No single culture or race has a divine right to occupy a certain area - 'White Flight'

When speaking to a good friend of mine (a white 20-something male) I was shocked to hear his words regarding the state of the UK in the next 30 years…

‘You do realise that the UK will become a white minority nation within the next 30 years don’t you?’

In other words, the ethnic minorities in the UK will take over the white population leading the UK to become over populated by non-whites. Tie that in with Trevor Phillips talking about how the UK will become increasingly mixed race within the next 15 years (and the mixed races will become Britain’s largest ethnic minority population) and we have a backlash from white nationals who fear this outcome.

‘White flight’ where white Britons uproot and move to other areas of the UK to avoid and move away from largely populated ethnic minority areas. Maybe this is partly the reason why integration can be so difficult. Just go to some parts of London, Birmingham, Manchester or Leeds and you can see exactly where white flight has taken place.

All of this at a time where Britain is to be known as a multi-cultural nation – multi-cultural it is but integrated it isn’t. When a young British Asian can cause infinite pain within the country he was born and raised in, we can be certain that integration doesn’t take place in certain areas of the UK. People become segregated, and subject to religious extremism.

Research by Migrationwatch suggests residential movements in Britain are mainly from areas of high ethnic minority population to those with predominantly white populations. I remember many of my Asian town folk expressing their wish to move to a less ‘ethnically populated’ area. It meant that you were climbing the social class ladder to be occupying a space amongst white folk. It was a sign that you were integrated. So when my aunt moved to a white area of Bradford in the 1980’s she was very proud to have integrated – shame the area didn’t stay that way. There is also now an element of ‘ethnic flight’ where those people of ethnic origin who are of a higher social class also move away from deeply and often deprived working class areas. It’s not just a white problem anymore.

Just last month, The Guardian reported that a report published by charity Barrow Cadbury Trust “dismisses tabloid images of a segregated nation at war with itself, concluding that more than two thirds of respondents in Birmingham consider relations between different communities to be good” with rising social mobility among ethnic communities. Almost half of the respondents thought there was “more integration between communities than a generation ago”.

Extremists express a deep concern that the UK is becoming less white – the way it should not be they say. With the ‘go back to where you come from’ debate seemingly coming back into the fore especially in light of the immigration policies currently observed in the UK, it seems the UK is going back to a time when racism was alive and kicking. Only now, racism exists because we have come full circle. The ‘not understanding others’ excuse is now replaced by the influx of immigrants causing economic instability and the Britishness debate – are mixed race people British when they share white genetics with an ethnic race? What does it mean to be British? etc etc.

What’s the moral? It can be argued that the UK is a confused hot bed of racial tension. No-one knows what it means to feel British and Islamism seems to be giving all ethnic communities a bad name. Where do we go from here? As one respondent in the Birmingham study reported in the Guradian pointed out: 'No single culture or race has a divine right to occupy a certain area’ – and this should be extended to the whole of Britain.

The video below portrays a shocking image of the UK as a place where ethnic minorities have had a deep negative effect on the country and all it stands for…

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Mum! Look! An Indian on the TV!

When I was growing up it was not uncommon to cry with excitement when an ethnic person appeared on the box from heaven i.e. the TV. The television has been a primary artery in the body of education I call ‘life’. I don’t think for a second that TV has corrupted me. In fact, TV has helped me to learn more about the cultures, societies and environments that surround me. So when I saw a black person appearing on TV for the first time, I was pretty happy about it. When an Indian person appeared on TV I was very excited. But when a Sikh appeared on TV exemplified by his turban I was ecstatic!
‘Singh, Singh!’ I would scream and jump up and down with joy – I was like a raver on acid. It was so uncommon to see a Singh on the box that if I did see one I would question whether Uncle Malkit had secretly climbed into the TV.

Come to think of it, how many Sikhs who display outward religious symbols do we see today on TV? I can only think of three and I am pushing the boundary in terms of talent. It is late but I am really scraping the ethnic barrel here.

1. Hardeep Singh Kohli (pictured) – clearly a talented individual who appears on the BBC’s One Show. With his extrovert turban often of varying colours (I think the last colour I saw him wearing was purple or maybe it was mauve, lilac or lavender?). He is actually a role model to me. An outward Sikh with an equally outward turban that even my uncle ‘Shipwreck’ would wince at (and they don’t call him shipwreck for nothing I can tell you). A great individual and a brilliant sense of humour.

2. The Sikh with no fashion sense whatsoever who challenged Peggy Mitchell as Walford councillor in Eastenders not too long ago. She subsequently gave an ‘emotional and inspiring’ speech at the councillors session and then collapsed afterwards in the Vic. That awful speech must have really taken it out of her eh? The Singh in question wear a turban that looked like it had been tied by David Blunkett. Religion and politics never mix – lesson learnt.

3. The third Singh I make reference to is also part of the Eastenders faithful. The extra in Eastenders! I never fail to miss him and always point him out to my fellow Eastenders audience whenever he appears. Quite embarrassing really when your grandma who is a devout Sikh watches with you deciphering the cockney dialect when she cannot utter a word of English but still somehow manages to work out that Heather is pregnant, Billy is a twat and Jeneen is an evil schemer and the offspring of Frank Butcher! So when I scream ‘Singh, Singh!’ my grannie shoots me a disapproving glance and continues to listen to Shirley talking crap about how she loves alcoholic Phil Mitchell.

Is Eastenders a representation of multicultural Britain or purely just a realistic and disappointing interpretation of a London suburb or even the UK? I think the latter. How come there isn’t a Singh family anyway when Punjabi Sikhs make up a massive percentage of the ethnic British population? Maybe I should make a case and send them my credentials as a new Sikh character. I can imagine my story line: Sikh lad enters the Queen Vic and sits within shot of Phil’s barmaid not saying a word while Ben wets himself because Phil just downed his 56th vodka and orange. All this while I chat away to the mute that is ‘Singh in Eastenders’. He is so popular that he even has a facebook fan page (and guess what I’m in it).

Another one of my pet hates in Eastenders is the race proofing… filling the ethnic quota by replacing one defunct Asian family (the pesky Ferreiras) with another, the Masoods. And the recent addition of Syeed, the forgotten son who happens to look nothing like either his parents or his younger brother. Why on earth does Zainab still have the most infuriating Pakistani accent that changes constantly? Once she sounded Punjabi and my gran pointed out that ‘her English good’. No it’s not gran.

Lenny Henry recently pointed out that TV when he was growing up was white with only a smattering of black. “America was light years ahead of us when it came to on screen diversity. Unfortunately I wasn’t living in America – I lived in Dudley”. I share his pain, being a fellow West Midlands and Black Country contemporary. Just like Lenny loved to see a black person on TV, I like to see an Asian and more importantly one that is a Sikh – an identifiable Sikh.

