Racism and its Existence in Contemporary Britain - Essay Example

Topic: Racism and its existence in contemporary Britain No single definition of race can be construed, for it has many dimensions with regard to heredity, history, evolution, ethnicity and identities of intra and inter- communal relations. The idea of race as is sought to be defined is basically in mind of the individuals. When westerners began to explore the other worlds, due to their enterprising capabilities and an overall encouraging environment and spirit of discovery provided by their Governments, they had been directed to identify the territorial limits and the resource base of those particular areas. Upon making contact with the natives of these lands, the Westerners had the idea of dominating and subjugating the populace of these lands for providing them cheap labour etc to get benefited from the already existing bountiful resource base. The Renaissance had of course given a fillip to dynamism of ideas in Europe but these ideas were meant only to elevate the immediate environment and such enlightenment was not required for experimentation in the lands which were later to be colonized. It was a deliberate policy devised at the highest levels and its implementation was ensured to keep the status-quo in favour of the would-be colonizers intact. This probably must explain the background in respect of all that we associate racism currently with. And wherever the European colonizers went, they had neither any compulsion to neither extend respect to the way of life under their territories nor incorporate whatever wisdom these lands had to offer in return. Earlier, similar enterprises by powers other than those of Europe and the West also exhibited the same pattern (1). Arabs also under the zeal of their religion became colonial powers and controlled far more territories permitted by their strength in their time. In so far as a comparison is sought to be drawn between Arabs and the West, the former did understand their people and themselves changed in a way that suited their political and social correctness. The Westerns did not learn the same from Arabs despite their same religious and civilizational origins in the Semitic nature of their religion and culture. Racism is generally nourished as a sort of belief that the races have distinctive cultural characteristics determined by hereditary factors and that endows some races with an intrinsic superiority. This belief accordingly involves abuse and aggressive behaviour towards members of another race. Social scientists are of the opinion that ethnic groups have or do create a sense of grouping in a social environment with an imaginary or shared heredity, culture, linguistic commonality etc that provides them a space and a sense of belonging. All this also provides a political power in modern democracies and this creates tensions. Conversely, schematic interventions by the State in development of the institutions that reinforced the belief of racial superiority was a constant practice till as late as 1980s as was noticed in case of apartheid in South Africa. The racism in the context of Britain can be understood by the presence of sizeable immigrant population presently finding itself along with its White population. These groups of population, mainly Asian from the sub-continent and African who mainly happen to be the progeny of the immigrant labour force that Britain so freely admitted in its territory before and after World War-II. Thus an existential question has to be answered, whether the multi-culturalism in contemporary Britain, as is propounded by the values of the past of these immigrant communities can get a space and accommodation? The sky-line of British localities is dotted with temple spears, mosque tombs with sounds of gongs and Azan emanating from these. Will the society which was totally White and British with a language that is now universally spoken by nearly two-third of the Word population, shed its definition of being British only vis-à-vis the White population or is it prepared to incorporate the elements of other ethnic groups in its nation-hood? The explanation of racism in terms of personality is to ask why certain people become racially prejudiced, while others do not. This psychological question is relevant. Van de Berghe (2) explains two theories: “frustration-aggression” and “authoritarian personality”. People with an “authoritarian” personality exist in large numbers in every cohesive society, and it is because of the manipulation by them that gives racism its strength.   Then there is a strong belief amongst some races that race has something to do with the clan and features. The Aryans would consider their race superior to that of Mongols or Dravidians and vice versa. Adolf Hitler in Mein Kampf (3) too considered Germans and all Aryans as superiors and that is why he went on a killing spree to annihilate other races, mostly Jews. Even today, many people seem to believe in a kind of linear evolution of civilizations and cite reasons for being so-called superiors. Darwinism, although originally a theory in the biological sciences, was adopted by bourgeois social science of the late 19th century and the notions of evolution, survival of the fittest, hereditary determinism and near constancy of the gene pool were used to describe races. It was further the belief that Whites are so-called superiors and those born under hot-climatic conditions were ``inferiors’’ But then of late, victims of racism are not only blacks. There have been a number of instances when Whites who are the aborigines of Brittan, have too become the victim of racism in United Kingdom, accusing blacks and those of Asian origin of killings and resorting to murderous attacks on White populace. The "racist murders" of Kriss Donald in Glasgow in 2004 and Ross Parker in Peterborough in 2001 demonstrate how society has been forced to redefine racism, reports BBC (4). Until the mid-nineties, the governments British Crime Survey only asked ethnic minority groups whether they had been the victim of a crime which was racially motivated. Since then, all victims are asked and the picture has changed dramatically. The Observer (5), while quoting about the data released under Freedom of Information Legislation, shows that between 1995 and 2004, there have been 58 murders where the police consider that a racial element played a key part. Out of these, 24 have been where the murder victims were White. The figures also overturn the assumption that almost all racial murders are committed against ethnic minority victims. But then, BBC (4) report quoting British Crime Survey, has a different story to tell. The most recent figures suggest the incidence of race crime is falling - a drop of 13% year on year. Amid this soup of subjective and contradictory statistics, what is clear is that race crime is no longer a black and white issue, although numbers of Asians were attacked in Britain, particularly after 7/7. Most of them were the Sikhs, the victims of mistaken identity, who were compared with the followers of Osama Bin Laden for wearing turbans! There is further no exact record available with the agencies that suggest attacks primarily conduced because one race disliked the other. For example, during or in the aftermath of a riot, no proper data can