In a bid to sound even handed and politically correct Lord Popat claimed that, “there are detailed sections where British Indian and British Hindus were struggling”, in the Casey report on integration. I decided to read the whole report and find out where the British Indians and Hindus were failing in integrating in this society. In chapter after chapter there is no mention of this group. There is not a single instance in which this group has been singled out as failing in any aspect of assimilation in this society. On the contrary this group scores highly on issues like employment, housing and education.
The report mentions the 2015 ComRee poll in which, “respect for the law and freedom of speech are seen as attributes for being truly British”. On both these counts Hindus score highly. Hindus have the lowest crime rate and absolutely believe in freedom of speech. Having not found anything in the report to criticise the Indian Hindu community, Lord Popat makes his own list of areas where he finds the community, “less progressive than the rest of Britain”. He says the Hindu community needs to be more open to outsiders. He however fails to name in what areas Hindus need to be more open to outsiders. If by outsiders he means white British people than we are very open. Everyone is welcome to our temples, work colleagues and friends are invited to weddings, our young people are involved in numerous charitable works including volunteering at Christmas helping to provide food and shelter to the homeless. I know a lot of people who get on very well with their neighbors and often share food with them.
Lord Popat's second observation is that Hindus need to be more accepting of LGBT equality laws. LGBT community has always been welcome in Hindu temples. In contrast according to a report of, The British Social Attitudes Survey 2013, 40% of Anglicans and 35% of Catholics thought that this community was always or mostly wrong! Lord Popat asks how do we encourage everyone to adopt English language?
According to the Casey report only 8% of Hindus do not speak English. However if Lord Popat means that we should abandon our languages than it is something even the report is not asking. Numerous studies have found that a child who is bilingual is at an advantage in mastering learning skills. As India develops into an economic giant our language skills will be highly prized in the job market. In the field of gender equality women are increasingly heading Hindu organisations.
Lord Popat advises the Hindu's to ensure free and transparent elections for temples and community organisations. However the House of Lords is completely unelected and yet it intervenes in the running of this country! Most people are appointed to the Lords because they have a strong influence on a political party or a party leader. Hindus are free of any extremists, there are a huge number of sects and temples and there is no conflict or violence at all. The idea of diversity and freedom to worship as well as respect for other faiths is intrinsic to the Hindu belief system. The Jewish and the Zoroastrian communities will confirm this fact to Lord Popat.
So the ideal community that the Casey report is aspiring for is right here in their mist! I urge Lord Popat to look into the facts more closely. The fact that we are hardly mentioned in the Casey report means that we are actually a role model to other faiths and communities.
Nitin Mehta
Croydon