I have had my own conflicts with having a turban in the past. I wanted to be like the other cool boys when I was growing up. I told my mum that I was going to cut my hair. The finger prints of my mum’s slap around my face remained for 3 days. Sathnam Sanghera didn’t ask, he just went and cut his hair and then wrote a story about it! ‘The Boy with the Topknot’ was like reading about my own life only my hair stayed where it was.

My serious point is this; on-screen diversity in the UK has come a long way (in my last post I made reference to the many Asian newsreaders I see nowadays!). But as a Sikh, I fear that some stereotypes remain – Sikhs are under-represented by a mile. Does the West still fear the turban? Is the turban threatening and do people liken a turban to Arabian attire? When I have a conversation with somebody and their eyes wander north of my eyes, I sometimes wander what kind of society I live in when I can be judged not by skin colour (the classic) but by an outward religious symbol that now seems to get in the way for some people. It’s fucking annoying. What do you think?

Lenny Henry got it right when he asked TV decision makers how far we had come in the UK TV industry in relation to ethnicity and stereotypes… “And while we’re about it - lets cut the stereotyping right now: when you can cast a Somalian girl in your piece simply because she is the best actor for the job, when you can cast an Asian actress and she’s not the victim of an arranged marriage, when you can cast a Jamaican man with dreadlocks and he’s not a drug dealer… then we will have achieved something”.

Just because there are more and more ethnic faces on TV, it doesn't mean that society is represented appropriately... Just ask a Sikh.

I am a "Racial Foreigner" says the BNP...

According to leader of the British National Party Nick Griffin, black and Asian Britons are ‘racial foreigners’. In recent news of the leaked BNP "Language and Concepts Discipline Manual", all people from ethnic minority groups are “no more British than an Englishman living in Hong Kong is Chinese". The classic line we hear from hardline BNP members is the age old adage that 'a dog born in a stable is not a horse”. In a rather shameful but common sense way it actually makes sense. When I ask the racial foreigners around me – sorry I mean when I ask my fellow British Asian counterparts whether they are British I always get the response “yes but I don’t feel it sometimes”.

I find it extremely amusing that Bradford was named one of the three most "English" places in England. Bradford has a high proportion of Pakistani Muslims as well as one of the country's highest ratios of fish and chip shops to people! Down the road to this very English part of Britain, lies Leeds – home to the 7/7 bombers. It goes to show that being a legal Briton does not mean you are British… and Griffin points out by likening the term British to an ethnic description.

This probably goes some way to explain why young British Asians become guilty of plotting and executing terror attacks in the land that has raised them. Young people who have the right to be as British as anyone else become disenfranchised with their environments to the point where they hail mutiny and cause chaos. I guess Nick Griffin’s point that these people remain “of the stock” where they come from is correct. "We don't subscribe to the politically correct fiction that just because they happen to be born in Britain, a Pakistani is a Briton… they're not; they remain of Pakistani stock." Point taken.

Griffin goes on to suggest that calling all people of colour British resulted in a ‘bloodless genocide’ because indigenous people were denied their identity. What’s wrong with being called a Black Briton or Asian Briton? I am an Asian Briton. I don’t tell other British people what their identities are. I guess I should drop the ‘Asian’ tag because I also feel this segregates me to a certain degree. But essentially I am Asian because my family originates from India. I am also British without question – I was born in the UK which legally grants me the right to call myself British but more importantly I adopt the British culture if that culture can actually be defined.

I am British and I come from Indian “stock” – and a very tasty stock may I add in the culinary sense. Talking of food, Chicken Tikka Masala is one Britain’s national dishes. There is a huge “stockpile” of “racial foreigners” in the UK:

Amir Khan - the UK’s most prolific boxing talent and of Pakistani stock.
Monty Panesar – a British Sikh and an England cricket sensation. Indian stock.
Lenny Henry – a Dudley born black comedian. “I am yam, what I yam” he would say in his deep Black Country accent.

Or funny-man Omid 'Iranian in UK' Djalili?
What about all the pretty “racial foreigners” now presenting on our news channels? Mishal Hussain, Nina Hossain, Susanne Virdi, Samira Ahmed? And not forgetting George Alagiah or Krishnan Guru-Murthy?
What about the activitists and humanitarians such as Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti and Parvin Ali who has fought endlessly for the rights of Muslim women?
What about exceptional UK entrepreneurs like Karan Bilamoria, James Caan, Perween Warsi and Tom Singh? The list goes on and on…..

More importantly, what about the millions of hard working, tax paying, law abiding African-Caribbeans, Pakistanis, Punjabis, Bangladeshis, Chinese, Jewish and countless other community groups who contribute to the wellbeing of Britian today? All of these groups contribute to the United Kingdom but how united must one feel when still regarded as an inferior second class citizen?

There are so many “racial foreigners” in the UK that to take them away (Nick Griffin thinks we don’t exist) is to take away a lot of what Britain has achieved and will achieve in years to come as the UK becomes a further enriched melting pot of varying stocks.

And what of those who are mixed race? Are they ‘semi racial foreigners’ perhaps?
Leona Lewis is one Britain’s brightest singing talents and of mixed race background – Black Caribbean stock.
Craig David – the son of a Jewish mother and a West Indian father.
Lewis Hamilton is mixed race – the youngest ever Formula 1 champion.

So the next time I fill out a form that asks of my credentials in terms of identity, I will do what I usually do… I will draw a box at the end of the list, title it Human Being and tick the box with pride. Or maybe I should not bother, after all I don’t exist…

DNA of an Indian: a rich cultural heritage, centuries of exceptional academic achievement and CASTE discrimination

The UK government is trying its utmost to remain politically correct and not to “hurt” the feelings of the many minority groups that now reside here. As part of this, the government is trying its best to outlaw all forms of discrimination through the Single Equality Bill.

Racism is seen as anti-social behaviour but there is no reference to caste discrimination – a potentially more damaging and acute form of prejudice for Asian communities. Should caste discrimination be added to the Single Equality Bill? Of course.

In theory there is to be a single Equality Act for Great Britain. It will encompass disability, sex, race and other grounds of discrimination within one piece of legislation. With the Equality Bill expected to be published this month, I explore some of the issues still facing minority ethnic communities of the South Asian Diaspora – the main issue it seems remains to be Caste discrimination (no surprise there then).

There are three main guilty parties in the caste discrimination arena. Some openly practise caste discrimination whilst others inadvertently maintain it:

1. The Oppressor: those with perceived power.
2. The Victims: who fail to stand up and challenge the oppressor.
3. The Law Makers: those reluctant to address the problem.

Most of us will not believe that Caste discrimination was outlawed in India in 1947 when caste divides are openly seen and practised there today. I have seen it myself. The system has been in existence in India for centuries. Members of lower castes have lived lives in squalor and it continues today. It is safe to say that making caste discrimination unlawful in the UK will go a long way to ensuring that ill-informed social divides in the context of a UK British Asian society will diminish significantly. We are not in India. The UK government needs to address a problem that has hindered the progress of South Asian communities since they first arrived here over 50 years ago.

