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.





 

Caste Discrimination in the UK

Last week the Times of India reported that an upper caste (Jat) youth from Mokhra village, Haryana, had been fined Rs 51,000 by the village panchayat (council) for having an affair with a Dalit girl and bringing her to the village without the permission of the panchayat. As well as being fined, he had to leave the village for six months for ‘violating the social norm’. The girl (or more accurately 18 year old young woman) was apparently sent to her maternal uncle’s house in another village.

Reports regularly appear in the Indian press of other incidents and crimes involving caste. For example on 24 March this year it was reported that 3 upper-caste youths were arrested in Rohtak, Haryana for allegedly gang-raping a Dalit girl – just one example of many cases where Dalits are subjected to violence, rape and murder.

The term ‘Dalit’ refers to those formerly known as ‘Untouchable’ in India – also referred to as ‘Scheduled Caste’ and ‘Scheduled Tribes’ by the Indian government. They are at the bottom of the caste system, or rather outside the caste system and form the lowest rank of Indian society, often doing the most menial work and discriminated against in all aspects of their lives. Dalits make up around 16% of the Indian population, although this varies from state to state.

The Indian Constitution outlawed discrimination based on caste, though not the caste system itself, which still pervades Indian society, despite legislation protecting the Dalits or Scheduled Castes. Although the caste system is strongly linked to the Hindu religion, it is present across many other religious communities: Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh and Christian. Many of the ‘ex-Untouchables’ converted to other religions to escape the stigma of caste. In Uttar Pradash, for example, an estimated 70% of Buddhists are of Dalit origin, while 6% of the population in Maharashtra are Buddhist. Maharashtra has been the centre of a Buddhist revival in India in recent years, following the example of Dr Ambedkar (India’s first law minister, himself a Dalit) who publically converted to Buddhism in 1956 along with thousands of his supporters. An estimated 70% of Indian Christians are also from a Dalit background – which is problematic in itself because, while still suffering disadvantage, Dalit Christians and Muslims in India currently do not have protection under Scheduled Caste legislation (despite the inclusion of Dalit Sikhs and Buddhists).

What is less well known, however, is the existence of caste discrimination here in the UK. The issue came to the fore during the passage of the (now) Equality Act 2010 (EA 2010) through Parliament. Campaigners argued that there needed to be separate legislation to outlaw discrimination based on caste in addition to the other protected characteristics (such as sex, race, religion and belief etc.) in relation to work, education and provision of goods and services. S.9 (5) of the EA 2010 already provided for the possibility of inclusion of caste as an aspect of race but opinion was divided as to whether race, religion or belief would already cover any caste discrimination. The government had resisted its inclusion but instead favoured an education programme approach rather than legislation.

Research was commissioned by the Government Equalities Office to look into how widespread caste discrimination was in the UK and the findings were published in December 2010 (1) . The actual number of people in the UK from Dalit origin is not known, but estimated to be around 150,000-200,000 (2) (some say as high as 480,000 (3)) - from all religions, concentrated among people with roots in the Indian sub-continent. The report showed caste discrimination to be widespread in the UK across all sectors: work, education and provision of services. It was reported to be by ‘higher’ castes against the ‘lowest’ caste, and while nowhere near the level of brutality seen in India, still had many detrimental effects including reduced career prospects, depression, loss of self-esteem and reduced access to education.

One man, Prithi Kaeley, interviewed by BBC Newsnight talked movingly of his experience in the UK. He said he came to the UK in 1976 after serving in the Indian army for 8 years in the Punjab. He worked as a manager in the public sector. After 25 years of working there, someone came to work in his office who was ‘so-called upper caste’ – who began telling everyone that Mr Kaeley couldn’t be his manager as he was ‘untouchable’. He said he didn’t know how to react, but was totally shocked that this should be happening in Britain – he had never expected it here. Clearly, he was still very affected by what had happened and could hardly talk about it on camera, he was so upset (video of the interview is accessible here).

Other examples given in the report included a 16 year old who had been bullied at school and lost many friends after they found out she was not of higher caste, as they had assumed. Another talked about his manager at work making caste-related ‘jokes’ to him, telling him to go and wash clothes instead as back in India he would be a professional clothes washer. Evidence is very mixed about whether caste consciousness is decreasing in the UK among subsequent generations, with some saying it is even increasing (for example ‘Jatt pride’ among Sikhs).

Earlier this year, an employment tribunal heard the first claim alleging unfair dismissal on the grounds of caste discrimination. Vijay and Amardeep Begraj claimed they suffered discrimination, humiliation, victimisation and harassment on the basis of caste while working at Heer Manak, a firm of solicitors in Coventry. Vijay was the practice manager there and Amardeep, his wife, a solicitor at the same firm. Vijay Begraj was from a Dalit background, whereas Amardeep from the higher Jat caste. Vijay Begraj claimed a colleague told him he was lucky to be a practice manager in the UK as in India he would have been a cleaner because of his caste. Unfortunately, after a lengthy hearing, the case collapsed on a technicality after the judge recused herself from the case (excused due to a possible conflict of interest) – so the case was not concluded. It is doubtful though whether a discrimination case based on caste could have succeeded anyway under existing race and equality legislation as caste was not at the time specifically included as an aspect of race. In another employment tribunal case, Naveed v Aslam (2012), Mr Naveed had claimed ridicule and abuse (amongst other claims) on the basis of his Arain Pakistani caste. One of the reasons the tribunal gave for dismissing his claim was that caste was not yet included as an aspect of race under the existing Equality Act.

Despite widespread evidence of caste discrimination, however, the government was still favouring an education programme, despite the Lords voting for legal protection. Finally, on 23 April this year, after a second Lords vote to outlaw caste discrimination, the government backed down and did a U-turn. It was announced that in the future caste discrimination would be legally protected under the Equality Act 2010, as an aspect of race.

A small step in the right direction but much more to be done, to help the estimated 260 million people suffering caste discrimination worldwide. A reminder of Article 1 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights 1948:

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Caste has no place in the UK or anywhere else in the world.

1. ‘Caste Discrimination and Harassment in the United Kingdom’. Hilary Metcalfe and Heather Rolfe, National Institute for Economic and Social Research. December 2010.
2. International Dalit Solidarity Network, July 2011
3. Bishop of Oxford, Lord Harris of Pentregarth, reported by BBC News 5/3/2013

Further links:

Dalit Solidarity Network UK - http://www.dsnuk.org

International Dalit Solidarity Network - http://www.idsn.org/

Caste Watch UK - http://www.castewatchuk.org/

Dalit Freedom Network UK- http://www.dfn.org.uk/