The caste campaign is now targeting the US, Canada and Australia.
LONDON: A few years ago a UK lobby using the issue of caste undertook an intense campaign to bring about a law that it claimed was aimed at banning “caste discrimination” in the UK. Backed by evangelical groups and politicians, they raised a crescendo about “caste discrimination” in the UK. It took some time for the Hindu community to realise the implications of their demand for a caste Law.
In his article, “What lies behind the inclusion of Caste in UK equality act” (October 2016), Dr Prakash Shah of Queen Mary University London pointed out the following: “If implemented, the Caste provision would impact severely on the associational and economic freedoms of the Indian communities. Their ability to hold weddings, organise events or hire out premises could easily be challenged, and the charity status of many organisations would be compromised. Businesses would be obliged to record employees and customers by caste even if it is to avoid inadvertent offence. The availability of legal challenge is no answer to such concerns. As demonstrably shown in the put-up case of Tirkey v Chandhok, prevalent stereotypes regarding who discriminates on caste grounds mean that litigation would be asymmetrically stacked against defendants. Defendants would be compelled to settle cases unless they have the financial muscle and ability to survive adverse publicity to vindicate themselves. Researchers and legislators have not considered any of these problems, raising further suspicions about the true reasons behind the clamour for a Caste Law.”
On 28 March 2018, a debate was held at SOAS on the subject of caste discrimination. I was asked to talk against the proposed law. The lobby pushing for the legislation highlighted two incidents. The first one was that an NHS nurse refused to serve a Dalit lady. The second was that a customer in a shop refused to pay money to a Dalit girl working there. I pointed out that in the first case the nurse would be sacked if she refused to serve any patient, whether Dalit or not. In the second case the girl just had to report to her employer. The customer would have been told to leave the shop. I also put forward the following points: ‘The Caste lobby has created a false picture of discrimination based on hearsay and innuendo. A second generation of Hindus have grown up in this country who intermarry and do not consider themselves in caste terms. Britain has enough anti-discriminatory laws to deal with any situation. If this law does come into existence the Indian government will see it as persecution of Hindus.” It was added that citizens of Indian descent needed to shed the victim mentality’
The debate concluded with the chairperson saying that much more research needs to be done before a “caste law” can be considered. A united fightback by the Hindu community managed to defeat the caste lobby in its pursuit for a caste law. That a powerful country to India’s north would be delighted to see laws that damage relations between India and the UK is obvious, as is the reality of its substantial influence in the country.
The caste campaign is now targeting the US, Canada and Australia. In California a bill has been introduced to ban caste discrimination. The city of Seattle in the US has become the first one to ban caste discrimination. Some colleges and universities have also adopted similar policies. The California State University, one of the largest four-year public university added caste in its anti-discrimination policy. In Canada the Toronto District School Board recently took a step towards banning “caste based discrimination”. The Board is going to ask the Ontario Human Rights Commission to look into the issue. One example the caste and evangelical lobby of Canada gives is that the so called upper castes joke about the others and cast slurs. Another one is that a girl in a school refused to play with a Dalit girl. Apart from these being witch-hunts how can any country legislate on such egregious flimsy grounds? In Australia an organisation called, “The Humanism Project” is actively campaigning for a caste law.
So who are the big organisations pushing for caste discrimination laws and what is the real motive of the caste lobby in trying to internationalise the caste issue?
There is a powerful evangelical Christian support for the caste lobby. The UK has a Christian Network Against Caste Discrimination. The World Council of Churches and the Vatican are reportedly committed to bringing in caste legislation. A two-day international conference was held at St. Georges Cathedral Southwork in 2017 on caste discrimination. The conference resolved to work actively for ending days “discrimination against Dalits” both in India and abroad. Ironically, the conference also resolved to eliminate discrimination against Dalits in Christian churches. Since the inclusion of caste discrimination in the Equalities Act of the UK not a single individual has come forward with a case of discrimination from Hindus. Perish the thought but it may well happen that a person files a case of caste discrimination against the Church. In Kerala for example there are the Syrian Christian and Latin Christian churches with many in the former claiming “upper caste” ancestry.
Alongside the evangelicals, the left wing secular lobby and anti-India forces are increasingly trying to link so called Hindu nationalism with the caste issue. These are desperate people. They are consumed by envy to see the global respect that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is getting as well as the respect Hinduism is getting on the world stage.
The Hindu communities in the US, Canada and Australia will have to defeat the caste lobby just as a united Hindu community of the UK did. In unity and in mutual respect lies our strength.