When Ram Parkash Lakha, the former mayor of Coventry, near Birmingham,
England, faced caste discrimination from upper caste voters while
seeking election in a largely Indian ward on the Labour party ticket,
he decided his election manifesto would target the age-old custom
amongst the Indian diaspora.

“When I went to seek votes from the Asian community, I was told that
they won’t vote for me because I’m a dalit (untouchable) . Initially, I
thought people who left India years ago might have done away with the
caste system – but to my surprise, it still prevails,” said Councillor
Lakha in a telephone conversation with XPRESS.

Having served in the Labour party for nearly 30 years, Lakha’s journey
into mainstream British society has been a topsy-turvy one. Born in a
small village (Nawan Pind Naicha) in the Indian state of Punjab in
1949, Lakha migrated to Britain in pursuit of a discrimination- free
life. He rose up the ladder, fighting against all odds, noticeably
favouritism at work and in politics.

“People who migrate here [to Britain] carry with them the social
discrimination which has been a bane of Indian society for centuries.
They not only practise it but also pass it on to their children, who
invariably exercise it in schools and other institutions, ” said Lakha.
According to research published by the Dalit Solidarity Network (DSN)
UK in 2006, many of the 50,000 dalits in the country have suffered
discrimination from other castes in terms of jobs, healthcare,
politics, education and schools. The report No Escape – Caste
Discrimination in the UK also highlighted the plight of married
couples who faced “racial taunts” in public.

Similar views are aired by Davinder Prasad, General Secretary of
CasteWatchUK, a secular and voluntary organisation registered with the
Charity Commission in Britain that fights for the welfare of its Asian
members mostly hailing from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Speaking over the telephone, Prasad said: “We seek to promote social
cohesion and an environment that respects and values individuals in
society, irrespective of colour, caste, creed, gender, or any other
criteria encompassed in the current equality legislation in the UK.
But to my knowledge it is not happening, since caste-based
discrimination is unbridled in those families who have either a groom
or a bride from a lower caste.”