be formulated which could explain real motives behind a so-called race crime. Like anywhere else where the problem of adjustment in a multi-cultural society ( especially democracies) is a complex one, Britain also is currently witnessing the same tensions and devising its own strategies to combat the same. At the base of it all is the fear in the minds of its populace that State institutions make the minority out of the majority while the minorities accuse the same institutions of being prejudiced against them. The surveys carried out by Police and other organizations in Britain fail to conclusively establish whether the racist crimes are motivated by the colour of skin or these simply are mafia-style street brawls. Actually, most of the time, it may be the press and other media agencies which would like us to believe that whatever criminal activity takes place, is driven only by race conflicts. The politicians fan the fires. Passions run high and insecurities get splashed throughout media. (6) The ethnic groups that presently exist in Britain find a political space by the assertion of their race that explains the conflict in the contemporary Britain. As per the Government’s British Crime Survey report, when ethnic minority groups were asked whether they had been the victims of the racially motivated crime, they made some very interesting revelations. In 2004, over 87,000 people from Black or Minority Ethnic Communities (BME) said they had been a victim of a racially motivated crime. In the same period, 92,000 White people said they had also fallen victim. It may be mentioned here that 90 percent of the people in Britain are White and non-Whites have the disadvantage of being victims of racially motivated crimes. Focusing on violent racial attacks, the report said that of the 10 percent of the population, 49,000 BME were victims. Among Whites, the number was 77,000. Of those that involved wounding 4,000 were BME. Among the White population it was 20,000. According to the most recent Home Office analysis, the chances for a white person are less than 1%. For Black and Asian people it is put at about 1%. (4) There is no clear-cut policy and the will to correct the rot, other than the strategy of containment by the Government. Various attempts to hold inter-community dialogues by politicians etc have not proved worth-while beyond announcements and public relation exercises However; it was remarkable that in the aftermath of 7/7 a need was felt to empathize with the Muslim community which was necessitated by the fact that the British Foreign Policy had failed vis-à-vis its misadventure in Iraq. The militant Islamic dimension to racial tensions is an exclusive strain with a virulent hue. Muslims find themselves in the process of being hated by all and sundry. The elders are of the opinion that the young no more listen to them while the latter accuse them of avoiding understanding on their part. There have been open comments by British politicians that the Muslims especially have failed to integrate within the lager British society. The issue of Nikab for example in respect of Muslim women-workers to be avoided finds an echo across the political spectrum. It is a paradox that even though there has to be respect for the traditions, the same can not be an alibi for segregating the groups on the basis of ethnicity and religion etc. (7) There seems to be a pattern in health and educational sectors where discrimination is more pronounced with respect to engagement of black workers in jobs that provide much lower payment like pension and other related benefits. A part of the problem which explains the reason behind the same is that the black and other ethnic population is of a younger age and the lack of experience may be thought to be an impediment but it has been the general experience that at work places there are subtle moves to project the issue of race to the disadvantage of these population groups (8) . Similarly, Indian and Muslim educationists allege that in the matter of promotions they are always at the receiving end despite proper legislation that already exists. Perhaps the problem is somewhat institutionalized. According to Dominic Casciani (9), minority workers progress more slowly to higher grades within services and remain concentrated in certain positions. He relies on 2001 Census conducted in Britain. Similarly, in Education Sector, the Guardian (10) in its report by Polly Curtis says that there is a racial discrimination with the ethnic minority. ``Black and ethnic-minority staff is there at the bottom of the rung, but disappear at the top. The statistics bear out what our members tell us: there are serious difficulties with promotion procedures." Dr Adel Nasser (9) at Manchester University has remained one such victim. He has been involved in two legal actions over allegations of discrimination which were settled out of court. One of the conditions of the last settlement was that the university set up a committee to examine equality issues within the university. There are now around 45 ethnic-minority academics on that committee. The Britain’s Race Relations Amendment Act 2002 has made it mandatory for all public institutions to ensure that their policies do not discriminate on grounds of race. Research, however, shows that progress is sluggish. Now under the changes to race relations legislation public bodies, including the police, are required to implement anti-racist and equal opportunities measures within their recruitment and workforce and contacts with the public. But then there are number of areas in Britain where people of different origin live in peace and harmony. Leicester is one such place that is regarded as a model of British diversity. About 35 percent of its 300,000 inhabitants are Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs or of Caribbean descent. Inter-communal relations are excellent. The Britain has further allowed number of sports-persons of black origin to represent that country. Monty Panesar or Vikram Solanki are two such players playing for England Cricket team. Similarly, the country has included number of blacks in athletics and soccer and the change is considered a positive in taking all races on board. If racism is a monster that threatens the civil society and very source of democracy that is Britain, it has to be belittled by State institutions and NGOs repeatedly with the opposite assertion of heightened sense of awareness by its population that stands for democracy, human rights and enlightening qualities that form the core of this Nation. But the same has to be dealt with an utmost sensitivity reminiscent of the British values of yore. ============ ================ WORKS CITED: 1. A H Richmond (1988), Immigration and Ethnic Conflict 2. Vande Berghe (1967), Race and Racism---a Comparative Perspective 3. Mein Kampf--- My Struggle. Autobiography of Adolf Hitler, Vol-I ( Scker and Warburg Publications) 4. British Broadcasting Corporation, www.bbc.uk 5. The Observer, Sunday October 22, 2006 6. (www.barossa-religion.org) 7 .New Statesman, London (October 16, 2006) 8. www.asianleader.co.uk 9. Dominic Casciani, BBC News Online Community Affairs Reporter 10. The Guardian, November, 22, 2005 (http://education.guardian.co.uk/racism) ======================================================= . Read More