'Black and Asian teachers have many problems in Britain'

Piara Singh KhabraBetween the '50s, when I came to Britain and now, there's a lot of difference. In the beginning, it was a period of rebuilding after the war and there was lots of work. But now the working class people here are disadvantaged. Working class children of Indian origin don't have equal opportunity. Ethnic children are not catered for, they lack personal identity, they have to be given confidence. Britain is a multiracial society, but this does not mean that there is no racial discrimination.I'm totally for safeguards for minorities. The system you have doesn't guarantee the equality of status, education, housing opportunity. Society in this country is not yet willing to accept that it is multiracial. I'm upset that Britain moves slowly in making itself a multiracial society.-Piara Singh Khabra, president of the Indian Workers Association in Southall.The education system is wholly white-oriented. There's discrimination from the start. The English children taunt you and call you 'Paki'. Classes are overcrowded and the kids sitting at the back of the class are unattended. It's a fight against the system. There, all the headmaster is interested in is that a student can fill up a job application form.Bhupinder Singh BanghuAnd in the end a child usually leaves school feeling a failure. Look at that guy (pointing to a bulky Indian youth sitting at a desk), he's had seven years in school and he's still illiterate. Sure, he can read and write, but he can't fill up a form. The Southall Youth Movement has helped young people to voice their views; it has given them a certain amount of confidence. We help them with employment problems, help people fill in forms. Because of this they don't feel inferior. Our parents who brought us here didn't tell us what the problems were. But I don't think you can blame our parents. We have a right to stay in this country. They (the white population) say we're living off the dole. So are their people. It's a common problem.-Bhupinder Singh Banghu,22, of the Southall Youth Movement.Nirmal KalhanWe are a law abiding community in Southall and it has never happened that our shops and boys have been attacked by the local people. Normally, there are no problems. It is only when the outsiders come that there is trouble. What our boys did (after the attack) was remarkable. Our community has shown that we can give them a good fight. We are proud of our children and their friends. They feel that we have to be prepared for self-defence.-Nirmal Kalhan, whose store was attacked in Southall by white goondas on July 3, 1981, setting off the Southall riot.Parmanand"I think a situation will come in this country in 10 to 15 years when we will probably have to move out. It will be due to unemployment and recession. Britain has fallen way behind, and it is really suffering. The only reason it did well before was the import of cheap labour from its former colonies. Now, everyone has equal rights and they want equal wages. Next to the Jews, the Indian community is willing to work hard. We work 16 or 17 hours a day. The English want 33 or 35 hour working weeks. The West Indians are worse than the British. The younger generation can't find work and they blame the Indians for everything."-Parmanand, 35, businessman from Birmingham.Dr Bhikhu Parekh"There is a sense of crisis. The old traditions continue-that is our strength. But slowly the family is breaking. About 10 to 12 per cent of Indian families are breaking up. More children are going into remand homes. Divorces are increasing and more young Indians are marrying out of their community. These are new pressures which the Indian community can't easily meet. Socially we are in a stage of transition, but we don't know where we're going. We're still very Indian. But the younger generation is moving away, even though, if you probe a little deeper you find that even they remain remarkably Indian. There are tensions which baffle us. We're trying to come to terms with them, but we may not succeed."- Dr Bhikhu Parekh,48, lecturer in politics, University of Hull.Farrukh Dhondy"Black immigrants didn't come to England because it was the land of Shakespeare or because they owed allegiance to the Queen. They came to make money. But British society has a rigid class structure, and apart from doing the filthy jobs, they were not given a place in British society. Britain told them you are the children of bus conductors and that's what you will stay. The result was that young blacks have become a rootless generation. It's a sort of American dream going sour. So what do they go and do? They can't join society; they don't want to join society. The only solution is collective self-help."-Farrukh Dhondy,author-playwright, community worker."Southall is a sad situation. Asians have congregated there in a small area and the members of the local community naturally resent that. There is resentment particularly among the lower paid people who see a lot of Asian people have come here and taken their jobs. I believe the trouble comes from ignorance and lack of understanding on their part and ours too. We are among people of a foreign culture and we do not try to understand them or their culture. The British on the whole are conservative, they are quiet. Sometimes we have to take the initiative and show them our hospitality."- Karamat Hussain, 55, electrical engineer and mayor of Brent, a London borough.'I find it slightly ironical that until Southall occurred the Indians kept themselves apart. Three years ago I made three documentaries which looked at the problem and predicted that there would be violence in the streets. But the Indians didn't think it was their problem, that it only affected the West Indians. Now suddenly there is a new awareness. Perhaps it's the vigilante groups, but when the Southall trouble started, the Asian boys sent for reinforcements from as far away as (the neighbouring town of) Slough. There have been many riots and there will be more. There's a certain amount of confusion and frustration which will be manifested as frustration in not getting jobs, in not having enough money, in not being able to acquire all the goods advertised on television."- Zia Mohyeddin, 48, television producer in Birmingham and one-time actor."Black and Asian teachers have many problems in this country. For one, we find it difficult to get a job in a good school. You will find that most Asian teachers are working in schools in socially deprived areas. Many never get beyond their probationary year, because the authorities claim their English is not up to the standard. Mainly it is a matter of accents, not bad English. Many teachers are under pressure both from the education authorities as well as children whom they teach. Many British schools have become recruiting grounds for the National Front. I know people who would like to return to India, but what is the future for us there?"- Radhika Ranjan Ray, 45, law teacher and active member of the National Union of Teachers."I expected the riots. You can see that they (white British) have a bad feeling about us. There are two different societies here in Britain, and I think as the population increases and more people are unemployed, it will get worse."- Ramanbhai Mistry, 34, a greengrocer in north London.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Nov 14, 2013 11:23 IST--- ENDS ---

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'Black and Asian teachers have many problems in Britain'

"We are a law abiding community in Southall and it has never happened that our shops and boys have been attacked by the local people. Normally, there are no problems. It is only when the outsiders come that there is trouble."

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