In my last post, I maintained that class would kill caste. It’s obvious and necessary in a free world. All are given equal opportunity and we become the shapers of our destinies. This is what makes the UK a fantastic place to live. It could have been very different for me. My grandfather could have decided to go elsewhere when he left the Punjab in 1954 to make a better life for himself. I consider myself lucky to have been brought up in the UK with moderately liberal Indian parents who didn’t push the caste agenda onto me. I was always told that my education was important and I could be anything I wanted to be if I worked hard to get it. I think my parents got it right.

Just yesterday, I tried to explain the notion of being ‘working class’ to a friend of mine who instantly proclaimed that I was middle class based on my education and career. It was a revelation. Here I was proud to be from a working class migrant family and in the eyes of those around me I was already a middle class high achiever. To be honest, I am proud to be working class and in my eyes I will always belong to this group. It makes me who I am. The caste system however upsets me – and it’s my fellow (often uneducated) Indian counterparts who push this outdated system onto me.

In the UK, it doesn’t matter which caste you belong to. We are all treated equally (some will challenge me on that). Everybody is free. My friend Ashwin, the ‘chamar’ I talked about in a previous post is a high achiever. In India, he would never have excelled as he has done in the UK and he openly admits it. In CasteWatch UK’s report on "Caste and the Asian Christian Diaspora" released in March 2009, a key note speaker describes how he overcame caste prejudices through higher education. It empowered him and his family and allowed him to excel. His caste had no bearing on who he aspired to be. According to Kapil Dudakia of the Hindu Forum of Britain, “caste is well and truly non-existent” in the UK. Which world does he live in?

Including caste in the Single Equality Bill would be a step in the right direction for UK British Asians. There is no need for a caste system in the UK. The Jatt farmer doesn’t cultivate his land here. He works in IT, lives in Birmingham and has three children who attend a state school. The Hindu Brahmin runs a florist, owns a Ford Mondeo and shops at Tesco. The chamar runs his own business, takes expensive holidays and sits on his local council. Caste? It does not matter anymore does it?

When South Asians introduce themselves, they are advertising their origins.

“Hi I’m Bal Sidhu” - Note to self: He is Jatt (indicated by the surname, a Punjabi, a Sikh, and most likely to be from Jalandhar district India).
“I am Gopalanand Das” – mental note taken: A Hindu, possibly Brahmin, most likely to be from Northern India, possibly Uttar Pradesh or similar.

The above examples show that we as Asians use caste as a defining feature – it often forms part of our identity and we enforce and maintain it often without thinking. Until we all see that it adds no value to who we are, it will remain alive. It is unfortunate that the caste system has been exported from India. It is up to us to first understand the problem and diagnose a suitable solution for its remedy – The Single Equality Bill. When we are punished for doing something unlawful, chances are we don’t do it again.

“I am Gary Robinson” – My mind works overtime - meaning "son of Robin” with English heritage, possibly of Northern Irish descent? Could he be related to Sugar Ray Robinson the famous boxer? A real stab in the dark here… A member of the Royal family perhaps? There’s just no telling. No signs of status, caste and social standing here – he is free to be whoever he wants to be.

Caste discrimination becoming unlawful will help to remove some of the ingrained perceptions of power of the oppressors – they cannot enforce an age-old belief in a forward thinking society. It will give the victims a better chance to live in peace. Legislation is the vehicle in which to make this happen. The law makers are responsible for ensuring that all are free from discrimination of any kind and given equal opportunity.

Incorporating caste into the Single Equality Bill will also send a message to the world and those who practice caste discrimination elsewhere. It’s not feasible anymore and my children will certainly be better off for it in years to come…

The South Asian migrants have come a long way since the 1950’s. The following generations will move even further once caste has been removed and all are able to compete equally… The Caste system has been described as the ‘cancer of Indian society’. The only way to cure it within the UK context is to remove it.

A Letter of Thanks - CasteWatch UK

In my recent posts concerning the caste system and its impact on British Asians, CasteWatch UK who actively promote to remove caste discrimination from British Asian society thanked Paki Tin for airing an issue that is often shrouded in secrecy. From a British Asian perspective, the effects of the caste system are very much still ingrained within our communities. To totally remove it would be difficult. To understand what caste is in the context of modern society however is far more realistic and we should all take note of who we are and what we stand for - when the 18 year old lad in the club sips his drink and proclaims his superior caste we can be sure that the caste system is abused and misunderstood. Let us all seek answers...

Dear Paki-Tin,

I am extremely thankful to you for taking interest in our cause. I have gone through your blog and it is fantastic, thought provoking and is full of information that must be presented to every young Asian mind in the UK. I have to thank you for supporting us. We need people who oppose Caste discrimination in the UK and are willing to take part in a massive social reform and education of young Brit Asians to develop their identities in line with British Values and not based on obsolete and discriminatory bigotry.

It is fascinating to see the view points of people when they speak about racism. The same people make a complete and very fast u-turn the moment you present them with caste issues and go into denial mode. As someone, who has personal experience of both, caste discrimination is considerably more painful, particularly in British situation. Hindus and others who are still trying to maintain the caste divides have to be re-educated in human rights and British Values. I am going to forward the link to your blog to the rest of our members.

Regards,


Davinder Prasad
General Secretary
CasteWatchUK

Societal Weather Report Part 2: High Caste, Low Caste – We are Over Caste… The high winds of change are upon us.

Not only is the caste debate big enough for us to ponder over all day long, it is a debate that is very much needed today. I am a modern Sikh, who lives a British lifestyle. I battle to maintain a Sikh identity and lifestyle whilst conforming to a Western way of being – the two do not have to be mutually exclusive and I combine the two as much as possible. After all, they are two facets of my identity that I am equally proud of. My identity is however further complicated by my caste. For me, just like power begets resistance, caste begets social division…

In my last post, I explored marriage and the caste system. Two complex arenas that are almost matrimonially intertwined as they can be in modern British-Asian society. But where does all of this leave us? What really is happening with the caste system in our societies today? And the biggest question of all for me - Are UK British Asians reviving their cultures in ways they don’t understand? Is the South Asian Diaspora inherently caste racist?

The caste system is deeply ingrained in the minds of some Asians (for Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims). In India, I have seen the Hindu ‘untouchable’ caste excluded from Indian society, begging and getting by in the most demeaning ways imaginable. It was heartbreaking to see since these people were trying to get by but were ignored and marginalised because of an apparent system that dictated their sub-human status. In history, Hindus brahmins would take a shower if they touched a chamar by mistake or purify their homes with water and prayers should a chamar enter their premises. Every sixth human being in the world today is an Indian, and every sixth Indian is an untouchable. It makes you think doesn’t it?

