DALIT

At least this is the claim of the British Government. How did the British Government arrive at this conclusion?

The British Government claims that it had a preliminary survey carried out which indicated that there was no strong evidence to suggest that there is caste based discrimination in the UK. Surprisingly the Hindu Forum of UK, which has in the past supported extreme right wing Hindu organisations, released a report in 2008, to the very same effect. The difference between the two approaches is that the UK Government did not release the basis and results of their survey whilst the Hindu Forum did. It is not possible to analyse the British Government’s finding or criticise these, as the basis of their conclusion is not available. Nevertheless the Hindu Forum’s Report is in the public domain and hence it can be scrutinised.

It would take a critique running into some fifty pages to do justice to the Hindu Forum’s survey and its findings. Nevertheless some major points can be made. If caste system can be kept alive in the Diaspora in South America; in the age of globalisation, why should it die out in the UK? The Hindu Forum is not a relevant or a proper organisation to carry out such a survey. It is after all in the interest of the Hindu Forum to hide the facts of the caste discrimination and not highlight these. It would be the last organisation which was suitable for this task. British Ravidasis, Valmikis, Indian Buddhists, Ambedkarites and Indian Christians (most of whom come from Dalit castes) and who form the bulk of Indian Dalits were simply not consulted. To give it an air of authenticity a tiny number of Gujarati Mochis were instead substituted in their place. Even if UK Dalits were consulted, it is extremely doubtful if they would have co-operated with Hindu Forum’s survey for obvious reasons. The survey was not peer reviewed, it was not subjected to any statistical tests. One could go on and on about the deficiencies in approach of the Hindu Forum’s Report. The value of this report was not only limited, its intention from the very beginning was to prove the opposite. This is one of the reasons why Dalits in UK did not even bother to comment on this paper.

The proper approach for the British Government would have been to approach a suitable independent organisation or an academic institution to undertake such a survey and have it subject to a peer review. But it was not in the interest of the British Government to do so. The Hindu Forum UK with an irrelevant manner and a sleight of hand, tried to implicate the Runnymede Trust in their ‘survey’ and thus give it an air of respectability. Such a trick could be revealed by any first year student of sociology and indeed a British anti-communalist group called Awaaz did exactly this.  To the credit of Runnymede Trust, Awaaz’s criticism was published in the the Runnymede Trust's September 2007 quarterly bulletin although it would have been best, if Runnymede Trust would have been careful enough in the first instance in not allowing their name to be used, in this improper manner. But it would be wrong to blame the Runnymede Trust. There are exceptions, but white community organisations normally interface with Asian community via  well educated and well places upper caste Hindus, any of whom have the knack of parading their fake liberal credentials.

At first glance it would seem less than kind to suggest that the British Government discussed this matter with their upper caste UK Hindu friends (we doubt if these would include any Dalit) and decided that this would be the best line to take. Britain is after all the mother of Parliaments and we all know that these kinds of things simply do not happen here. However, the latest case of corruption allegations in the House of Lords and demands to root the corruption out has resulted in a hue and cry not seen for some time in the UK. Similar allegations have surfaced for both houses at regular intervals in the past both under the Conservative and the Labour rule.  

In saying that there is no evidence to suggest that there is any real caste discrimination in the UK, the British Government and the Hindu Council UK as well as the Hindu Forum UK, are obviously singing from the same hymn sheet. On the other side, stand all Dalit organisations and almost all relevant community and other organisations including NGO’s concerned with human rights and discrimination and who claim that serious caste discrimination does exist in the UK.  This polarisation is somewhat unique and it does beg the question as to why the various groups have lined up the way they have done?

For some India is shining and therefore it can do no wrong. Bonded labour slavery, child labour, sexual slavery of the Devadasis, millions of people displaced from their lands due to globalisation, endless and inhumane atrocities on Dalits are simply some sort of collateral damage which do not enter into the equation. Slumdog Millionaire is in this year.  India has the largest number of slaves anywhere on this planet. After all, Hindu caste apologists argue, slavery exists in many parts of the globe, so why pick out India especially?  Prostitution exists everywhere, why highlight Devadasis issue? Such arguments are morally hallow in making two wrongs into one right or in this instance making a larger wrong palatable just because a smaller wrong exists somewhere else or had existed in the past. Apologists of the caste system argue that even the civilised Greeks had their slaves, not sensing that the times have moved on. What would be their response if it was pointed out to them that the Spartans were finally beaten by the Helots?

