The story of a young Hindu-Sikh couple who have sued their British (Indian origin) employers for alleged caste discrimination hit the headlines this week, providing a powerful reminder of the way the system remains alive in Britain and of a missed opportunity.

Vijay (32) and Amardeep Begraj (33) say they lost their jobs at Heer Manak, a Coventry-based firm of solicitors, because their inter-caste marriage was looked down upon by their employers (who deny the charges). It is the first such case to crop up in the British legal system, though for a long time now the problem has been seen as pervasive in British Indian society.

Caste discrimination

A government-sponsored report conducted by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research in December last year found evidence of caste discrimination and harassment.

People were bullied, encountered problems getting a job, or being promoted, others had trouble getting access to social services, and some were even turned down a place at a school, according to evidence cited by the report. It concluded that non-legislative approaches were less likely to be effective in the private sector and would not be of help when it was the authorities themselves who were the discriminators. Relying on the Indian community to take action to reduce caste discrimination and harassment is problematic, it said.

The report had followed the introduction of a mention of caste-based discrimination into Section 9(5) of Britain's Equality Act 2010, which gave the Minister the power to forbid caste discrimination — an amendment championed by Liberal Democrat House of Lords member, Lord Avebury. The Act said that Ministers could define caste to be an ‘aspect of race' like colour, nationality, and ethnic origin.

The decision on whether to implement it was meant to be dependent on the evidence that came to light in the government-sponsored report.

Yet several months on, nothing has been done to implement the clause and make caste-based discrimination unlawful.

“Ministers have the power to activate this but we are still waiting”, says Mr Davinder Prasad, General Secretary of CasteWatch U.K., the country's oldest Dalit campaign group. The report clearly demonstrated the need for protection and Parliament has given the government the authority so it is absolutely disgraceful that it has not been enabled,” said Mr Keith Porteous Wood, Executive Director of the National Secular Society, which has been heavily involved in the campaign to introduce the legislation.

Mr Wood is also sharply critical of Britain's Equality and Human Rights Commission, from which support was sought but not given, he says.

Divisive issue

The matter of caste discrimination has been a divisive issue among the Indian community here in the UK, with some religious organisations flatly denying its pervasive nature. “The Hindu Forum of Britain, for example, conducted a report in 2008, which found discrimination only in a social setting, but not related to goods, jobs and services. We feel the (National Institute of Economic and Social Research) report was unfair”, says its spokesperson, Mr Bharti Tailor.

The organisation has called on the government to hold implementing the report for a year while “reconciliation work” within the community is done.

A Government Equalities Office spokesperson insisted the government was committed to stamping out unfair discrimination wherever it occurred. “We are currently considering independent research into caste discrimination, carried out by National Institute of Economic and Social Research, together with comments made on equality regulations from the Red Tape Challenge Web site before deciding on what steps to take next,” they said referring to a government initiative to reduce regulatory burden.

In the case of the Begrajs, the absence of caste discrimination may not impede their case, given their different religions, says Ms Usha Sood, a human rights barrister and head of Trent Chambers. Protection against religious discrimination is part of Britain's race equality legislation.

There are also some options under European legislation which is applicable in British courts, she argues, including Article 12 of the European Convention of Human Rights which gives people the right to marry anyone they want to. However, there are many cases where members of the public who face discrimination would, under current legislation, struggle to get their voice heard, says Ms Sood.

“This (Begraj) case gives fresh impetus to the campaign for caste discrimination's inclusion in equality legislation”.

Related Topics