Thanking Lord Popat for initiating the debate, Lord Dholakia, noting the timely aspect, during Diwali, wished his Lordships 'a happy Diwali and a joyous new year'. Stressing the huge historical significance of the first 'person of Indian origin' to be elected Prime Minister of the UK, Rishi Sunak, Lord Dholakia emphasised 'the great contribution of the Indian community in Britain', whilst modestly 'forgetting' his own not insubstantial work in public life that has made a difference to many lives.
Reiterating Alpesh Patel, chairman of City Hindus Network, Lord Dholakia said: 'The British Indian diaspora is one of the largest migrant communities in this country, numbering more than 1.5 million.' Impressively, '[m]any British Indians have contributed to their local communities and the national economy by starting businesses in a range of sectors, including hospitality, energy, healthcare, engineering and property.'
Linking this to the skills gap 'Britain faces', Lord Dholakia cited Home Office figures from 2020 that showed, 654 businesses owned by British Indians had an annual turnover in excess of £100,000. Together, these companies generated £36.84 billion', including '£1 billion in corporation tax'. And the real value being, '[t]he top five businesses owned by British Indians have created more than 100,000 jobs in the UK'.
Going back to his roots, Lord Dholakia talked about how he was born in Tanzania, 'next door to Uganda', and came to the UK long before Idi Amin 'forced thousands of Asians to leave Uganda, which brought pain, heartache and fear to the community there'. Reflecting on the situation, Lord Dholakia described that during his 'early days' in the House, he met Lord Carr of Hadley, the Home Secretary at the time, who informed how it took less than five minutes of Cabinet meeting time to agree to the admission of Uganda Asians to the UK. Comparing that to current issues of immigration, Lord Dholakia stressed, '[t]here is a lesson for all of us to understand about how important decision can be taken by the Cabinet without referring to all the prejudices that go with it'. ' This was at a time when adverse comments about immigration were rife in this country,' he added wryly.
Commenting on the ideals of the time, Lord Dholakia continued his descriptions of how events unfolded by describing the strong sense of commitment to commonwealth citizens needing our help. Asking, '[w]here are the people of this stature in the Tory party today?', Lord Dholakia stressed, '[s]omeone should have an open word with Suella Braverman about handling complex matters of asylum and immigration in a purposeful way'.
Finishing off, Lord Dholakia paid tribute to the 'thousands of volunteers who gave so much of their time to help in the process of settlement; in particular, with a special mention of Sir Peter Bottomley and the noble Baroness Lady Bottomley, 'for the contribution they made in accommodating new arrivals in this country', Lord Dholakia was keen to show how communities and individuals rallied round to help anyone who needed help in what was a difficult and fraught situation.