I remember being at school and first discovering that I was of a particular caste. It didn’t mean anything to me; I was a British lad living in Britain with no other comparison. For a fellow student to claim he was superior to me by his caste was farcical to me! After all, we were at school to learn and his caste didn’t mean that he was given better treatment than me… it was all a bit silly at school but there were many underlying tensions that segregated the Asian communities in this way. Looking back now, casteism was alive more than I realised and often governed relationships between people even in the younger age brackets. In the 60’s and 70’s, these prejudices were more ingrained with first generation British-Asians learning the ways of the world from migrant parents who may not have known a life without caste. I have been told that many people in the 1960’s and 70’s suffered at the hands of racist bigots. But adding to the complexity of race discrimination, many ethnic minorities suffered racism from within their own communities due to caste divides.

So when a fellow student at school was beaten up for his caste, I became sure that I didn’t want to know about the caste system again. The police called it a ‘racially aggravated assault’. And that is exactly what it was, an assault made on the grounds of race. Casteism is equivalent to racism. It has no place in a modern society where the class structure prevails.

In modern Britain, the South Asian Diaspora revive their Asian roots and cultures through various means which display an inherent racist attitude. Not only have we learned that inter-caste marriages are seen as wrong by many (I am a direct witness to this), we can also acknowledge that they are now becoming more frequent. A good sign I think. But it goes deeper than that. In Sikhism, gurdwaras are often divided according to caste. It is not uncommon to see the Ramgharia gurdwara, the predominantly Jatt gurdwara, the Satsang gurdwara (accommodating a sub-set of Sikh followers) and so on. The establishments themselves are often managed by members of particular castes and therefore maintain the caste divides. It is ironic since Sikhism promotes equality, the Sikh Gurus forbid caste and the gurdwara is open to people from all corners of the world (the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the spiritual capital of the Sikhs has four entrances on all four sides representing an open door to all faiths, races and creeds). In reality, only those from the ‘caste’ community attend their gurdwara in Britain. I don’t think it is as frank or as obvious as I describe it but it is definitely there quietly governing modern day worship.

The youth of today promote caste. The UK Bhangra Industry promotes caste and it is possibly a medium through which caste is glamourised the most. Its very common to hear caste bias lyrics re-enforcing caste stereotypes. The Asian youth latch on to half formed realities concocted by Bhangra songs and take these realities as real life. I accept that bhangra music in the UK initially helped migrants to remember their home countries and cultures whilst living in foreign lands and often in poor conditions. I also accept that bhangra music allowed Asians to reaffirm their ethnic identities in the face of a new western culture and an often racist environment. Nowadays however, caste no longer bears the same significance it used to. There is no difference between me and another young British Asian – we both receive an education, we both strive to achieve our goals, we pay our taxes and we climb the class structure in parallel to our economic and social accomplishment. Why then should the caste I seemingly belong to influence my standing in society?

Rajinder K Dudrah eloquently purports that Bhangra music allows for internal reflection – a means through which individuals can make sense of their identities. These reflections however are “unique according to individual life experiences” and “collective in that other British South Asians are able to internalise similar life experiences but not necessarily in identical ways*”. The process of making sense of oneself however, is hardly enhanced by bhangra songs that promote caste divisions and usually irresponsibly.

I was asked once in a bar by an intoxicated Indian lad – ‘Are you Jatt mate?’. No formal introduction. ‘No I’m a Sikh’ I replied and proceeded to the bar (I’ve always been a smart arse). Later we met again and he asked again. ‘So what does it mean to be Jatt?’ I asked. ‘Well we’re the highest caste in Sikhism, we don’t like chamars and we drink a lot, haha’. Somehow I knew that he was mis-informed and his knowledge probably went no deeper. In reality, I have had this conversation many times with individuals including the girl who once asked me what my caste was on our first date. I never did return her call. It made me laugh when I witnessed young Asians singing the lyrics to a popular bhangra song promoting casteism but the only words they knew were ‘Putt Jattan De’ followed by painful lip synching and mumbles. Even Britney Spears would cringe at those attempts.

Warped truths inform the realities of those who don’t seek the truth. Until I fully understand what it means to belong to a caste, I don’t belong to it.

‘I’m a privileged member of the community because my caste is higher than yours’, I was once told.
‘I’m a [caste] and that makes me a highly regarded member of the community’ said another.
‘I’m proud to be a [caste]’.

‘In the context of your current life circumstance, you own no land in the UK apart from the semi-detached house your father brought in 1985. And that he paid for with his savings accumulated by years of toil in the local steel mill. And now your father is a manual labourer (I use this example since my own grandfather laboured for over 30 years in the local manufacturing works – he was very proud of it too). You father looks forward to the end his shift, he looks forward to the weekend when he can put his feet up and relax. He pays his taxes and has the right to vote like the rest of us. He attends the same religious establishment as everyone else and associates with the same community as everyone else. Now tell me again why you claim to be a privileged member of the community when your caste has no bearing on the life you lead here in the UK?’

Wouldn’t it be great to respond like this? We all think it but don’t quite express it. Are we therefore all guilty of maintaining the system that categorises us according to age-old beliefs that no longer apply to us as Asians in the West? Are we even Asian (Asia is so huge)? I sometimes question that too. Why enforce an obsolete belief in an environment far removed from pre 20th Century India or even modern day India? I’m about as Indian as Ben Kingsley playing Gandhi.

However we choose to live our lives, we should be doing it with humility. At the most basic and fundamental level, we are all human beings. The caste system is a man made concept steeped in tradition and history that only seeks to divide individuals – it has no place here anymore. Abolishing deeply held beliefs can be difficult and I appreciate that many cannot do this or struggle to understand life without the caste structures that shape their opinions and beliefs. We must however, seek to understand one another, learn about the differences between us and embrace the diversity among us - not just between community groups and religious groups but between various castes too.

Loyalty to a caste is much more detrimental to society than merely belonging to one – it re-enforces the system and helps to shape identities. As a Sikh, I have first hand experience of the caste system forging hatred between people and do I want that for my children? It will be a sad day if my children are forced to make sense of their lives in a society still overshadowed by a caste structure.

The caste system cannot survive in Britain where education will send you up the social class system far quicker than any caste would – there is no room for a caste system here. The rays of an honest sunshine can never be overcome by a temporary rain cloud (and this stubborn cloud has been around for a long time). In the UK, or any other economically developed country, class will kill caste. This will happen more effectively if we also shift our mindsets accordingly and understand the significance of what we are faced with. Looking ahead, mild temperatures and cold winds continue, maybe the sun will come out tomorrow.

“They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself”.
Andy Warhol

* An excellent article exploring Bhangra music and ethnic identity and experiences of South Asians in the UK.

"Drum N Dhol 1: British Bhangra Music and Diasporic South Asian Identity Formation" by Rajinder K Dudrah - European Journal of Cultural Studies, Vol. 5, No. 3, 363-383 (2002).

I also recommend CasteWatch UK – a brilliant organisation promoting the removal of caste discrimination in the UK. [www.castewatchuk.org]

A societal weather report: Expect this dark cloud to reign perpetually. A shadow is CASTE over our societies…

Meet Adam, a 27 year old City worker. Enjoys fine wine, rugby and yachting. Loves travelling, the arts and classical music. Seeks independent lady who is spiritual, assertive and confident. Age is no barrier. Ps – He’s a Jatt and you must be too.

