Sikhs blame British policy of 'Asian' tag
Rashmee Roshan Lall
[ 17 Nov, 2006 2110hrs IST
TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
LONDON: British Sikhs have stepped up their attack on the UK's politically-correct policy of lumping Sikhs and Hindus with the omnibus tag 'Asian' instead of clearly identifying Muslims as the offenders when needed, just 48 hours after a Scottish Sikh teenager was viciously attacked by a white gang and forced to submit to having his long hair hacked off.
In a loaded attack on British political correctness, Sikh leaders blamed the Edinburgh incident on the UK's refusal to identify Asian Muslims as perpetrators of crime. Instead, said the Sikh Federation, Britain's only Sikh political party, racist offenders against whites are routinely described by the British media as "Asian". The Federation said, "The media by adopting such a crude policy was putting at risk those most visible amongst Asians - a simple phrase that the media is using to describe those with brown skin."
The attack on British political correctness comes nearly a fortnight after the high-profile sentencing in the Scottish city of Glasgow of three 'Asian' Muslim men who horrifically killed a young white man, Kriss Donald, in a racist attack that shocked Scotland and much of the world.
On Friday, UK Sikh leaders said the community believed that the attack on the Sikh teenager was "directly linked to (the) conviction in Scotland for the horrific killing of a young white man by four Muslims."
They said the 15-year-old Sikh boy may have become the unfortunate scapegoat for white teenagers angry about Donald's racially-aggravated murder at the hands of a brown gang.
The Federation said, "Sikhs with turbans are the most visible minority in the UK that is facing increased racism as the media and public authorities are adopting 'general' descriptions and avoiding the harsh facts and reality of the situation".
Sikh leaders told TOI , in another loaded reference to recent racially-charged attacks on British Sikh cricketer Monty Panesa, "We have had killings, bombings and mass murder in the UK.
What will it take for the media and public authorities to start calling a spade a spade and educating the public about Sikhs, who do not want to be called Asians or Indians and are different to Muslims and Hindus?
The events of the last few days show if you are a 15 year old schoolboy or a world famous international cricketer you have one thing in common - your Sikh identity and you will be subjected to racial abuse and attack as the authorities are failing the Sikhs."
Sikhs blame British policy of 'Asian' tag-Rest of World-World-NEWS-The Times of India
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Rashmee Roshan Lall
[ 17 Nov, 2006 2110hrs IST
LONDON: British Sikhs have stepped up their attack on the UK's politically-correct policy of lumping Sikhs and Hindus with the omnibus tag 'Asian' instead of clearly identifying Muslims as the offenders when needed, just 48 hours after a Scottish Sikh teenager was viciously attacked by a white gang and forced to submit to having his long hair hacked off.
In a loaded attack on British political correctness, Sikh leaders blamed the Edinburgh incident on the UK's refusal to identify Asian Muslims as perpetrators of crime. Instead, said the Sikh Federation, Britain's only Sikh political party, racist offenders against whites are routinely described by the British media as "Asian". The Federation said, "The media by adopting such a crude policy was putting at risk those most visible amongst Asians - a simple phrase that the media is using to describe those with brown skin."
The attack on British political correctness comes nearly a fortnight after the high-profile sentencing in the Scottish city of Glasgow of three 'Asian' Muslim men who horrifically killed a young white man, Kriss Donald, in a racist attack that shocked Scotland and much of the world.
On Friday, UK Sikh leaders said the community believed that the attack on the Sikh teenager was "directly linked to (the) conviction in Scotland for the horrific killing of a young white man by four Muslims."
They said the 15-year-old Sikh boy may have become the unfortunate scapegoat for white teenagers angry about Donald's racially-aggravated murder at the hands of a brown gang.
The Federation said, "Sikhs with turbans are the most visible minority in the UK that is facing increased racism as the media and public authorities are adopting 'general' descriptions and avoiding the harsh facts and reality of the situation".
Sikh leaders told TOI , in another loaded reference to recent racially-charged attacks on British Sikh cricketer Monty Panesa, "We have had killings, bombings and mass murder in the UK.
What will it take for the media and public authorities to start calling a spade a spade and educating the public about Sikhs, who do not want to be called Asians or Indians and are different to Muslims and Hindus?
The events of the last few days show if you are a 15 year old schoolboy or a world famous international cricketer you have one thing in common - your Sikh identity and you will be subjected to racial abuse and attack as the authorities are failing the Sikhs."
Sikhs blame British policy of 'Asian' tag-Rest of World-World-NEWS-The Times of India
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