Review 2017: Politics & Society

The 2017 General Election was a precarious one for Theresa May as she lost her small majority into an even a smaller one. However, a record number of 12 MPs of Indian origin did get elected. The most famous of them, Priti Patel made it into the Cabinet, but not for long as her official Israel holiday with informal meetings with Israeli politicians broke the Ministerial code.

The much-awaited ethnicity report had no surprises which outlined that black people were three times more likely to be arrested over their white counterparts. The Indian community has a much more positive snapshot within the mainstream. Indians were half as likely to be stopped and searched by the police than their Pakistani counterparts.

On employment, British Indians had among the highest rates of hourly pay, above the national average and the white British community, while levels of employment were only marginally lower than that of white British (73% against 75%). British Indians also did well in areas of education, with one of the higher rates of students achieving at least 3 A grades at A-level in the final school exams, and, aside from the British-Chinese, were among the most likely to go on to pursue further education after finishing school. On housing, Indians, alongside white British, were also among the most likely to own their own home, and among the least likely to live in social housing.

The caste legislation continues to haunt the community as we wait for conclusions from the Government’s consultation. But with so much going with Brexit, the caste issue is not on the Government’s radar and could continue to on the back burner which will suit a large section of the Hindu community who believe that the current Equality legislation is adequate.

Caste is more visible in India, and it is subtly present in all societies globally. However, the majority of British born Asians are not necessarily aware of caste and community leaders are asking whether there is any point in conjuring up issues impacting on the Indian sub-continent onto the shores of Britain. It is vital that people take action and avoid unnecessary legislation in this area which would only burden ethnic communities with more negative stereotypes and labelling which is unhelpful to community relations.

Fighting Terrorism across the globe is a priority. India is no exception. London and Manchester are recovering from the tragedy and our prayers go out to the victim’s families. Our prayers also go out to the families of the Amarnath pilgrims in Anantnag, Jammu & Kashmir.