Politicians, academics and faith leaders have expressed their concerns about increasing racial attacks and hate crimes against minorities after a disturbing video surfaced earlier this week where a young Sikh boy was attacked for wearing a turban on his way home from school. While the Police have launched their investigation into what was earlier labelled as a “bullying incident”, Sikh and Muslim community leaders also believe that law enforcement alone cannot succeed in rooting out “racial prejudices”. They stress that teachers, parents and faith leaders need to play an active and equal role in helping bridge the ethnicity gap and class disparities. Urging Charlton School to take adequate measures against such attacks, Labour MP for Slough, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi said, "Bullying and anti-Sikh hate cannot be tolerated. Saddened to see such vile behaviour towards a young boy.
Charlton School looking should take immediate action and for others in Telford to assist in ensuring swift measures taken." In their official statement, the school stated that it takes “full responsibility” for working with the students involved and is “working closely” with the local Sikh community and its leaders in the wake of the attack.
Commenting on the incident, Lord Rami Ranger CBE, said, “It was very sad to see two young boys attacking a Sikh boy in a street. I’m afraid, this was a sad indictment of their upbringing. I believe it is the first and foremost duty of parents to teach their children how to respect others. They must educate them about diversity, different religions and cultures now being practiced in the United Kingdom for a better understanding.
“No teacher can turn years of a neglected child into an upstanding citizen. However, teachers can always improve the behaviour of students, but they cannot instil tolerance if the child was not taught the same at home. We have laws against discrimination of every kind, but we also need to educate children to respect one another for peaceful coexistence.”
70% increase in anti-Sikh hate crimes
This is not the first time, however, that the Sikh community has rallied against increasing incidents of anti-Sikh hate crime. Statistics published on Tuesday, 13th October during the national hate crime awareness week indicated that racial hate crimes had increased by a whopping 4,000 incidents in the last year. Almost two months ago an Indian Sikh taxi driver had reported an incident whereby passengers had asked him if he was “Taliban”. 41-year-old Vaneet Singh was driving four passengers from the Grosvenor casino in Reading when along the journey on the M33, they had pulled at his turban and subjected him to physical and verbal abuse. Earlier last month, in a letter sent to Home Secretary Priti Patel, Preet Kaur Gill had called the government to offer more funding to combat anti-Sikh hatred and for the issue to be treated similarly to Islamophobic and antisemitic discrimination.
She had written, “The scale of hate crimes targeting the Sikh community is a phenomenon that is largely invisible to government and the wider public. Official Home Office data for the last two years shows the level of reported hate crimes targeting Sikhs has increased by over 70%. But, the increased reporting is the result of Sikh community organisations raising awareness of the need to report and has been achieved with no government funding or support. This must now change as hate crimes against the Sikh community are on the increase and should not be hidden away and ignored.”
Commenting on how such prejudices continue to exist, Jasvir Singh OBE of City Sikhs said, "It was a truly shocking attack, and it's raised great concerns amongst Sikhs about attacks on people from the community simply for looking different. It reminded so many British Sikh men of their own experiences at school and the racist bullying that they experienced growing up as a result of keeping long uncut hair. Prejudices are still strong in many parts of British society, and we need to be able to challenge racism as best we can. In the meantime, we hope that the young man recovers from the trauma of his experience. All right, thinking people in the UK are fully behind him in their support."
Islamopbohia Awareness Month and EHRC investigation
There have also been heated exchanges between Muslim leaders and Tories with community members feeling that they have been targeted by some ministers because of their “faith and religion”. Recently Michael Fabricant Conservative MP for Litchfield accused MiqdaadVersi for damaging “Anglo-Muslim relations” and highlighting the prevalence of Islamophobia in the Conservative Party. It happened after MiqdaadVersi, a spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), tweeted about submitting evidence to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) implicating over 300 Conservative members of Islamophobia, which included Mr. Fabricant.
In a now-deleted tweet, Mr. Fabricant appeared to suggest that Muslims and Englishness are mutually exclusive and that one cannot be both. Though he has deleted the tweet, the MP has not retracted his statement nor apologised.
Commenting, a spokesperson for the MCB said, “Even though the Conservative Party faces hundreds of allegations of Islamophobia, Tory MP Michael Fabricant attacks MiqdaadVersi by urging him to look the other way and focus on bigotry elsewhere. Mr. Fabricant must face an investigation over his comments. Failure to do so will only underscore that the Conservative party does not have a zero-tolerance approach to tackling Islamophobia and racism.
“Over 300 Conservatives, including Mr. Fabricant, were highlighted as having engaged in Islamophobia in the MCB’s dossier to the EHRC earlier this year. Despite this, neither the Conservative party nor the EHRC feels it appropriate to take any action, allowing the problem to continue to fester. This is a systematic disease that requires a systematic response.”
Black Lives Matter protest increased racial tensions
In the meantime, a recent poll has highlighted that 55% of the UK adults believe the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests increased racial tensions, according to a survey of more than 2,000 people by pollsters Opinium. Only 17% of the people polled in October disagreed. The polling also showed 44% of ethnic minorities felt BLM increased racial tensions. In a statement to The Guardian, Prof Kalwant Bhopal, director of the Centre for Research in Race and Education at the University of Birmingham, said the results suggested BLM had made some white people “feel their privilege is being threatened and questioned”.
“When they see something like BLM they do what they can to protect it and there is a backlash,” she said. She added that the response of some institutions, such as universities, to pledge support for the goals of BLM, had created a “mask of inclusion” which obscured a reluctance to deliver real change. In the aftermath of Brexit and economic devastation caused by coronavirus, politicians, academics and faith leaders worry that such racial overtures may reflect in divisive societies and toxic workplaces.
(Additional reporting by Rupanjana Dutta)
