

Keep ReadingShow less
GPhC five-year plan to empower pharmacists, uphold public trust

GPhC's Strategic Plan 2025-30 will focus on empowering pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

iStock

GPhC five-year plan to empower pharmacists, uphold public trust

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) launched its new plan for the next five years to uphold safety, quality and public trust in pharmacy.

The regulatory body unveiled its Strategic Plan 2025-30 during a Parliamentary event attended by pharmacy minister Stephen Kinnock on Wednesday (18).

Keep ReadingShow less
Glucose monitor and test strips on a blood sugar tracker sheet with lancets and pen device.

Medical device manufacturers will have to monitor the safety and performance of their products already in use.

iStock

Medical device regulation overhauled to improve patients' safety

Medical device manufacturers must now adhere to the UK's post-market surveillance (PMS) regulations.

The new rule came into effect on June 16, and manufacturers will have to monitor the safety and performance of their products already in use.

Keep ReadingShow less