I just don’t get it. It’s the year 2009 and still people ask me when I am going to be married – to a girl within my caste. Who gives a shit about caste? Surely I should be marrying the person that I want to share the rest of my life with, who I will love and protect, till death us do part? Using caste as positive criteria when searching for a wife hardly fits in with my list of required attributes…

1. A Human Being and female (in that order).
2. Minimum education: a UK degree. Preferably educated to Doctor level or equivalent.
3. Sincere, sensitive, passionate, inspirational, articulate, non-argumentative, confident and as sexy as Angelina Jolie.
4. Secondary criteria: Can make the curries, is thrifty but creative or creatively thrifty, makes nice Punjabi tea, will be a maid to my parents and will iron my cotton shirts!

You may think the above is slightly crass but marriage bureaus of the Asian variety openly advertise in this way all the time… take a finely selected sample from Shaadi.com below. A friend recently told me how she found her husband on shaadi.com. I was surprised but intrigued so I had a look for myself. It is safe to say that within Asian communities, the caste system is inextricably linked to marriage.

So in the search columns of shaadi.com, I excitedly look for a bride, aged 20-25. Religion? Mother tongue? Who cares, I leave the boxes open.

Desperado (identity disguised) but I’m sure ‘Cutey Pie’ wasn’t her real name either. She is 25, a Sikh Jatt, Liberal, occasional drinker and confident, ambitious and open minded. Sounds nice doesn’t she?

Or how about the Sunni Muslim accountant, earning 40-50k from Hounslow. Has a wheatish complexion and loves bollywood? Not bad either.

Or the Hindu Brahmin solicitor from Birmingham, 26 with a GSOH, (very pretty may I add – I might even express my interest), passionate, intelligent music lover looking for Mr Right.

For me the most sinister characteristics of these adverts are the references to caste. Marriage adverts like those above seek to re-enforce the caste system which maintains the divide between Asian communities and only strengthens tension and separatist attitudes within communities and we openly allow it.

Within the Asian communities, ‘casteism’ is a big issue that potentially falls under the toxic umbrella of racism or ‘religiously sanctified racism*’. In Sikhism for example, Punjabis are known for their views on castes with much hatred and tension caused because of a hierarchical system that was banned by the Sikh Gurus. Historically, Sikhism abolishes the caste system – all are equal. In a Gurdwara, men and women all sit on one level regardless of caste – Only the Guru Granth Sahib sits on a raised platform. But when we step out of the doors of our religious establishments, a dark black cloud called caste discrimination hangs over our society.

I can only talk about my own experience as a Sikh in reference to caste. I could also bore you with the history of caste and how India maintains a heavy caste laden society. But I won’t. What’s the point? I’m a British Sikh and I hardly ever visit India now, I’m a stranger there and I miss my British luxuries whenever I’m there like the pub, the smell of the countryside, motorway service stations and the M25! In brief, social classes are defined by hereditary groups often termed as jātis or castes originating in India. Generally identified with Hinduism, other religions including Christianity, Islam and Sikhism have been associated with a caste system. Although caste barriers have diminished in recent times in India, it still plays a huge role in general society and politics.

So what do I know of caste? Well, Jatt Sikhs apparently belong among the upper echelons of Sikh society. They are landowners who cultivate their farms growing crops and living off their sales. Tharkan Sikhs are known as carpenters and Jalhai Sikhs were tailors. Chamar Sikhs, and this is where it gets ugly were known to be catchers of animals that were skinned and their furs sold (I am sure that my explanations will be questioned by those who claim to be in the know about these things but I give you my view only). It was seen as a dirty trade and for this reason, Chamars seemingly fall lower down the caste system. Chamars were considered ‘untouchable’ in the Hindu caste system. I wonder what Mr High-Caste would make of my friend Ashwin, an acclaimed Dr of Medicine, an esteemed entrepreneur and writer – and a Chamar.

There was massive uproar in my family when my cousin decided she wanted to marry not only out of caste but to a non-Indian. It was like an alien was threatening the family circle and we were being infiltrated without any control. More recently, my family members have had inter-caste marriages but not without the frowns seen on the faces of the older generation. They can’t help it, that’s all they know. The older generations uprooted to the UK from all parts of India and with them came deep rooted cultures, norms and values inherently and openly abiding by the caste system. Maybe more fittingly, the picture to the right should read: "Subject to caste, will you be my wife?"

To what extent is the caste system still governing the Asian community in the UK? Times are changing, people are changing. As the migrant generations in the UK unfortunately die out (those that first transitioned to the UK in the 1950’s and 60’s), I am certain that the caste system will diminish too. As the third, fourth and even fifth generation British Asians continually live comfortably in modern day Britain, we see an increase in mixed-race marriages, inter-caste marriages and more recently civil partnerships (but within the Asian communities who knows to what extent this happens: I open a whole new topic on the Asian gay community here so I will not digress). My point is, I hope the caste system becomes less important. No longer does it matter that person A married person B of the same caste. What does matter is that A and B lived a happy and fruitful life. I have seen no evidence (whether it be qualitative, first hand accounts or statistical and extensively search I did) to suggest that same-caste marriages have a lower divorce rate than cross-caste marriages. In fact, divorce rates within the Asian communities have risen across the board and I think mainly for the fact that the increasingly Westernised Asian community no longer have to be tied into a marital transaction for life. Gone are the days when a wife died with her husband on the pyre. Recent studies suggest that only two out of five adults in the UK will be married in 20 years’ time and by 2031, married couples will make up only 41% of the population. The Office for National Statistics also predicts the fastest growing group are the singles - more for me to choose from then (when I'm 50!).

Nowadays, Ms Independent doesn’t need a man for support and Mr Muscle (I use these names in jest) continues to search for the virgin bride who has absconded and since found her inner strength and decided to ‘date’, join Shaadi.com and attend Asian Speed Dating events in order to examine and evaluate a reliable sample of the Asian male community in hope of finding Mr Right. A sign of the times I think.

In my day to day life, I often sigh with sheer frustration when Aunty mentions that her brother’s son’s wife’s second cousin’s brother in law’s daughter may be suitable for me since she shares the same caste as me. She then mentions that she is a doctor and very homely which seemingly re-enforces her case. I often ask whether she would prefer to marry me off to the PG Tips chimp as long as she is the same caste. Surely she would be homely, and could at least make me nice Punjabi tea (and it ticks off a line on my checklist). Clearly the need for marriage bureaus like Shaadi.com advertising potential spouses on the basis of caste indicates that people still adhere to the caste system more than we care to realise or acknowledge. Shouldn’t caste be seen as another form of racial discrimination? After all, my caste has no bearing on me and the qualities I bring to my marriage, or even to wider society…

In today’s current climate, I am over caste. I want a GSOH (not referring to someone who ‘Got Syphillis on Holiday’). [Promiscuous Asians, another topic for debate methinks]. I want a romance not a Ramgharia. I want a bold and beautiful lady not a Brahmin.

