Sikh Federation,Muslim Parliament and now Operation Hindu Vote

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surbut-khalsa 03:news clippings

 

Indian brand of politics creeping into Britain

 

The Hindustan Times, October 13 2003

 

The phenomenon of vote banks based on Asian religions is fast becoming a reality

in British politics. Strategic voting – more common in politics in the

Indian subcontinent – has begun defining new alignments.

 

Traditionally, Asians have been Labour supporters, but recent events such as the

war on Iraq showed that the party could not take the community's support for

granted.

 

In September, a political party espousing the cause of British Sikhs was formed

at Wolverhampton. Called the Sikh Federation, its promoters say the party could

cause 'huge damage' in constituencies where Labour is strong and where Sikhs

constitute a sizeable minority. They want the Sikhs' wishes to be taken more

seriously.

 

The recent Brent East by-election showed how bulk voting by Muslim voters

opposed to the Iraq war ensured that Labour lost the seat to Liberal Democrats.

The result has sent alarm bells ringing in several Labour constituencies that

have a substantial Muslim vote.

 

The Muslim voice in British politics is espoused by a forum called the Muslim

Parliament though British Muslim politics continues to be divided by what is

called 'biraderi', or clan, rivalries. Now come efforts to consolidate the

"Hindu vote" in British politics. An initiative called Operation Hindu Vote was

launched recently to get more Hindus to vote in British elections. It has been

designed to unify and strengthen the political lobbying power of the

Hindus.Coordinated by the Hindu Forum UK, the initiative has already been

supported by the three main political parties – Labour, Conservatives and

Liberal Democrats.As in the case of the Sikh Federation, Operation Hindu Vote

seeks to act as a pressure group and not set up candidates of its own. It does

not identify with any political party and urges members to join political

parties of their choice.The Sikh Federation is setting up branches in each

major town and city with a sizeable Sikh population and intends to back any

party that best represents its members. Dabinderjit Singh, its spokesman, said

Sikhs were angry that despite promises from the government, they felt

consistently let down over issues of identity.He complained that there had been

a failure to address security issues since the September 11 attacks, after which

a number of Sikhs were attacked as hostility towards ethnic minorities in some

areas increased.Ramesh Kallidai, general secretary of the Hindu Centre for

Communications, is closely involved with Operation Hindu Vote. He told the

local media, 'We wanted two things: first, to make the Hindu population of this

country more politically active and that means that, at least, they go and vote

in elections. Secondly, they should join political parties of their choice.'

According to Kallidai, only 17 per cent of British Hindus actually vote.The

context of political consolidation within the British Asian community is the

success of Operation Black Vote that has led to an increased political profile

of the Afro-Caribbean community.Simon Wolley of Operation Black Vote welcomes

the recent initiatives but is wary that too many divisions within the ethnic

minorities might affect the overall objective of greater involvement and the

influence of non-whites in British politics.He said there could be issues on

which various ethnic minorities do not agree, but there would at least be half

a dozen on which they agree, such as having more ethnic minorities candidates

and having a less Eurocentric education system.'If we do not do this, it will

be a case of that old adage that has plagued black communities throughout

history – that divided we fall and united we succeed,' Wolley said.

(Indo-Asian News Service)

 

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