Dennis the 'Bloody Peasant'
16th April 2013, 12:26
The House of Commons is set to vote on whether to ban caste discrimination in the UK.
Victims say legislation is badly needed as thousands of people are suffering abuse and prejudice.
Campaigners say caste divides society unfairly, with those at the bottom - often called untouchables - expected to do dirty, poorly paid work.
They complain they are also expected to - and forced to - look up to and respect higher castes.
Those arguing for action say such discrimination is outlawed in India and they want similar protection in Britain too.
A young mother from the Midlands called Harjit (not her real name) told the BBC she regularly faced problems from higher castes.
She said: "On one occasion there were a load of young guys, They had such yobbish thuggish behaviour and it was so intimidating.
"They did a hand gesture of a gun. They pointed it to my sister. They threatened to kill her and they said, 'All of yous are on the list.'"
Harjit says she has had to put up with such treatment from a very young age.
"Soon as they found out who you were, they used to ask you what temple you go to. What your surname is. Who you were.
"Then the taunting would start. Even as young as six or seven," she said.
Harjit has reported some of the incidents to the authorities, but she claims she was not taken seriously.
She thinks they struggled to understand what was going on and why.
Two years ago, her 17-year-old sister Ranbir (not her real name) was confronted by a man in the street who demanded she remove a religious necklace.
When she refused he said he knew her name and where she lived. It terrified her because she had never seen the man before.
"He said to me, 'You need to be careful. Just watch yourself' and then mentioned my name. It was frightening," she said.
Meena Varma, of the Dalit Solidarity Network, thinks only a new law would protect Harjit, Ranbir and others like her.
The group is planning to hold a rally outside Parliament on Tuesday as MPs debate and vote on the issue.
"Why on earth are we allowing discrimination on this basis? We don't allow it on any other basis. But we are allowing this because there is no legal provision," she said.
Last month, the House of Lords voted by a majority of 103 to amend the Equality Act 2010 to include caste discrimination.
Liberal Democrat peer Lord Avebury, who helped put together the UK's original race relations laws, said it was hard to understand why it was not already on the statute books.
Critics say caste is a hereditary hierarchy which leads to the exploitation and abuse of untouchables, or dalits.
'Handful of cases'
But many Hindu and Sikh groups think the problem has been overplayed.
Swaminathan Vaidyanathan, of the Hindu Forum of Britain, thinks there are probably only a handful of genuine cases of caste discrimination in the UK.
He believes a new law to specifically tackle the problem is unnecessary and could even end up backfiring.
"By legislation Members of Parliament intend to eradicate caste discrimination. In fact, it would be creating more caste consciousness in this society," he said.
"On this basis we oppose legislation measures to address the caste issue in this country."
(Full article - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22163269)
Victims say legislation is badly needed as thousands of people are suffering abuse and prejudice.
Campaigners say caste divides society unfairly, with those at the bottom - often called untouchables - expected to do dirty, poorly paid work.
They complain they are also expected to - and forced to - look up to and respect higher castes.
Those arguing for action say such discrimination is outlawed in India and they want similar protection in Britain too.
A young mother from the Midlands called Harjit (not her real name) told the BBC she regularly faced problems from higher castes.
She said: "On one occasion there were a load of young guys, They had such yobbish thuggish behaviour and it was so intimidating.
"They did a hand gesture of a gun. They pointed it to my sister. They threatened to kill her and they said, 'All of yous are on the list.'"
Harjit says she has had to put up with such treatment from a very young age.
"Soon as they found out who you were, they used to ask you what temple you go to. What your surname is. Who you were.
"Then the taunting would start. Even as young as six or seven," she said.
Harjit has reported some of the incidents to the authorities, but she claims she was not taken seriously.
She thinks they struggled to understand what was going on and why.
Two years ago, her 17-year-old sister Ranbir (not her real name) was confronted by a man in the street who demanded she remove a religious necklace.
When she refused he said he knew her name and where she lived. It terrified her because she had never seen the man before.
"He said to me, 'You need to be careful. Just watch yourself' and then mentioned my name. It was frightening," she said.
Meena Varma, of the Dalit Solidarity Network, thinks only a new law would protect Harjit, Ranbir and others like her.
The group is planning to hold a rally outside Parliament on Tuesday as MPs debate and vote on the issue.
"Why on earth are we allowing discrimination on this basis? We don't allow it on any other basis. But we are allowing this because there is no legal provision," she said.
Last month, the House of Lords voted by a majority of 103 to amend the Equality Act 2010 to include caste discrimination.
Liberal Democrat peer Lord Avebury, who helped put together the UK's original race relations laws, said it was hard to understand why it was not already on the statute books.
Critics say caste is a hereditary hierarchy which leads to the exploitation and abuse of untouchables, or dalits.
'Handful of cases'
But many Hindu and Sikh groups think the problem has been overplayed.
Swaminathan Vaidyanathan, of the Hindu Forum of Britain, thinks there are probably only a handful of genuine cases of caste discrimination in the UK.
He believes a new law to specifically tackle the problem is unnecessary and could even end up backfiring.
"By legislation Members of Parliament intend to eradicate caste discrimination. In fact, it would be creating more caste consciousness in this society," he said.
"On this basis we oppose legislation measures to address the caste issue in this country."
(Full article - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22163269)