HVK Archives: Facing a Jewish future
Facing a Jewish future - The Indian Express
Neeraj Mishra
()
20 August 1997
Title: Facing a Jewish future
Author: Neeraj Mishra
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: August 20, 1997
An Oxford University study reveals the Asians in Britain face a future
reminiscent of the Jews in the Middle Ages. And the only way out is through
political assimilation.
The 20-year old, Reuben Singh, typifies the grit with which Asians living
in Britain have shaken off the ghosts of their past and embraced an alien
society with its gigantic opportunities and hurdles. His net worth exceeds
=A327 million, all of it derived from selling fashion accessories in his
chain of stores - Miss Attitude. See an opportunity, grab it. That's the
Asian attitude. Something which has made Usha Mittal richer than the Queen
according to The Times, London and the top hundred Asian millionaires
collectively worth more than =A35 billion.
A study based on the first national census of ethnic population lists
Asians as people from the Indian sub-continent are known - as the largest
ethnic group with nearly 3 million of them. 'there are 500,000 British
blacks, 300,000 Jews and nearly one million Irish. Compared to other
ethnic communities the Progress made by Asians has been remarkable. "One
generation shopkeers, another full of MBAs. The progress has no parallel,"
is how Labour MP Pyara Khabra puts it.
The results of another study were released to the press earlier this summer
by Professor Ceri Peach of Oxford University who opined that with their
rapid prosperity Asians now face a
"Jewish future". He further concluded that while Indians and Pakistanis
would increasingly go into white collar jobs, Bangladeshis and Blacks face
an "Irish future". The professor of social geography elaborated on this to
mean that rapid prosperity is always envied by the locals at large,
especially if it is of immigrants. Jews have historically suffered
primarily for their prosperity and the tendency to stick together at the
expense of being ostracised. By Irish future for the Bangladeshis, Peach
means that they are likely to remain the blue collar working class.
The speed of progress has meant that decisive milestones have been reached
faster than expected. Little surprise then that Asians in Britain
realising the importance of political acceptance have now trained their
eyes on houses of Parliament. Navneet Dholakia became the fifth Asian to be
elevated to Lordship recently after Tory Nirj Deva opened the gates by
winning the Isleworth seat in 1985. "Till then we had been standing outside
the house and shouting at the windows. Now we are knocking at the doors
vigorously and waiting to be let in, " he says. Deva, however, is an
exception as a Tory where most Asians tend to see Labour as their party of
choice. There are altogether eight MPs of Asian origin in Tory Blair's
House of Commons.
The strength of the Asians does not lie in numbers but the fact that they
are concentrated heavily in certain pockets. There are at least 36
Parliamentary constituencies where their numbers are more than the
difference in majority, implying that their combined vote could easily take
away the initiative from one party to the other.
Asian voters represent 36.1 per cent of the electorate in Ealing Southall,
31.7 per cent in Birmingham Ladywood and Birmingham Sparkbrook and Heath,
30.9 per cent in East Ham, 26.4 per cent in Bradford West going down to
4.45 per cent in Edmonton in north London. The implication is clearer when
seen in terms of vote swing. Normally an election is decided in terms of
average swing of 2 per cent for or against the possible winner. Labour
needed a 4-per cent swing to win Edmonton and the Asian voter took them home.
This fact has been grasped very well by Asian politicians. "We are now
looking beyond controlling town councils. In some seats like here and in
Birmingham an Asian candidate can win on his own," says Sukhvinder Hothi,
formerly Labour general secretary of Ealing Southall. There is a whole set
of middle-level politicians who have even started a campaign for better
representation of Asians in the House of Commons. Peter Patel of
Birmingham set up a Fourth Party prior to the May elections to press the
issue further.
The eagerness of Asians to be recognised as a political entity is now being
recognised by political parties as well. The May elections had as many as
46 Asian candidates. Labour and Tories had 10 each while Liberal Democrats
had 13. It is also clear that the community is no longer impressed by
white politicians visiting Mosques and Temples to be garlanded
periodically, most notably around election time.
Ale agenda has changed - from proximity to higher-ups in Tory and Labour
establishments, the Asians want to be a part of it. British politicians
are also acutely aware that nearly 80 per cent of Asian electorate uses its
franchise and the wooing has to be serious, minus gestures as empty as
kissing babies in hospitals or public functions.
Hothi says that looking for political power is also a way of reverting the
uncomfortable comparisons with the Jewish community. Peach while presenting
the results of his findings had also said: 'Mans have integrated into
British life but not assimilated. They tend to look at the achievement of
the community as a whole."
All that may change very soon. At least attempts at assimilation are on in
right earnest. While Lord Swraj Paul backs Labour with all his moneyed
might Lord Bagri is doing the same for Tories, even the Lib Dems have an
Asian tycoon Ramesh Dewan as their general secretary. Shailesh Vara,
33-year-old London lawyer, Conservative candidate and described in
broadsheets as the Asian Michael Howard, epitomises the attempts by a
community to assimilate. His hard line on law and order is something the
Brits appreciate.
At the last Blackpool conference Vara, who opened the Tory debate on
economy, received a standing ovation.
Lord Alexander, chairman of Natwest Bank, no less has often described him
as a potential prime minister. Even though Vara lost from Labour
stronghold of Birmingham Ladywood it is certain that he will enter
Parliament one day and at that time will not necessarily be viewed as an
Asian.
When that happens the assimilation of Asians in British politics will be
complete.
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