It can be argued that the caste system has become diluted today. Some people don’t even know what their castes stand for but they pledge dying allegiances to them… Isn’t it a shame to identify yourself with something you have no knowledge of? Maybe GSOH should mean God Save Our Humility which seems more fitting on this occasion… The sanctity of marriage becomes tarnished by a caste system that holds no water today but continues to wreak its havoc like a silent tornado… I predict a sunny future if we banish caste back to where it came from and move on…

Do not be proud of your social class and status, you ignorant fool! So much sin and corruption comes from this pride.

Sri Guru Granth Sahib

*According to CasteWatch UK [www.castewatchuk.org]

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See the UK Asian perspective below...

Postmodern Racism and ‘The Voice’: Join the Club

Every commuters nightmare, the London rush hour that I frequently have the benefit of entertaining decided that I would yet again leave the tube station and like so many times before watch in slow motion as my bus departs before me without me on it. Should I walk to my destination and burn off the Nandos from lunchtime? I think not. So like a prisoner awaiting his sentence I stand and wait for the next bus. I usually enjoy people watching - mums, dads, children, students, business men and women, people from all backgrounds and cultures mingle seamlessly going about their daily business. I spot the local Asian-manned stall selling newspapers and chocolate bars and the Johnny 5 within me demands ‘input, input’ and a sugar fix.

Scanning over the newspapers, The Times, The Sun, The Daily Mail, The Guardian, I pick The Voice with the headline ‘Under Siege’. Intrigued and in desperate need of ‘input’, I read further: ‘This respectable family has faced constant police harassment, but have never been charged. Is their story commonplace in Britain today?’.

‘That is a Caribbean paper, you sure you want it?’ asks the stall keeper in a thick South Asian accent (Sri Lankan methinks but then how would I know? The only Lankan I know is M.I.A and Apu from The Simpsons).
‘Yes I can read, just because I’m a turban wearing brown man, doesn’t mean I have no interest in the affairs of my fellow ethnic brothers’ I said (in my mind) while I retorted in a rather inquisitive manner – ‘Yes that is fine’.

So with eyes fixated on me and my paper, I scan through the pages of The Voice while the Caribbean lady next to me watches on quizzically. Is it really that weird to see me reading The Voice? Come on. If my mate Winston, a 6ft black man picked up a copy of the Des Pardes (a landmark Punjabi newspaper) I would congratulate him on his choice of broadsheet and his ability to read Punjabi. What a guy.

A mixture of hard hitting stories affecting the black community as well positive messages from the community folk who make up the paper’s readership. The race stories struck a chord with me. For example the following headline: 'Nine year old girl left in tears over park’s ‘n**gger’ gravestone'. What the hell?

A mum in Coventry is angry with her council for allowing a pet cemetery to hold a gravestone with the word ‘nigger’ inscribed on it. The nine year old girl was in tears after the gravestone was seen by her who thought that the stone marked the burial ground of a murdered black person. Who on earth would name their pet nigger? In the early 1900’s they would. The stone was first erected in 1902. Rather shameful that a racist word of the most extreme variety can be left in public view today.

In ‘Student in school protest over ‘racially offensive’ classic novel’, a young lad studying for his GCSE’s walked out of his school protesting that he abhorred the use of the novel ‘To Kill a Mocking Bird’ because it used the word nigger. Claiming he suffered as a result of the racial negativity the book generated, Tinashe Makunike asked to study an alternative novel that wasn’t racially offensive. Good on the lad for doing what he believed was right. There is no way on earth he should be forced to read or partake in activities that openly cause offence for him or anyone else on the grounds of race. It’s just wrong.

‘You’d have to blind not to see the police are racist’ says Darcus Howe (He’s not mad, just angry… is his one liner). In recent race related stories, senior officers have apparently allowed a "culture of apartheid" where white officers have threatened black colleagues and refused to travel with them in the same vehicles. Asad Saeed was ordered into 'the black van' by a fellow white officer.

Darcus Howe makes reference to Chief Constable of Kent Mike Fuller’s quote: ‘If you are not a member of the club… then you can find yourself excluded’. Fuller, who once contested the title of being the new Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police as well as being a black man, was overlooked for the vacancy. Howe argues how the police force remains racist with black people continuing to bare the brunt of racial victimisation.

For me, a new type of racism prevails today - Postmodern Racism as I have seen it called. The 21st-century version of old-school racism. Those guilty of practicing this new type of race discrimination are often higher ranking individuals and members of the higher echelons of the policing establishments and according to the BBC ‘know the right sound bites in order to impress the critics’. Sounds like many well educated people I know personally who can fight their way out of any situation. The racist nowadays is a more intelligent, often educated individual. Not the brute-force, violent racist we commonly associate with the latter half of the 20th century. "Race proofing" where postmodern racists do enough to appear as though they are doing something about the problem – hiring a likely black or Asian right hand man and appearing to be all-inclusive yet simultaneously re-enforcing racial victimisation. It’s more deadly and more difficult to see.

I must admit I was shocked and scared into thinking Britain was a racial hotbed after reading The Voice. But the stories within it's pages are real, true and affect many of us. Postmodern racism is also here and it's a clever guise that shrouds blatant racism as it used to be. And it doesn't stop there, whose to say it doesn't exist in institutions other than the police force? Frightening.

The Voice is a great newspaper and I for one thoroughly enjoyed reading it once my blood pressure returned to normal (it was the anger you see). A concentration of race related stories cover the pages and in this way may indicate that the UK has a massive problem with race issues. Most of the cases and stories however are those that do upset but happen nevertheless and often infrequently. Mix this in with the images of Dancehall hotties shaking their booties and positive stories about black achievements and we have a newspaper worthy of applause. Even, Jasmine Dotiwala (from MTV Base) has her own column discussing her latest interviews with music stars and her new pet hate which in this issue was public transport! How ironic – my bus still hadn’t arrived and when it did the driver had the audacity to park up the double decker and read his newspaper for a short while (it wasn't The Voice sadly) before deciding to collect his multic-cultural passengers and take them further on their journies.

Just written by and for Caribbean people eh Mr Tube station shopwala? You were wrong! To join the club, you have to have the right skills, attributes, characteristics and above all a passion to do the right thing. Correct? I'm sure Mike Fuller would agree.

So the join the club that allows entry by merit only, put forward your Voice and all is else becomes secondary.

Source: The Voice [www.voice-online.co.uk]. March 9 – 15 2009.

Remove your headscarf at the door…All in the name of progress. We’re in a right mucking fuddle we are!

Just like my mental satellite picks up anything race related in the media nowadays, I have the pleasure of announcing that my next venture beyond distant shores outside of my homeland (and that’s the UK if you are still unsure) is the East meets West land of mighty Turkey. Since my excursion was confirmed, it has been inevitable that I have been hearing about Turkey a lot more nowadays in all areas of life. It reminds me of when you buy a car which is unique and stylish and you suddenly realise that 95% of your neighbourhood owns one too in all shapes, models and versions. But that’s what you get when you invest in a Ford Fiesta isn’t it?

