Last week the British government concluded a consultation on whether measures against caste discrimination should be included in equality law, to ensure there is “appropriate and proportionate legal protection” against unlawful discrimination because of a person’s origins. The consultation has been inviting submissions from late March and attracted substantial interest from Britain’s sizeable South Asian diaspora within which the debate on this issue has been raging for years.
Focussing on such practices
In June 2009, the first World Conference on Untouchability took place in London, to explore versions of untouchability in all its forms, bringing together experts and activists from across the globe — from India to Japan and Nigeria. At the conclusion of the conference, delegates issued what has come to be known as the Conway Hall Declaration on Untouchability, calling on all states where such practices were prevalent to introduce legislation to outlaw the practice and undertake programmes of education. “Untouchability is the most widespread, pernicious and intractable form of discrimination affecting the lives of millions of men and women and with a negative impact on the lives of untold millions of children and their potential for growth and development…yet many of the states concerned deny that such discrimination exists in their territories,” they urged.
The initiative and also evidence of those who had suffered from abuse and discrimination attracted the attention of some legislators in Britain, particularly members of the House of Lords who were already debating issues around equality as the government sought to streamline and simplify Britain’s legislation on equality into a single act of Parliament, now the Equality Act 2010. Following a tough battle with the House of Commons, members of the House of Lords succeeded in bringing in a provision that stated that secondary legislation on this could be passed by a ministerial order.
Following another heated political battle three years later, an amendment tabled by Lord Harries, a crossbench peer, required that the government “must by order… provide for caste to be an aspect of race”. Since then, the government has dragged its heels on the issue, highly divisive within the Indian community in Britain, finally announcing late last year that they would consult on the issue. “This will be an open consultation,” insisted Justine Greening, the Minister responsible, last year.
However, the consultation has done little to quell concern about the issue. Campaigners who are pushing for the legislative protections to be introduced are fearful the consultation is a ploy to sweep the issue under the carpet amid heavy lobbying from religious groups. They point to the highly legalistic consultation document, which has made it opaque to many of those who want to contribute, and argue that the whole direction of the questioning is tilted in favour of pushing for a solution within existing legislation. A 2014 legal case, Chandhok and Anor v Tirkey , had suggested that caste discrimination could be considered unlawful under existing legislation but only under very particular circumstances, which the government has repeatedly referred to.
Moreover they argue, there is already ample evidence of such discrimination taking place, dating back to a comprehensive study in 2010 by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, which identified evidence of caste discrimination in the workplace, in the provision of services and in education.
They have also expressed concern about some of the tactics used by the anti-legislation lobby, largely comprising religious organisations, which have sought to shift the focus of the debate away from questions around whether or not discrimination takes place to accusations that the efforts to bring the legislation itself were reflective of colonial ambitions and entrenched racism against South Asian communities. “The legislation is part of a wider campaign conducted through EU institutions and UN human rights organs aimed at putting pressure on India to extend caste based reservations… to Christians also… Proponents hope that such interference in India’s internal affairs will augment the number of converts, a chief target of churches and Western governments,” wrote Prakash Shah, a reader at Queen Mary University of London in a blog posting for the London School of Economics.
A political hue
“Hindu organisations’ response to an international mobilisation of Dalits rights activism has brought the Indian Hindu nationalist agenda into U.K. politics including the frankly eccentric imagination of U.K. anti-caste discrimination as being all about driving Indian reservation policy and Christian religious conversion,” noted David Mosse, a professor of social anthropology, in a lecture last year.
Indeed the message that protecting against caste discrimination could somehow do more harm than good and could be disrespectful of South Asian communities has impacted the tone of the government’s approach. The consultation document insists it wants to ensure measures do not “create or entrench any notion of caste consciousness or caste-based practices into British society, which may prove counterproductive or divisive”.
The issue has perhaps unsurprisingly played out in the political arena: in the build-up to the 2015 general election, one Hindu organisation sought to urge traditionally Labour voters to switch their allegiances to the Conservatives, arguing voting for Labour by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains was akin to “turkeys voting for Christmas”. While the charitable organisation was forced to withdraw its statements, the fear that a party’s stance on the issue could alienate it from certain sections of the influential South Asian community has persisted. It is notable that the issue of caste was entirely absent from the Labour party’s election manifesto in June, with only the Liberal Democrats committing to supporting the introduction of legislation outright.
Where things will go remains to be seen. With the government focussed on Brexit-related legislation, both sides are eager for change. While those against the legislation want reference to obligations relating to it removed, those who believe such practices are endemic within South Asian society in Britain are equally determined to ensure the long-standing legislative mandate is finally acted upon, even if it could require legal action to ensure it.
vidya.ram@thehindu.co.in
