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Some Indians and Hindus (including Sikhs and Jains) it seems are still supporting and voting for Labour, a party of yesteryears which does not exist today. Gone is the Labour Party of Harold Wilson, the man who made it into not just the people’s party, but also managed to connect it with the diversity of the emerging communities in the UK. The Tories messed up big time in the 60’s.
There was a time when most of the Muslim, Hindu and the Black community voted for the Labour Party.
The first group to galvanise their vote strategically was the Black community. Their power base in urban centres, especially in the south, meant they could begin to exercise some power and influence. By the end of the 80’s we witnessed the election of Bernie Grant, Diane Abbott and Paul Boateng as Labour MPs. Paul Boateng in my opinion was far ahead of his time, a man who orated so well and brought his intellect to bear on important issues. By the way, Keith Vaz was also elected in the same year.
The 90’s onwards there was a step change in how the Muslim community engaged within the political arena. For those who monitored this development, they could see that this move into British politics was being embedded from the grassroots via Mosques, Masjids and Madrassas. Suddenly we saw increasing numbers of Muslims being elected as Labour Councillors. It was only a matter of time before they breached the moat and challenged to become MPs. Post Year 2000 we saw more Muslims being selected by Labour to become parliamentarians. And of course, if you contest more seats, then eventually your numbers will increase in parliament as well. The Muslim community’s strategy was paying handsome dividends now. Their membership of the Labour Party in key parts of the country increased dramatically. They placed themselves in a position of real power. The past few leaders of the Labour Party have all had to bend their knee to the Muslim community. I commend the Muslim community for infiltrating the labour party and putting themselves in such a powerful position.
During this time, and from the same starting point of the 60’s, what has happened to Hindus in Labour? Practically nothing. The Hindu and Indic community have blindly supported Labour for some 50 years and in return they have secured nothing of substance. Remember, it’s a party that continues to express anti-Modi sentiments routinely, with anti-India rhetoric as their staple diet and add to that, anti-Hindu racism as we have seen recently in Leicester and other places.
On 8th June the Labour MP Debbie Abrahams put out a post that said, ‘It was an honour to have my friend Moazzam Ahmad Khan, the former Pakistan High Commissioner, visit me in Oldham this weekend. Moazzam and I worked closely on Kashmir human rights issues’. She did this on the same day when Pakistani sponsored terrorists attacked Hindu pilgrims in Kashmir.
Yet we have some people and organisations from our community who still peddle the lies of the Labour Party to convince us to vote for them. I have heard some say that given Labour might be in power soon, that we need to bend over backwards to get their blessings. Some Hindus have still not learnt the lesson of history. You cannot be a sepoy and be a true Hindu. We are in a state of war, as I have said many times before, yet in this war it seems some Hindus are acting like Duryodhan, Bhishma pita and Karna. They are ignoring their true dharma for the sake of momentary privileges and misplaced loyalty. When we act like Dhritrashtra, is it any wonder that we fail to see our own demise?
In the political arena there is no place or space for appeasement. You cannot bend your knee to a party that is intent in undermining your dharma and your heritage. Those who tell you that they will force a change from within, let me remind these charlatans, in the past 50 years of Hindus being loyal to the Labour Party, what have they achieved? Nothing. I have yet to see even one Indic Labour MP who has taken on the Labour leadership and championed for Hindus. They failed on Jammu and Kashmir, failed on Caste, failed on India, and failed on PM Modi. There is even a group calling itself ‘Hindus for Labour’, the irony of this madness goes over the top of their collective heads when I point out that maybe it should be ‘Labour for Hindus’!
I say to you all, is it not time to ditch this misplaced loyalty and utter stupidity? I am still waiting for Keir Starmer to agree to an interview with me. I wonder what it is that he fears that he runs away from engaging with our community.
Kapil's Khichadi 