http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article602136.ece
Published: August 29, 2010 16:59 IST | Updated: August 29, 2010 16:59 IST LONDON, August 29, 2010 U.K. set to recognize caste discrimination as racism Hassan Suroor Britain is set to become the first European country to recognise caste discrimination as a form of racism and declare it unlawful under the race laws following a long campaign by the country’s estimated 200,000 Dalits and a report last year alleging widespread caste-based prejudice. A provision has already been made in the new Equality Act adopted recently empowering the Government to declare “caste to be an aspect of race’’ without having to resort to fresh legislation. Clause 9 of the Act says: “The fact that a racial group comprises two or more distinct racial groups does not prevent it from constituting a particular racial group. A Minister of the Crown may by order—(a) amend this section so as to provide for caste to be an aspect of race…” The Government will be guided by the report of a study it has commissioned to determine the extent of alleged caste discrimination. The report by the National Institute of Social and Economic Research, a leading independent research body, is expected in the autumn. CasteWatchUK, Britain’s oldest Dalit campaign group, claims that it is no longer a question of “if” but “when’’ an official announcement is made. “We have provided enough evidence to researchers and have no doubt in our minds that their report will be positive. Besides, we have full faith in the fairness of the British state. The fact that they have included it in the equality act is half the battle won. It is not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’ it happens,’’ Davinder Prasad, general secretary of CasteWatch, told The Hindu. Campaigners claim cross-party support pointing out that MPs from all parties backed the move during the debate in Parliament. “The only reluctant voices were of Asian MPs,” said Lekh Pall, general secretary of the Anti-Caste Discrimination Alliance (ACDA), an umbrella group. India’s official position is that casteism cannot be equated with racism and it has opposed such moves at international forums. Any British move could set a precedent for other countries to follow suit. The issue has divided Britain’s Indian community and right-wing groups such as the Hindu Forum of Britain have launched a counter-campaign questioning the right of the Government to intervene in what it claims is their internal affair. "There has been some criticism against the caste system with regards to the treatment of Dalits in the Britain. However, it is not right for the UK Government to take a position on the rites, beliefs or practices of a particular religion. Social interactions and personal choices are an expression of people's freedom, and any barriers should be removed through education and awareness, not through legislation," said the Forum’s Secretary-general Ramesh Kallidai. In a report, “Caste in the UK’’, the Forum denied claims of caste discrimination saying its own research had found that it was “not endemic in British society’’. However, a study—“Hidden Apartheid, Voice of the Community, Caste and Caste Discrimination in the UK’’-- by ACDA in collaboration with academics from the universities of Hertfordshire and Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University, concluded that there was “clear evidence’’ of widespread caste-based discrimination. “There is clear evidence from the survey and the focus groups that the caste system has been imported into the UK with the Asian diaspora and that the associated caste discrimination affects citizens in ways beyond personal choices and social interaction. There is a danger that if the UK government does not effectively accept and deal with the issue of caste discrimination the problem will grow unchecked,” it said. The report claimed that “tens of thousands of people in the workplace, the classroom and even the doctor’s surgery’’ suffered discrimination because of their caste. Forty-five per cent of the respondents alleged they had either been treated negatively by co-workers or had comments made about their caste. Nine per cent felt they had been denied promotion, and ten per cent said they had been paid less because of their caste. Some also claimed that they faced ``threats’’. Campaigners have threatened to take their case to the European Court of Human Rights if the British Government fails to act. ------------------------------------ ---- INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. 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