Last week, Pakistani-origin Sajid Javid returned to the cabinet as health minister. His ministry includes one of the world's largest government health services, such as the National Health Service (NHS). Finance is the second most important ministry of Britain after the post of Prime Minister. Indian-origin young Rishi Sunak is the country's Finance Minister and the reins of the important Home Ministry are in the hands of Indian-origin Priti Patel.
Apart from this, in the parliamentary elections held in December 2019, 15 Indian-origin candidates and the same number of Pakistani-origin candidates won. Four Bangladeshi women candidates also emerged victoriously. In 2019, elections were held for 650 seats in the House of Commons of the British Parliament, with ethnic minority candidates winning one in every 10 seats. In the country, they are generally known as BAME Group i.e. Black, Asian and Ethnic Minorities. Racially minorities in Britain are said to be close to 14 percent of the population.
The participation of ethnic minorities in Britain's parliament and cabinet has also increased as part of the 'Black Lives Matter' campaign and efforts to diversify the world of government-non-governmental offices, institutions and sports. Indian-origin MP Navendu Mishra of the opposition Labor Party says this is a step in the right direction.
So does this mean that racial discrimination in Britain is ending or has reduced? Experts say it would be unwise to think so. Racists often troll black players on Twitter and other social media platforms. Sometimes they even call them monkeys on their faces from the front. These days, due to the rise of the delta variant of the coronavirus in Britain, cases of racial discrimination against people of Indian origin have increased.
His proposal is based on a recent report by The 1928 Institute, a think tank set up last year to represent the views of British of Indian origin. It released a report in May which claimed that 80 percent of people of Indian origin have faced prejudice because of their Indian identity and that anti-Hindu sentiments are most prevalent. "It is imperative that attention is paid to tackling anti-India racism, especially Hinduphobia," the institute's report said.
Arun Vaid, co-founder of the '1928 Institute', told the that Hinduphobia is a fact of British society. But he says, "Our concept of Hinduphobia uses the word 'Hindu' in the traditional cultural-geographic sense. Thus, Hinduphobia, which emerges from colonial depictions of indigenous Indian knowledge and culture, is characterized by misrepresentation, exclusion, ridicule and violence. as it may appear." He welcomes people of Indian origin to reach high government positions and according to him it is also inspirational.
Although he says, "Anti-India racism still exists and is concentrated in certain areas". The people of South Asia are asking the people of South Asia to become a minister as a result of the reduction of racial discrimination in Britain, when Barack Obama was the President of America, should it mean that racial discrimination has reduced in America.
The population of people of Indian origin in Britain is close to 1.4 million, which is only 2.3 percent of the total population of the country, but it is the largest ethnic community in Britain. They came to work in British clothing mills in the 1950s and 1960s. Some people of Indian origin had come from Africa and settled in Britain. People from India and South Asia will be found in all areas of British society. He has achieved a lot of success in the fields of industry, business, cricket and education.
But it would not be wrong to say that people from South Asia have got more success in politics. Take the example of Sajid Javid. He has previously been the Finance Minister. His father came from Pakistan and used to work as a bus driver in Britain.
He did not go to private school but on his own merit, he reached the position of Managing Director in Dr.H. Bank. He has been in politics since last 11 years. There is only one post left for him as far as he would like to reach and that is the post of Prime Minister.
Priti Patel of Indian origin also comes from working-class background. It can also be said about him that getting the post of Prime Minister after the Home Ministry will be called his real progress. Rishi Sunak is now 40 years old and he is in the post of Finance Minister, his goal will also be the highest chair of the country.
Navendu Mishra's parents are from Uttar Pradesh and he became an MP only at the age of 30. She is an example of the success of people of Indian origin. But they say that racism is not visible from the outside.
He told, "Racism against people of Indian origin is often hidden. I have had some such incidents, some people have a complete lack of knowledge about different cultures and religions." Amarjit Singh Cheema, a religious guru of the Sikh community, tells over the phone from the city of Manchester that he has been a victim of discrimination since childhood.
He says, "When I was in school, my turban and long hair used to make fun of my children. When I grew up, the elders here used to look at me with curiosity. When I used to go shopping, people used to stare at me. When 9/11 happened, I was also called Osama because of my long beard and turban."
But there is no bitterness in his mind and there is no complaint against the local people. He says, "I was born here. This is my country. Once upon a time these white people used to make fun of our food and tease us with racist words like 'paki' or 'chutney'. They like us. Now they like us know the difference between Sikhs and Taliban. They have adopted us and we have also remained here."
According to Amarjit Singh Cheema, earlier the racial discrimination was due to ignorance or lack of knowledge of the local people but now it is not so. "My family came to work in the mills of Manchester. They didn't even speak English. Our living style was also different. There are also discriminatory people who want us to return to our country but these are a handful "
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government has taken the initiative to root out racism. But so far they have not got much success. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair declared British society to be multicultural, in which he succeeded but little. Now the British government is also emphasizing diversity and experts say that this is the right way to solve this issue at the moment.
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