A Sikh Manifesto, a Muslim and a Jewish Manifesto have all been circulated to raise the issues deemed most relevant to a particular sector of British society.
And in this paper in February, Kapil Dudakia – a friend and someone I greatly admire- penned an article calling for a Hindu manifesto, before outlining what he felt it should contain.
I find these manifestos deeply troubling. They seek to divide us; to see ourselves as subgroups of a nation rather than being part of the whole.
The greatest strength of the Hindu community and the British Indian community has been how we’ve integrated into society. We’ve maintained elements of our culture and faiths but married them perfectly with the values of the country and society we live in.
When we approach the election, we should be basing our decisions on what is best for our country, not on what promises we can extract from politicians based on our faith, skin colour or homeland.
The national debate on the election is focusing on the economy, the NHS, education and leadership; these mirror exactly the issues that most British Indian voters raise with me. Caste discrimination, Kashmir and religious conversations –however important- simply aren’t mentioned.
A call for a Diwali Bank Holiday also seems particularly divisive. We live in a Christian country that celebrates Christian holidays. It raises the question of where does this end; do we extend this principle to holidays of all faiths? I’m not sure we’d ever get to work!
Britain allows people of all faiths to celebrate their own festivals. Our Temples are already full at Diwali –and many other times in the year- we don’t need the state to intervene to make that happen.
Kapil was absolutely right when he said that not enough members of the Hindu community have got involved in the political process. We need more British Indians, particularly younger members of the community, to come forward as Councillors and MPs.
We put too much emphasis on success in business and the professions at the expense of political engagement. But this is a separate point; we need them to come forward to ensure politics is representative of our society, not just to demand concessions for one community.
Last year the people of Scotland voted to keep our Kingdom united; the tactics of the SNP were to fan the flames of envy and segregation. These manifestos are the same tactic; forcing us to see ourselves as different and diverse when we have so much in common. They divide us rather than uniting us.
I urge the British Indian community to vote on May 7th, but not based on the politics of Kashmir, but on who you think will be best for your constituency and for our United Kingdom.
