Lessons for this country's future
David Cameron, more than his party, has won the election. He talks about One nation, Toryism, but he has been ruthless in his campaign, has mercilessly killed the coalition, and the victory has its own serious problems. European Union, Union with Scotland, economy, dissension within his own party are surely very big hurdles in his path. Human traffic in the Mediterranean and the reluctance of the Tory bigwigs in taking fair share of the refugees are additional challenges. It has happened in the past that a good man with honourable intentions has been prohibited by his own supporters and especially with his limitless promises to achieve his objectives. Nevertheless, each one of us whose heart is for the Common Man would wish PM Cameron and his government the best of luck for economic prosperity, unhindered progress of the United Kingdom and its rightful role on the world stage, remaining in the European Union.
It appears that Cameron has especially chosen to cultivate British Indians in pursuing his desire to have more trade with and investment from India. Nearly 2 million British Indians are surely in his calculations. He has not discounted Pakistan or the British Pakistanis too. Labour, on the other hand, appeared to have lost substantial support from the British Indian community especially Hindus and Sikhs, both for its omissions and commissions and its preference for the Pakistani and Bangladesh vote. For the first time, the Labour perceived, and to a certain extent the Conservatives, have tried to have a mix of religion/nationality and politics. This can work to a certain extent but the net gain is marginal, negative or problematic.
Right up to 6th May the 'Golden Triangle' officials were preparing to embark on post election negotiations. Sir Jeremy Haywood, Cabinet Secretary, Chris Martin, the Prime Minister's Principle Private Secretary and Sir Christopher Geidt, the Queen's Private Secretary, had been hyper active to handle the constitutional contingencies of a Toryor Labour minority win. The United Kingdom has no written constitution and the main reference points are: precedent and the Cabinet manual, non binding guidelines prepared by civil servants and constitutional experts in 2010. By lunch time on 8th May all such notes and documents were being shredded but it was necessary to prepare for contingencies.
The elections are necessary and they are very expensive too. Between May 2010 and December 2014, £110 million donations were received by Labour, £90 million by the Conservatives and £23.5 million by the Liberal Democrats respectively. Labour could not claim to have been short of some change. The Liberal Democrats were also not so poor in view of its 57 MPs and a limited number of winnable seats.
Strange signals are coming from the community. A certain campaign was on social media to label Labour as anti-Hindu/Sikh. Equally for whatever reason the Labour party appears to at least some as the one who did not listen to or care for the British Indian contingent which is more than double that of the British Pakistanis. We should await analysis to deduce any lessons for the future of democracy in this country.
Minority languages are useful for GB, don’t kill them
In the last phase of the elections news came that Bangali, Gujarati, languages will be removed from the educational system. Some opposition, made several Conservative politicians assure the community that this is not the case. Rt Hon Nicky Morgan, now Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities who won in Loughborough is supposed to have assured her voters that minority languages will have their rightful presence in the educational system.
This reminds me of Sir Richard Francis Burton who left Trinity College, Oxford, in 1842 in a very strange vehicle – a dog cart. The same Richard Francis Burton joined the Indian service and reached India. Within six months he qualified as an interpretor in Hindustani. Four months later he passed the examination to interpret in Gujarati. Many more languages followed, until he was eventually said to be proficient in an astonishing total of 40 languages and dialects.
More important is to recollect the fact that on December 20, 1856, Burton arrived on the island of Zanzibar with his companion Jack Speke. Six months later, under the banner of Sultan of Zanzibar, the two men set off into the interior of Tanganika, eventually to be joined by 132 porters. The rest is history but what is more important to remember is the Dewan (Chief Administrator) of the Sultan was a Gujarati Bhatia as well as several other Gujarati Muslims and the advantage of knowing Gujarati and other Indian languages enabled Sir Richard Francis Burton to achieve his objectives. These facts are extracted from 'Sir Richard Burton's journey to the 'Secret City' by Severino Baraldi.
Today, the Indian diaspora is all over the world. In 174 countries out of those 206 UNO registered, Gujaratis are settled in some numbers and wherever there is a Gujarati there is trade and commerce. There are also potentials for bankers, investment advisors, traders and other professionals. Nicky Morgan should remember and ensure that the advantage of the knowledge of the Indic languages available to 3 million British Asians is not lost for ever. Also for our younger generations it is important to remember that the knowledge their 'mother tongues' will be helpful not only to their careers but to retain the cultural aspects of one's own heritage.