Recently, I tuned in to a BBC production looking at ‘Turkey on the Edge’ hosted by the enigmatic Adil Ray. With the country on the brink of joining Europe, the programme looked at how the country battled with its own identity with conflicting pressures to remain a strict Islamic state alongside government plans to become an increasingly secular and liberal nation. A most interesting viewing experience.

I was surprised to learn that Turkey’s secular constitution banned Islamic headscarves in all official buildings! That’s like telling a devout Sikh that he/she must remove their turban before they go into work! What would Mr Singh make of that one should such a preposterous rule exist in Britain? In Istanbul devout Muslim women are forced to part with their headscarves at the doors of their universities; the only way they can continue with their education. It was most disturbing to learn this fact for the following reasons:

1. Muslim ladies are forced to compromise their identities and beliefs at the doors of educational establishments. This often stops many from proceeding with their education. Result: A mutinous young population forced to seek alternative methods of education.
2. The headscarf becomes a political symbol. No longer does it symbolise devotion to Islam but a symbol for old views and backward thinking in a forward thinking nation Turkey’s leaders aspire to become. Result: increasing suspicions and possible fanaticism against the political system amongst the devout. Even more shocking result: increasing suspicion that fanaticism leads to terrorism by the secularised population.
3. Hatred – re-enforcing point number 2. With a sub-section of the population rebelling against the political system, Muslim ladies are forced to wear wigs over their headscarves as they mock the political rules. Result: An openly rebellious devout community destabilising community relations and creating unease. Turkey's prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's attempt to lift a ban on wearing headscarves in universities was viewed as anti-secular according to the country's highest court. Shocking.

Mr Singh would not be impressed if rules like the above were enforced on a British Sikh population. Can you imagine the outrage should there be a ban on turbans for example?
For me, the turban is an outward religious symbol that identifies me by my religion. It is more important to me than being labelled as an Asian since being ‘Asian’ spans a multitude of people and races (ask Miley Cyrus: hint previous post – slant your eyes and you’re Asian-Pacific).

I have often been told that the east has moved on and Asians in the west have moved backwards. For example, the Indians in Mumbai are apparently more westernised than the Indians in London. Why? The Indians in Mumbai moved with the times, evolving at their regular speed and embracing western influences. In London, the early migrants settled into communities and were alienated by language barriers, lacking community relations and racism. As a result, they congregated, upheld their eastern values and cultures and began moving at a far slower rate. Result: The east has moved on and Asians in the west have moved on even slower.

So when I meet with ‘real Indians’ I am surprised by their liberal attitudes, approaches to dating, alcohol culture and general free-for-all temperaments. Then I compare with some of those in my community: devout individuals abstaining from hedonistic lifestyles and speaking English with ethnic twangs init. Shocking. Sometimes I prefer the Indian attempt at the English language than the English-by-birth effort even if the harsh pronunciation sends shivers down me. A right mucking fuddle indeed.

What’s more surprising about Turkey is that it seeks to become a liberal state despite being a Muslim country. It must be extremely difficult for the young people there to conform to Muslim ways and remain liberal when the two conflict so much. Go to Slough and you’ll see the same thing within many Asian communities. Go to Birmingham and you see the same thing in Handsworth, Smethwick. West Bromwich etc. Just like the headscarf is compromised in Turkey by being covered by a wig, in the UK religious symbols can also be diluted. Cutting of hair is the primary example of the desecration of a 5 K within Sikhism and I am also guilty of this. I remember being in the Punjab some years ago and witnessing the fashions centred around turbans. I didn’t know there were so many different styles and adopting one particular style of turban said a lot about you (my cousin adopted the ‘African’ turban and his love life remained far more interesting as a result. He eventually ventured out of India to marry but didn’t go to Africa which would have been fitting). Whilst in India, my aunt made me promise to her that I wouldn’t ever trim my beard. She was a devout Sikh and I had tremendous respect for her but I was uncomfortable in the fact that I couldn’t do what to me was quite normal here in the Midlands. She couldn’t understand how my environment in the UK was affecting how I wanted to portray myself. It was hard enough being brown and having a top-knot, let alone keeping facial hair so that I could be ridiculed for that too. As I got older, the patka regrettably became a fashion accessory for me, it didn’t signify much more than that. For my aunt, your religion was the most important thing in your life and your gateway to the next one – live a good life now and you will be with God upon your soul leaving this mortal life. It was deep stuff and I didn’t have time to fathom it back then. In Islam, the Hijab gets some stick. Words used to describe those wearing the hijab go deeper and I have heard first hand words such as ‘backward’, ‘suspicious’ and ‘up to something’. It makes sense in the current climate but it’s an ignorant view. We should seek to learn what the hijab means first.

So what does it all come down to then? How do we understand religious symbols and accept practices that may seem alien to us? First of all, if we educate ourselves further about what things mean to different people we would make a start. Just like Mr Singh who described the Sikh religion in my school assembly and its significance resulting in my new found popularity and acceptance, the UK can do more to understand ‘other people’. I think this is an area where Britain’s decision makers have failed in creating a more accepting environment for all citizens. Just walk down a street in South London and ask a passer by what he/she knows about immigration and asylum seekers for example. ‘They take our money don’t they and live in council (pronounced ‘caaansul’) houses that we could’ve had’. Usually that’s as far as the knowledge goes which is a shame.

Nobody has been educated about what the UK immigration policy is all about. There is nothing out there that helps us to identify what a headscarf signifies, or what a hijab represents or what the turban means to a Sikh. I remember in school reading about religion and arkwardly talking about Sikhism in my religious studies class whilst displaying a Sikh dagger carefully extracted from my mum’s wardrobe. She would have stabbed me with it if she had known I took it. Nevertheless I got two commendations (that’s a gold star to you) for my pretend-to-know-what-I’m-talking-about dialogue. You could get away with it when you were in Year 8. And how I got away with carrying a knife albeit religious I’ll never know…

This self-debate (I have them a lot) leads me to the following conclusion which again signifies the plurality of the views in question.
1. There is no way of possibly knowing everything – we must try to learn more about others and how they live their lives to truly appreciate their viewpoint and more importantly respect their wishes.
2. The conflict between religious conduct and liberalism must be difficult. Depending on who you speak to even I would be described as a sinner who doesn’t conform to my religion. The Muslim ladies in Istanbul must be disgusted to have to wear a comedic wig on top of their headscarves to merely prove a point. Their choice of dress shouldn’t deny them from a basic right: an education.
3. Its too difficult to box anything off into any significant order when you are talking about culture, religion, morality and viewpoints. What is right to one person can be wrong to another. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure right?
4. Geography makes a massive difference. We are all products of our environments to some degree. That’s why living in and being educated in Britain gives me the right to claim I am British (I was also born here but I feel that is less important). However, it can be argued that the Asian communities in the UK have evolved less than their counterparts in the east because of early segregation and subsequent ‘catching up’ since the early periods of migration.
5. (Purely personal and I think fitting for this post). I cannot stand the words init, bruv, ya get me?, intit, aint it, bled (referring to blood as in brother), blood in similar context, yaar, man dem, bredrin and waagwan. All of these have embedded themselves into the ethnic English vocabulary like a bad smell that even the best air freshener can’t get rid of (and we all know Indians are notorious for filling their homes with pot pourri). I can see Mr Muscle now, running down Southall Broadway with two of cans of Glade Jasmine omitting at full capacity – don’t bother mate, our innate ways need more work than that. How about another 20 years of British integration?

