16 April 2002
Sikhs from across the UK converged on the Houses of Parliament today to lobby their MPs on a range of issues including the question of monitoring Sikhs as a separate ethnic group.
A meeting was held in Committee Room 14 of the House of Commons where a number of MPs made short presentations relating to issued raised by Sikhs in their constituencies.
John McDonnell Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington and Chair of the Panjabis in Britain All Party Parliamentary Group highlighted several issues that he had been involved with addressing:
The opening of an office of the British High Commission in India in Jullunder City in the Punjab had been delayed by the Indian authorities, however after three years of campaigning for the opening of this office is now immanent. He also said that another problem that visa applicants face is the proliferation of unofficial agents, who end up giving bad advice to applicants. He also said that there was a number of outstanding cases of asylum seekers which he was aware of, but was confident that these could be cleared very soon.
Turning to the question of monitoring Sikhs as a separate ethnic group, which he was in favour of, he suggested that some thought be given to the ways in which the monitoring information may be used once its starts to be collected.
He mentioned the improvements being made to Guru Nanak School, which is in his constituency and said that the issue of faith schools will be raised at a conference later this year.
On the issue of Sikh employees at airports wearing the Kirpan he said that he had met with BAA who referred him to the Home Office and the Department of Transport, who referred him back to BAA. Again this was a frustrating issue which was "clearly discriminatory" especially considering the recent security lapses at Heathrow. BAA's policy seems inconsistent and they seem to be enforcing the policies which are more visible.
He was also concerned about the militarization of Punjab and said that members of the all party group were keen to urge the Indian authorities to demilitarize the area. Finally he also expressed concern with death sentence imposed upon Professor Bhuller who was being deported from Germany.
Currently the All Party Group has 70 member MPs, but considering the size and spread of the Sikh community there should be about 100 members, so he said that we should contact our MPs and ask whether they are members of the Group.
He then took some questions from the floor. The question of human rights abuses in India was raised. He responded by saying that the Group tries to work with individual cases and if appropriate encourages the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to take up specific cases. So far there has been no real progress on forming a general policy. A further question was raised concerning the stopping of Sikhs wearing orange turbans at airports. It was stated that there may be a special branch directive being applied. He said that he was not aware of this and will certainly will look into the fact and take issue.
Q: Those accused of human rights abuses in India seem to be able to come and go to and from the UK freely, while people accused of similar crimes in other countries have been stopped by the authorities.
A: John McDonnell suggested that whenever such a person arrives in the UK details should be passed on to the Group who will try to expose the cases.
Simon Hughes Liberal Democrat MP for North Southwark & Bermondsey then took to the floor and gave his full support to the campaign to record Sikhs as a separate ethnic group. He expressed concern at the Race Relations (Amendment) Act which is coming into force does not cover the Immigration and Nationality Department, so that IND Officers are entitled to discriminate on the grounds of nationality.
He also mentioned that the Terrorism Act which is in force allows the Home Secretary to proscribe organisations without trial in this country, but welcomed the establishment of the International Criminal Court this week.
On faith schools, he said that the Liberal Democrats do support faith schools in principle, but does not want schools to be able to discriminate on any grounds the pupils that they take in. And said that Religion should be taught after school by the faith community.
The thanked those present for lobbying today and suggested that in his experience minority communities do not shy away from politics, but it is clear that parliament is not representative of the community as a whole.
Steve Pound Labour MP for Ealing North began by recalling a trip to India that he and fellow All Party Group member Martin Salter. He said that it was absurd that people had to trek all the way from Panjab to Delhi in order to apply for a Visa to the UK, considering that over 90% of visas issued in Delhi were for Panjabis. He also said that there was an inherent problems in the Visa system and often people were ill-advised, however a new system of a pre application interview is being introduced.
He praised the Sikhs that had taken the time to attend today and said that lobbying in this way the best thing the Sikhs can do: "A squeaking wheel gets the oil -so make your concerns known".
He also recalled a time when he attended the Republic Day parade in New Delhi when each state has a float with traditionally dressed people, flowers etc. He remembered that the Panjabi float simply had 4 Subedar Generals standing proud and a list of all the Panjabi VC holders. This float said it all.
He said the issue of the Kirpan at Heathrow was nonsense and compared it to a situation some years ago about Hayes football league, which banned the wearing of the Kara during matches.
On faith schools, he disagreed with Simon Hughes and said that faith schools work, and do not cause division.
Chris Pond, Labour MP for Gravesham congratulated the Sikh community on the wonderful celebration of Vaisakhi in Gravesham, where the foundation stone of a new Gurdwara was also laid. He said that we all have an understanding for the Sikh principles.
On the issue of Visas, he felt that often people apply for a visa to visit the UK for a family occasion such as a birth, death or marriage. These people have the right to treated with respect. There is also the need to publicise the activities of rouge agents. He once met a couple who had paid an agent £1000 to get a meeting with their MP!
Alan Whitehead Labour MP for Southamton Test said that Southampton has a vibrant and expanding Sikh community. The annual Vaisakhi celebrations are now a significant part of Southampton's cultural calendar.
Baroness Ludford spoke about her part in the World Conference Against Racism in South Africa last year and mentioned the work of a Sikh group aiming to highlight the distinct discrimination that Sikhs face.
She is the Rapporteur on the Directive on third country residents. This directive will allow people who have lived in Europe for 5 years to have rights to citizenship and the right to free movement within Europe. She was concerned that the UK has opted out of this policy.
She was also aware of the issue of the rights of Sikhs with turbans not to have to wear hard hats on construction sites in Europe. She also highlighted other European Directives currently being discussed which may have an impact on the UK's Sikh community; The Race directive; and the Employment directive.
On ethnic monitoring she agreed that Sikhs should be monitored separately, but also highlighted the different views on any kind of monitoring in Europe for example in Sweden and France there is a lot of opposition to monitoring
Rob Marris Labour MP for Wolverhampton South West spoke next and said that he was present alongside Bruce George MP at the meeting on 16 September in Wolverhampton where the Sikh Agenda was presented. He agrees with many of the agenda items.
He said that we know there are good relations in many parts of this country, but it requires constant work to keep the relations good. He is proud that the Vaisakhi Park is in his constituency and that now it is three years old the trees are beginning to grow quite tall.
Andrew George Liberal Democrat MP for St Ives in west Cornwall said that even though his constituency does not have many Sikhs or other minority communities it is important for work to be done to tackle ant prejudice views people hold. In this regard a CRE has now been established in Cornwall.
Rt Hon Bruce George MP for Walsall South stressed how important it was for us to tolerate each other and said that the Sikh community is the number 1 ethnic minority contributor in this country.
Jim Cousins MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central also agreed that separate monitoring of Sikhs was an important issue.
Lord Tarsem King of Sandwell said that in the past Sikhs were not so involved in politics because we were to busy establishing ourselves in this country, but now we should persue political objectives. Regarding monitoring, he stated that Sandwell Council has started to monitor Sikhs as a separate group. He ended by saying, "Let us fight the common enemy, racism, and not fight among ourselves".
Vaisakhi Reception
Following the meeting a reception hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group was held in the Jubilee Room. Chair of the group, John McDonnell and Vice Chair John Randall both made short presentations before Indarjit Singh OBE was asked to talk about Vaisakhi and its meaning for Sikhs today. A short dance performance was given by girls from Hounslow.
External Link:
The Houses of Parliament