What a treat to welcome Sufiya Ahmed into The Reading Realm today to talk about her exciting, thrilling new book Time Travellers: Adventure Calling!

Over to you Sufiya!

My story of time travel begins in present time with our heroes Suhana, Ayaan and Mia on a school trip to the Houses of Parliament. After touring the corridors of power, the three are in Westminster Hall when they suddenly spin back to 1911 in the middle of a suffrage march.

I had lots of fun writing this story because I am so familiar with the setting. I worked for a number of years in the Houses of Parliament, and I was able to use my knowledge from that time in the story. I, of course, had to spend some time researching the historical figures the trio would come across. Mrs Lolita Roy, a suffragist, is one of them and she has a cameo in the book.

I enjoy writing stories about the history we all share from the relationship between Britain and India that goes back all the way to 1600. I loved history at school, but I never learned about the British Empire and its relationship to the land of my heritage, India. As a Brit I have always felt that I belonged, but as a little girl there were times when I felt that I was peeping into someone else’ history. All the pivotal moments like WWI, WWII and women’s suffrage seemed to be fought by people who did not look like me. And that is so far from the truth. 1.3 million Indian soldiers fought for Britain in WWI, and 2.5 million during WWII. A leading figure in the suffragette movement was Queen Victoria’s god-daughter Princess Sophia Duleep Singh and suffragists like Mrs Lolita Roy. Yet all these people are not mentioned in our history books, or at least they weren’t when I was at school. 

I want young readers to know about our shared history and have a better understanding of the contribution of South Asians to Britain.

I think their stories should be known, but not just by children of colour but by all children. I do believe that we need to strive towards a society which accepts people as belonging to this country. It is not enough to say that people are tolerated. To add to this, books should never be seen as only for one type of reader. Stories are for everyone and I hope Time Travellers finds space in all the classrooms that pride themselves on being inclusive.