Result: there isn’t one. It’s all a matter of judgement, acceptance and understanding. And how many of us have the time to understand nowadays? We’re all too busy trying to justify what we do in the first place.

On a personal note, I will do what I can to appreciate all viewpoints, all religions and teachings init. I will not judge the cover of the book straightaway but attempt to at least read the blurb on the backside (that doesn’t sound healthy). I will attempt to delve deeper and ask wagwaan (why)? I will also educate others who may not know the answer to the ‘why’ question. I will above all attempt to live a balanced life where I abide by my religion as much as possible as well as live by the temptations of modern day life, carefully choosing my actions by their consequences ya get me? All man dem should therefore be more inclusive and accepting. Just like the headscarf wearers in Istanbul, I attempt to conform to my religion by wearing the turban. At the same time I live a British lifestyle 99% of the time.

Now I’m going for a pint, accompanied by my favourite steak. I will be joined by Harj Singh who struggles with his 40-a-day habit and predilection for strippers. See you in the pub later then? Result: a happy life, my rules, my way… Actual result: a one way ticket to hell?

‘You can not celebrate for it incites hate, forces us to segregate’ so let me exacerbate the debate with the intention to aggravate

I know I said this before, but I really am hearing so much about race nowadays... In fact it’s annoying and the more we speak about it, the more it upsets us. On the flipside, the more we challenge existing beliefs and common negative perceptions, the better we become as we progress and openly debate the issues in question.

Let’s face it, the UK is a long way from being a completely integrated multi-cultural nation and I don’t think it ever will be. If there’s not one thing it’s another. If it’s not the old adage that we took all the jobs then it’s the new asylum seeker malarkey – that they strain resources and take what doesn’t belong to them like benefits and housing… but that’s another argument. For the majority, the UK provides a better life, an income and a sustainable future where lives are not at risk or threatened by war and disease. People pay their taxes and abide by the law. Just the other day, I stood in London waiting for a bus when an old man openly spat racial insults at the many black people in the bus queue. I was disgusted. His neck brace was probably funded by my contributions. Maybe I should refuse to contribute and like the Butterfly Effect his neck brace will tighten and retract. Or like the pleasure pain principle I smile as I watch my wallet enlarge and his neck brace tightens – we can only dream. Deep rooted hatred is harmful. It reminded me of a time back in the Midlands (Wolverhampton to be precise) in the early 90’s when a coloured person could be attacked by White louts who didn’t understand democracy and a free world. Their whole existences paid for by the ‘pakis’ who were willing to fulfil their tax obligations and consequently allowed these live-off-the-state bigots to continue with their narrow-minded I-don’t-have-a-clue-but-proud-to-be-white lifestyles in a haze of alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, violence, Staffy’s, pub culture and lack of education. When you were in school, there was always a kid that didn’t actually go to school but always hung about in the playground like a vagabond Oliver Twist pick pocket right? You know that kid, who never wore a school uniform and darted about on his BMX – well in this scenario he would be the offspring of these people! It all makes perfect sense… just like knowing that there was a stray dog that at one point in your primary school life infiltrated the playground and caused mayhem. So it is in my experience that people of this disposition are likely to be more racist because they lack education. ‘Edu-what?’ they ask. They push their Englishness onto ethnics and claim that this country is theirs. They frighten the old Indian lady walking home from the shops carrying her vegetables, intimidating and threatening her with half-wit insults and slurs. They post dog doo-doo into Malik’s shop letterbox, stealing goods when he turns away and laugh at the ‘paki crap’ blaring from his radio behind the counter as he continues with his day serving locals. They scratch and smash Mr Singh’s Mercedes out of envy – ‘they take all of our jobs and rub it in our faces’. A Sikh Vaisakhi celebration in the Midlands is attacked by scores of Asian Muslims who cause riots and force the celebrations to be banned indefinitely.

Talking of celebrations, the West Midlands St George’s Parade was abolished this year over fears of extremist influence. It was claimed that racial tensions were the cause of the parade to be scrapped with no funding being given to the festivities which celebrate the English patron saint in West Bromwich, Birmingham. My neck of the woods… It is farcical that a celebration of the British patron saint can be scrapped because it can incite racism and exclusion of other community groups. Somehow I don’t think the Sandwell Somalis would care too much or the Smethwick Somalis for that matter! Or maybe even the BNP (and that’s the British National Paki Facebook group to you and me!).


Another national tabloid claimed that the parade was scrapped because non-British people found the celebrations racist and pro-Britain. Yes of course they are pro-Britain! The West Midlands has a proud Black Country heritage and I for one am tremendously proud to claim it as my home (my grandfather worked in the Black Country during the manufacturing boom and jobs were aplenty). The people there and everywhere have a right to celebrate their heritage just as Sikhs celebrate Vaisakhi with lavish street processions. If the Sikh community were forced to stop their celebrations it would not go down well and I am sure Mr Singh would be challenging his local MP for an apology, threatening a boycott of some kind and pleading for a re-instatement of all Sikh cultural events on the double. These events are an institution in British-Sikh culture just like St George’s Day is for England. In Birmingham city centre, Hare Krishna followers (I should be politically correct and refer to them as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness as they are known) march the streets and sing praises – does this incite social exclusion and create further segregation between community groups? How about the fanatical (is that the right word?) Christian, who stands in Nottingham city centre opposite the Town Hall (I am well travelled) and chants repeatedly about Jesus; I couldn’t for the life of me ever work out what he was saying! Does he incite or encourage segregation of any kind or is he merely practising his beliefs and encouraging others to follow his lead?

Just like an onion, this debate has multiple layers and makes us cry with confusion… I just want to live my life my way without having to worry about treading on egg shells (very fragile ones at that), without upsetting others and on my own terms... is that too much to ask? I thought Britain was a free nation, allowing all to live mutually and cohesively alongside each other in a giant melting pot. Like a huge stir fry with onions (can you tell I like them?), mushrooms, chilli, broad beans and sweet potato – each vegetable representing a different person by race, ethnicity and creed and contributing to Britain’s one of 5-a-day – the more vegetables we add the healthier Britain becomes. Can you guess which vegetable is which or is that stereotyping and politically incorrect?

By not allowing people to embrace and celebrate their heritage, we can maintain this mute culture Britain’s decision-makers are adopting by continually tightening that neck brace: not healthy…