Uniting against communalism and racism
A new campaign seeks to overcome tension between Sikh and Muslim youth in
Britain's south asian diaspora. B. Skanthakumar reports
A Rally for unity among South Asian communities in Southall, London, took place on August 17th amid official celebrations of India and Pakistan's fiftieth anniversary of independence. The Rally was a response to recent tension and outbreaks of violence between gangs of Sikh and Muslim youth which has polarised both communities and introduced new difficulties to communities increasingly stratified on class lines.
The initiative against communalism drew controversy among so-called community leaders as well as Sikh organisations agitating for independence from India. The Sikh separatist (Khalistani) movement was prominent in protests and picketing of all celebrations of Indian independence in Britain among which it mistakenly included the August 17th event. Violence
Several days before the Rally, the offices of the anti-racist Southall Monitoring Group (SMG) were firebombed and its Director, Suresh Grover, was the target of death threats and a vicious poster campaign. Fortunately no one was hurt.
The Rally was one of the first initiatives of a new organisation, SMG-Unity, which campaigns locally against communalism and racism.
The Rally was well attended. Speakers included local Labour MP, Piara Singh Khabra, and women from the large local refugee community from Somaliland.
Britain's mainstream media claims that communalism is being imported from the sub-continent into the diaspora in Britain and beyond. But according to SMG-Unity member B. Skanthakumar, "young people (usually males) drawn to these obscurantist ideologies know little of society or politics in South Asia having been born or grown up in Britain. Few have even visited those countries.
"Instead these communal identities are appropriated to fill the void created by racism and insecurity. These politicalreligious movements offer an illusory 'alternative' to the daily problems of unemployment, poor and overcrowded housing, low wages and the loss of educational and recreational facilities through council cuts. They offer solidarity and support, based on communal loyalties and identity politics.
"Meanwhile, class based organisations have failed to attract and mobilise youth across ethnic and religious divides to struggle against oppression and injustice whatever its form and whomever its subject. This is the challenge ahead of SMG-Unity." October 12th March for Unity
On October 12th, a March for Unity through Southall will take place. It will be led by the Hillingdon Hospital Strikers and accompanied by drummers from the Dhol Foundation. Current supporters include cricket player Imran Khan, authors Tariq Ali and Hanif Kureishi, and, from Indian, Indira Jaisingh and Achin Vanaik.
According to the organisers, "In facing down the reactionary forces in our own communities and in our constant battles for self respect and dignity this March is a manifestation of our resolve. It deserves the active support and mobilisation of the left and labour movement."* Contact SMG-Unity at PO Box 304, Southall, UB2 5YR, Britain. © (+44 181) 843 2333, fax 813 9734.
23
* Thailand