Caste discrimination is rampant in India, but this is something that the Hindu Council does not wish to touch upon except to say that Dalits are sometimes treated appallingly in India, whilst at the same time trying to somehow argue the very opposite. To the Hindu Council UK caste in its historical pristine condition is not objectionable at all and we should all make an effort to go back to the primeval beginnings of the caste system.  Only Brahminical arrogance can pose such a solution to the caste atrocities in India.

Survival International's brief does not extend to caste discrimination, and this organisation does not have any connection with the Single Equality Bill. But even this organisation is only separated from the nexus between caste, UK and money by three degrees of separation. UK based multinational corporations owned by upper caste Indians have obtained land and mineral rights by odious means and are now busy expanding into the indigenous territory inhabited by Indian Adivasis thus threatening the Adivasi way of life and their very existence in some instances. These Adivasis are the ancestors of the so-called low castes in India.

It is said that the roots of all evil is money and the roots of money go deep in this instance. British Government has been very vocal when it comes to condemning the violation of human rights in many corners of the globe but when it comes to the largest Apartheid system in the world, India is left off the hook. This ‘special relationship’ that Britain has with India has historical roots but in the more modern times this has taken a rather uglier form emanating from the New Labour policy of putting Deng Xiao Ping’s maxim into practice “making money is glorious” at any cost. Human rights are a luxury which have to be applied in the light of our trade with other countries.

Money and investment know no frontier in the 21^st century. British investment in India and vice versa is now an open secret. The opposite numbers of the British moneyed class are the upper and middle classes in India. What is not well known is that the upper and middle class, especially in India is a euphemism for upper castes.

Were the British Government to acknowledge the facts of caste discrimination in the UK, it would be shooting itself in the foot as condemnation of the casteist violence and oppression in India would be a pre-requisite for them to do so. It is not possible to acknowledge caste discrimination in UK whilst denying it in India. The Government has therefore taken the strategy of denial (the same as the upper castes in India have taken up) in order to buy them some time. This to put it mildly, is utterly shameful on part of the British Government, although there have been honourable exceptions in the British media, community organisations and even amongst the Members of Parliament and some individual Lords.

This raises another question. Why have not UK Dalits taken up the challenge wholesale, united together and agitated in a more vocal way of having caste discrimination included in the single Equality Bill.? There have been valiant efforts on parts of individuals and groups in this regard. Sometimes non-Dalits have joined in the struggle but on the whole, Dalits have not bothered to make a concentrated effort to come together on a single platform for this purpose. Allowing for the fact that Dalits are one of the most marginalised communities in the UK, this does not make sense. It would be too easy to blame UK Dalits for their parochial sense of isolation and perceived ‘backwardness’. The fact of the matter is that UK Dalits are very astute. as shown a few years back, by the Birmingham Valmiki comunity, who put up a successful fight for their very identity. Knowing the real politik landscape of UK Dalits know that when pitted against the limitless funds, manpower, political and media connections of the upper caste Hindus in the UK , they simply do not stand a chance. Therefore they do not wish to waste their time and effort on something which appear to be currently a no-win situation.

But time is on their side. In the fifties Apartheid in South Africa which was South African and British business (literally) till it became a business of everybody. Ian Smith’s regime and the British government wanted to turn the tide of history but it was a futile game. Globalisation of Dalit issue is increasing every passing day. Even the world scholarly community is showing strain at the Hindu right wing’s effort to deny the existence of barbaric practices dolled out in the name of caste and the distortion of Indian history with history of Hinduism in particular. UK Dalits can appeal to the scholars in the UK ,with their sense of fair play, to pick up the challenge the next time around.