Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Barnie Choudhury: Hostile attitudes are historic

by BARNIE CHOUDHURY

Former BBC journalist


THERE’S an old joke. How do you know when a politician is lying? When their lips move. I was reminded of that when I watched the BBC’s The Secret Windrush Files.

My old friend David Olusoga forensically destroyed any idea that the UK’s “hostile environment” immigration policy was created by Theresa May when she was home secretary.

Using government papers in The National Archives, David’s compelling thesis was that right at the beginning of the end of Empire, no matter which party was in power, Britain wanted to keep out British subjects of colour. Immigration policy after immigration policy found ways to discriminate against Commonwealth citizens who had served King and country. Not only that, in the 1950s prime minister Winston Churchill clearly aligned himself to the racist ‘Keep England White’ brigade.

The sacrifice of British subjects around the Commonwealth was conveniently forgotten. Lest we forget, more than 87,000 Indians, pre-partition, died during the Second World War. And how shabbily they were treated. After that war, like thousands from the Caribbean, south Asians answered the call to rebuild their “motherland”, blitzed by the enemy. Instead of welcoming those who had stood shoulder-to-shoulder with allied troops, the UK government shamefully encouraged white people from Europe, including Germany’s Schutzstaffel (SS) troops to settle and assimilate in Britain.

The fear of successive governments appeared to be that ‘coloured people’ would ‘breed’ with indigenous whites causing untold ‘social problems’, and that they would simply come to the UK to scrounge off the state. With the benefit of 70 years hindsight, how wrong the fearmongers were. In 2011 under one in 10 was in a mixed-race relationship, and Indians,

Pakistanis and Bangladeshis were least likely to marry or cohabit outside their ethnic group. The 2021 Census will add to our knowledge, but I would suspect from anecdotal evidence and observation that south Asians will continue to be those least likely to favour ‘interethnic breeding’. Sadly, honour-based violence is alive and well in the UK.

When it comes to ‘scrounging off the state’, the government’s own figures show that 56 per cent of families in England and Wales receive some sort of assistance. White British families receive most benefits, at 58 per cent. While it could be argued that proportionately more ethnic minorities claim benefit, we shouldn’t forget the contribution they make to the UK’s

economy. We know that last year 800 Indian companies operated in the UK and were worth almost £47 billion, paying £360 million into our treasury coffers.

So, don’t ever say we come to the UK to live off benefits. Having said that, unfortunately, like all ethnic groups, we do have benefit cheats. It is a price we pay for a system which is meant to make sure the poorest in our country are not left unsupported, and, boy, do we need it. How can we in 2019, as the seventh richest nation in the world, justify the need for 2,000 foodbanks handing out 1.6 million food parcels a year?

Yet immigration remains a hot topic. Conservative MP Boris Johnson’s made it a centrepiece in his bid for Number 10. He wants to introduce an Australian-style visa-points system if he becomes the prime minister. Over the past 20 years, Australia has tied immigration to skilled labour. That is why Tory MPs are telling south Asian businesses that a vote for Boris

would ensure parity with EU immigrants post-Brexit.

Based on past form, I remain sceptical because there will be loopholes in favour of white migrants. Take for example the Scottish restaurateur, Ajmal Mushtaq, who wants authentic, fully trained chefs from India. He’s been told that because he also runs a takeaway service he cannot hire from there.

Why is fairness so important? Because loyalty to subjects, no matter their skin colour, means a better chance of reciprocated faithfulness. If successive UK governments want people of colour to put their chosen country above all else, then fairness needs to be transparent in all our policies. It’s not pandering to the politically correct. It’s sound business sense. If the Tories want the south Asian vote, then they should point to one fact. In the past two decades, India and China, this century’s two emerging economic superpowers, have been the largest countries of origin for permanent migrants to Australia.

What successive UK governments have singularly failed to recognise is that immigration enhances a country’s talent pool. Our regressive policies which discriminate against people of colour are the main reasons why wealthy middle-class south Asian students are choosing to study in America, Canada and... Australia.

In 30 years, we will know the truth behind how this government framed its immigration policy post-Brexit. Until then, based on history, I can’t help but seeing a politician’s lips moving and thinking about that old joke.

More For You

Viras’ book 'Art Under the Indian Sun' dives into artistic legacies of Raj

Jennifer Howes, Ratna Vira and Sona Datta

Viras’ book 'Art Under the Indian Sun' dives into artistic legacies of Raj

Dr Sona Datta

ON A crisp evening before Christmas, I found myself at the Traveller’s Club in London’s posh Pall Mall.

Like other anachronisms of old England, this particular place doesn’t permit unaccompanied women. So, Jennifer Howes (an expat Canadian) and me (a British-born Bengali) arrived as two arch Indophiles, sporting silk scarves and lipstick, for an author-talk at the invitation of the Indian High Commissioner, Vikram Doraiswami.

Keep ReadingShow less
Aga Khan IV tribute: ‘Life defined by service to humanity

His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV and Lord Tariq Ahmad

Aga Khan IV tribute: ‘Life defined by service to humanity

Lord Tariq Ahmad

LAST Tuesday (4), I learned of the sad news of the passing of an incredible humanitarian, scholar and religious leader, who inspired and brought hope to millions – His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, the Imam of the Ismaili Muslims. (To god we belong, to god we shall return).

He was a global leader renowned for his contribution to humanitarian work, development and the promotion of pluralism, religious coexistence and was a guardian of cultural heritage. Prince Karim Aga Khan studied in Switzerland and later at Harvard University, where he earned a degree in Islamic history in 1959. His studies provided him with a deep understanding of his faith and global affairs, shaping his leadership and vision for his community and his service to humanitarian causes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Aga Khan IV tribute: ‘Prince Rahim has large shoes to fill'

Lord Rumi Verjee and Prince Karim Aga Khan IV

Aga Khan IV tribute: ‘Prince Rahim has large shoes to fill'

Lord Rumi Verjee

IT WAS with great sadness that we heard of the passing of His Highness the Aga Khan in Lisbon last Tuesday (4).

It was also with great joy that we heard the following day of the appointment of Prince Rahim Aga Khan as the new spiritual leader of the global Ismaili community of more than 14 million people around the world.

Keep ReadingShow less
Will government inaction on science, trade & innovation cost the UK its economic future?

The life sciences and science tech sectors more widely continue to see out migration of companies

iStock

Will government inaction on science, trade & innovation cost the UK its economic future?

Dr Nik Kotecha OBE

As the government wrestles with market backlash and deep business concern from early economic decisions, the layers of economic complexity are building.

The Independent reported earlier in January on the government watchdog’s own assessment of the cost of Brexit - something which is still being fully weighed up, but their estimates show that “the economy will take a 15 per cent hit to trade in the long term”. Bloomberg Economics valued the impact to date (in 2023) at £100bn in lost output each year - values and impact which must be read alongside the now over-reported and repetitively stated “black hole” in government finances, being used to rationalise decisions which are already proving damaging.

Keep ReadingShow less
‘Peace in Middle East hinges on Trump’s volatile decisions’

Israeli military vehicles stationed in Nabatieh, Lebanon, last Sunday (26)

‘Peace in Middle East hinges on Trump’s volatile decisions’

CAN the ceasefire endure for any significant length of time? This would go some way to ameliorating the incredible suffering in the region, but does it all hinge on one man, more than the future of the region has ever depended in its entire history?

Ceasefires can’t hold if no progress is made in addressing the underlying issues that led to the conflict in the first place.

Keep ReadingShow less