The caste system and discrimination in the UK Davinder Prasad with Satpal Muman

Prejudice and discrimination on the grounds of race engender hatred and violence that should not be tolerated by civilised society. Violence on grounds of race leaves physical and psychological scars. Equally, violence on grounds of caste also leaves the victim physically and psychologically traumatised. Whilst racial hatred is seen as black and white, caste hatred is not easily understood and takes on much subtler forms. Caste is now raising its ugly head in British society. It has been an issue facing the ethnic communities but caste continues to be brushed aside. The caste system, at least amongst the Indian diaspora, plays an important part in regulating their social conduct. Caste is inextricably linked to the Hindu religion and finds sanction in their sacred literature such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata. It is especially enforced by the Manu Smiriti (Laws of Manu) with imposition of severe punishment and penalty for breach of the social code for what was once, in historic times, a legal sanction. Caste and British Society Over the last few decades there has been a gradual increase in population of those who have arrived in United Kingdom from the Indian sub-continent. Those communities that have settled here have also brought with them their own social habits, norms and religious customs, such as the institution of caste. The social evil of caste-prejudice, however, is unacceptable in present day British society and is anti-thetical to democratic norms, values and justice. There is evidence that caste-prejudice is firmly embedding itself into British society as has been shown by a radio programme commissioned by the BBC on Radio 4, The Caste Divide which was broadcast in April, 2003i. Subsequent to this programme, it was strongly felt that there was a need to confront the monster of caste and this has lead to the formation of an organisation called CasteWatchUK.

Caste discrimination has arrived in Britain. This virulent form of discrimination is not restricted exclusively to the Hindu community. Its taint also affects other faiths in the subcontinent and Indo-Pakistani diaspora including the Sikh, Christian and Muslim communities. Caste prejudice and caste discrimination are unwanted foreign imports that are being spread through many Hindu and Sikh places of worship. Caste discrimination is a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , (1948), on too many counts to list. But to start and end with the first article: 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.

CasteWatchUK CasteWatch UK is a voluntary organisation that aims to raise awareness of caste discrimination occurring in the UK and to work for legal, social and democratic remedies. It also aims to monitor caste discrimination practices or policies, which result in and perpetuate caste prejudice in the UK. One of its main objectives is to provide moral relief through education to those who are victims of caste discrimination. Its membership is drawn from all community groups interested in removing social prejudice from within the UK. BBCs Radio 4 broadcast, The Caste Divide, highlighted the following key issues: Children in schools in the UK are being introduced to the caste system as part of the Religious Education programme. Young impressionable minds of Asian children are being polluted with the inaccurate information of certain community groups in the Indian sociality. For example, in a text book available in many state schools, Sue Penneys Discovering Religions Hinduism, the author explains that Hinduism teaches that different people have different abilities and these are primarily dependent on those peoples previous lives. She says: The first and most important group are Brahmins. The lowest group of all in Hinduism are the Harijans. They are below the other four groups, and do the dirtiest jobs.

 UK pupils are given a glib overview of the caste-system that fudges the underlying tenets of Hinduism and does not reflect the simple injustice of the caste system. The curriculum makes no attempt to explain that caste-system surpasses apartheid in terms of applied discrimination since one is forever condemned because it prohibits any advancement, improvement or progress from rebirth to rebirth, showing no regard to basic human rights of British citizens who happen to be in the unfortunate castes. Awareness about the caste-system in schools has led to caste-related bullying. Children who experience it have their education disrupted. They may be unable to concentrate on lessons because of feelings of fear or anger. Their self-confidence may be damaged and, as a result, they may never fulfil their full potential. There is no provision in School Anti-bullying policies to address the problem of casterelated Bullying. Schools in UK have no clear guidelines about how to deal with caste-bullying. Caste barriers are creating problems in places of higher education with large number of South Asian students. Pupils from lower castes are not accepted into the peer groups and are marginalised. A disturbing number of Hindus and so-called Jaat (j t) Sikhs continue to perpetuate the caste system in Britain (in the latter case contrary to Sikhisms founding gurus explicit condemnation of Brahminical doctrine and practices). Some Hindu organisations in the UK are trying to get the caste-system excluded from the syllabus of Hinduism in schools. Considerable damage has already been done, and any attempt to remove the caste-system from education in schools would only hide this serious problem from the public view. One whole generation of Asian children has grown up in the UK with caste-prejudice strongly embedded in their minds. The education system has to ensure that instead of removing the castesystem from religious education, its evil and undesirable effects on the victims must be emphasised and new generations of children need to be made aware that the caste-system is a social evil and has no place in British society.

There are no legal provisions under British law to protect anyone who is a victim of caste-prejudice in United Kingdom. How can effects of caste-discrimination be reduced or eliminated in British society? CasteWatchUK has identified the following as campaigning instruments to bring about a social transformation.

Political objectives To lobby for the inclusion of caste discrimination as an element within the Equality Bill or future legislative changes of a similar nature; To target Trade Unions to raise awareness of caste discrimination in order to halt its spread in the workplace; To research the fund raising activities of groups promoting caste-discrimination and Untouchability; Lobbying for Early Day Motions or a general debate in Parliament on the human rights abuses and the unjustness of the caste system

Educational objectives To develop effective strategies and lines in order to remove and replace the misinformed and erroneous literature about caste produced for citizenship studies in British schools; To raise awareness of, and promote Dr Ambedkars works and writings in the school curriculum, placing this on an equal footing with similar Human Rights champions such as Nelson Mandela and Dr Martin Luther King; To target the Department for Education and Skills, places of higher and further education and the National Union of Students to raise awareness of caste issues with a view to recognising this insidious form of discrimination when it occurs in colleges and universities and removing it; To assist relevant organisations by delivering, for example, caste sensitisation workshops.

Social objectives Challenging any public figure who incites caste prejudice. Identifying key stakeholders to target for engagement on caste discrimination on an ongoing basis . Engaging with leaders of appropriate cultural, religious and social organisations to ascertain their position on caste, and to pursue the issues that arise from this correspondence. Areas that could benefit from academic scrutiny and comment include: The sociological and socio-economic implications of caste for and in British society; The portrayal and implications of the caste system in education; How people from oppressed communities lose out in British society; The activities of British-based groups promoting caste-discrimination and Untouchability (sic) and the distribution of funds for the purpose of perpetuating caste iniquities; The life, work and writings of Dr Ambedkar and his place in the saga of human and civil rights; How caste prejudice has seeped into society and contaminated faith. People from all over the world come to the UK to seek refuge from social, political, religious and economic persecutions. Caste-prejudice is an unnecessary social evil which is trying to infect the basic value system in the UK and we believe it has no place in British Society. It is important that caste-discrimination is rooted out from the UK and young British Asians grow up with a new identity as proud citizens of United Kingdom.

Notes

i A transcript

of this programme can be found at http://www.countercurrents.org.dalitpuri050704.htm Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Writings and Speeches, Education department, Government of Maharashtra (1989).