British-Asian politicians must acknowledge their ethnic roots 

By Barnie Choudhury

THE BBC’s Nick Robinson recently made not one but two mistakes in the course of a 20-second programme link.

He did not call the MP Clive Lewis black, and he mistakenly said there were no other ‘non-white’ candidates in the Labour leadership race. Lewis chided him, and I sent an email to the Today programme editor – unacknowledged by the way, which is just plain rude – pointing out the second error.

On the face of it, two easy mistakes to make and no big deal, right? Only, it is a massive deal, and we people of colour should take some of the responsibility for allowing these errors to happen.

Had he done due diligence, Robinson would have realised that Lisa Nandy, who may look white, has Indian heritage on her famous father’s side. For future reference, Nick, the clue is also in her Bengali surname.

In a podcast with Nandy a few days later, Robinson was rather smug about his mistake. “Do you see yourself as ethnic minority? How do you define yourself?” he asked. Erm, let us debate how we view Nandy, because there are always two sides to everything. Her father, Dipak Nandy, is from Kolkata, my home city, and that is probably why I was so annoyed with Robinson. Radio 4’s Today programme is supposed to be Britain’s agenda-setting news show, and its standards are slipping.

When he came to the UK, Dipak was an academic at the University of Leeds, went on to chair Leicester’s Racial Equality Council and was the founding director of the then Runneymede Trust, the race relations think-tank. By any stretch of the imagination we can claim his daughter Lisa as ‘non-white’, since she is at least 50 per cent Indian.

I accept that identity is complex, but it should not be rocket science. Despite Robinson trying to put words in her mouth, Nandy eventually acknowledged she was ‘half-Indian’. Her admission is important because we forget at our peril those who made it easier for brown folk like me to succeed in our adopted home. Had it not been for Mahendra Kaul and Saleem Shahed who presented the BBC’s Nai Zindagi Naya Jeevan, I am not sure I would have had the confidence to think that people like me have a place on UK television.

Similarly, Dipak fought for our right to be heard, respected and treated equally. These traits used to be the hallmark of the Labour party, and that is why south Asians gravitated towards Harold Wilson when they first arrived in the UK, and remained supporters for decades. So why wouldn’t you mention your Indian heritage if you want to lead a party which was built on representing the workers and espoused equality? Nandy never appears to mention her Indian blood unless she is asked. Is it because she is afraid that those seeking a leader will view her ethnicity as a negative? If so, look at the London mayor, who made sure everyone knew he was the son of a Pakistani bus driver. No doubt this little-known fact will come out in the May elections. And just when you look for one son of a Pakistani bus driver, two arrive together. We must not forget our chancellor, who mentions this fact at least 10 times a day. But the likes of Sadiq and Sajid are few and far between.

They appear to be the exception, and sadly, political opportunism kicks in when it comes to promoting your ethnic roots. What I have noticed is that our brown politicians will do anything to get noticed while they are trying to make a name for themselves. They will proudly claim they are south Asian, will support ‘their community’ and even speak to the brown media – all while we are of use to them. But once they get into office, they ghost us, unless of course it suits their purpose, or they need our help.

I get they are politicians, and their special advisers, diary setters and gatekeepers determine the best use of their time. But here is a thought – have these non-white politicians considered the business case? Eastern Eye is read by influential south Asian people who support an array of political parties. They want to be able to get a sense of the politician and ask the question – are they worth backing?

So back to Nandy. I have left messages asking for an interview for Eastern Eye. While she has appeared in the mainstream UK media, Nandy has failed the courtesy test of getting her assistants to call me or respond to her colleagues who have tried on my behalf. That is disappointing, and typically brown.