Why I do not buy the idea that Britain is intrinsically Racist.
Racism has been a constant issue in Britain ever since immigrants began to arrive in the country. Our children asked whether we had seen signs at guest houses saying, ‘No Blacks’. For every sign saying, ‘No Blacks’ there were thousands of English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish people who welcomed us and helped us to settle down. For the purpose of this article I will call these four nationalities British When the Ugandan Indians were expelled, the then prime minister Ted Heath ensured that the refugees were given every help possible. Hundreds of British men and women volunteered to help the new arrivals. There is a tendency amongst people to forget the times when they received help. It is easier to remember bad experiences! For the vast majority of people who came from East Africa it was the ordinary British person who helped them settle down. The city of Leicester alone absorbed tens of thousands of people. They got help with getting jobs, getting their children in schools, medical care and so much more. British volunteers taught English to the elders. It was an English manager of a bank who gave me an overdraft facility without any collateral to start my business. Tens of thousands of people from East Africans have had similar experiences. Without that fist help we would not have prospered as much as we have.
As I write this reports are coming of thousands of refugees coming by boats to this country. Amongst the many groups helping the refugees is an organization called, ‘Hastings Supports Refugees’. Their volunteers are giving warm clothes, hot food and drinks to them. These are British men and women and there is compassion here and no racism.
In the 1980’s the racist National Front Party was creating great fear amongst the immigrant communities. It was the British who formed the Anti Nazi League and drove the National Front out of the streets. The Anti Nazi League became a shield for the immigrant community. Meanwhile numerous laws were passed by successive governments to stamp out any forms of discrimination. The result is that the generation of children born and bred in the UK have achieved unprecedented success in almost every field of life. Amongst them we have two individuals holding the most powerful positions in the country. The Chancellor of Exchequer Rishi Sunak and the Home minister Priti Patel. There are tens of thousands of others who have smashed glass ceilings in many walks of life. How could this be possible if racism was rife in this country?.
The new arrivals from East Africa were able to hire Church Halls to have their cultural and spiritual events. The Church going British people were just happy to let us use their facilities. Again no racism but friendship and goodwill.
I have brought this subject up because over the last two weeks the media has gone into a frenzy describing the racism experienced by cricketer Azeem Rafiq. His testimony to the parliamentary sports and culture committee was moving. However, a revelation that Azeem had made anti Semitic comments in 2011 exposed a tendency that lurks in all of us to single out a nationality or religion that we do not fancy. There will always be some people in all communities who will be racist.
It is also possible that comments attributed to an individual that may or may not have occurred many years ago could ruin an innocent person’s career.
Sometimes we may not achieve our goals because of our own inability and weakness and the temptation would be to blame racism. The victim mentality and playing the victim card is a trap minorities can easily fall for and they will have any number of liberal and left wing academics and politicians backing them. In the long run these fake sympathizers will be the biggest obstacle to the prosperity of the minorities.
In the Guardian dated 19 November Lord Parekh said this regarding the Azeem Rafiq testimony: “What we are witnessing is the crudest form of racism that you could ever imagine.” Would Lord Parekh now express the same outrage regarding the anti Semitic comments by Azeem? Why did Lord Parekh not utter a single word when the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn was openly anti-Semitic? Why the silence?
The danger is that by continuously being called racist the goodwill of the ordinary British man and women is being lost and attitudes are hardening. It is time to change the narrative and stop accusing the majority of all the ills just because it is a majority.
In India, majoritarianism has become a buzzword for the secularists and Left-wing liberals. How dare the Hindu majority aspire for any recognition of the ethos sacred to them, they claim. It is an anathema for them to acknowledge the heritage and history of the Hindus who have been the inhabitants of the country for thousands of years. In this sense both the British and Indians face a common assault from left wing media and academics. Both countries need to challenge the peddlers of fake stories.
Nitin Mehta
30 November 2021.
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