Caste in the UK

 

Last Saturday saw hundreds of people gather in Central London to demonstrate against caste discrimination in the UK - we passed the demonstration in Whitehall.

This issue came to prominence earlier on this year when the House of Lords voted to include discrimination on the basis of caste in the Equality Act 2010 as an aspect of race (see my previous blog about this at http://www.indiainlondon.com/caste-discrimination-in-the-uk/).  The Government, previously opposed to legislation, relying instead on an educational programme, finally backed down and agreed to include caste discrimination in the Equality Act.  On 10 October this year, recognition of caste discrimination gained further support on an international level when the European Parliament (including support from UK and Irish MEPs) passed a strongly worded resolution on caste discrimination, condemning the numerous human rights violation committed against Dalits ('untouchables') and other groups affected by caste.

Since then, however, the Government seems to be stalling on the proposed legislation, saying that it doesn’t expect measures to be introduced to Parliament until the summer of 2015, citing the necessity of comprehensive consultation on the issue.

Widespread caste discrimination is clearly an issue in India (despite its own legislation making caste discrimination illegal), with Dalits often consigned to menial, low paid occupations others do not want to do.  A UK government report in 2010, however, also showed widespread caste discrimination here in the UK, providing further evidence for the need for inclusion in the Equality Act.

Despite this evidence, together with national and international support for legislation, it has received strong opposition from Hindu groups in the UK such as the Hindu Council UK and Hindu Forum of Britain.  It may be that lobbying from these groups (seen by many to be a stronghold for ‘upper caste’ Hindus) is causing the government to try to sideline and stall the proposed caste discrimination legislation.

There seem to be a number of arguments put forward by British Hindu advocacy groups opposed to caste legislation.  The first seems to be that although it is acknowledged that caste is not confined to Hinduism, nevertheless Hindus in the UK are the real focus of anti-caste campaigners.  Not only this, but backing of organizations such as Dalit Solidarity Network UK and Castewatch UK by churches and Christian groups aims to undermine Hinduism and gain converts to Christianity.  Foreign money going to fund Dalit converts in India is seen as part of this neo-colonialist Christian attack on Hinduism.

Secondly, it is argued, the whole concept of caste is a European construct of Hinduism, originating in the 17^th century and nothing to do with India or the underlying philosophy of Hinduism, which is in fact caste blind.

Thirdly, if caste affiliation still does exist in the UK, it is more akin to identifying with a clan or club, there to provide mutual help and support – but not in a hierarchical or discriminatory way.

Finally, Hindu groups argue that British Hindus have largely eradicated caste awareness in 2 generations of settlement in the UK, and any remaining problems or issues can be solved through education, not legislation.  It is therefore just a matter of time before caste is no longer a part of British Hindu society.  They argue that legislating against caste discrimination just makes it more of an issue again, rather than letting its significance fade with time.

While acknowledging that caste discrimination in the UK is nowhere near the level in India itself, it is difficult to reconcile these arguments with the accounts of discrimination in what research has been done, together with many more personal anecdotes.  These range from ‘high caste’ Hindus refusing to touch ‘low caste’ Hindus (for example in shops, or in a care setting), bullying and name-calling among school children to discrimination in employment.  With all types of discrimination it is always difficult to identify and pinpoint the more subtle aspects, such as use of language, tone of voice or even attention given to an opinion.  All these, however, can contribute to low self esteem, poor promotion prospects and mental health issues if not confronted.

It is also worth remembering that one of the most prominent campaigners against caste, Dr B.R. Ambedkar, did not advocate conversion from Hinduism to Christianity (or even Islam, or Sikhism) but instead to Buddhism - followed by many thousands of his followers in India.

It also need not be either legislation or education, but could be both.  Legislation sends a clear signal to the UK population that caste discrimination will not be tolerated, raises awareness of potential issues involving caste, and also sets an example to the rest of the world that caste is a human rights issue and discrimination of the worst kind.