The BNP and the EDL; do they have a point?

BNP leader Nick Griffin and EDL leader Tommy Robinson are both at extreme ends of the political spectrum. Nick and the BNP use the democratic system within this country to express their views in a open and ‘honest’ way, whereas the EDL appear to be a group of misguided football hooligans with no clear agenda. Yet they both originate from the same National Front beginnings, so despite the fact that the general British public think they have no serious case in their policies they still have a valid point to make.

I think what BNP and the EDL stand for is national pride. They feel that Britain has lost its culture and its very way of life is being undermined by immigrants who use the system for their own benefit. There is NOTHING RACIST about this stance, they know as much as I do that without immigrants this country would collapse immediately. The simple fact is that immigrants in this country are taking the jobs which the ‘White British’ would never do; the jobs such as cleaning, potato picking, factory work, nurses and the list is endless.

The people who support the BNP/EDL know this fact as well, but do not seem to admit it. What they will admit however is that the growing influx of immigrants has made them nervous and agitated..they walk in their town centres and see people from all parts of the world BUT they don’t hear them speak English. They send their kids to a school where 50%+ of the students speak English as a second language, as a result the Ofsted rating is poor. They also see gangs from these various immigrant communities roaming the once peaceful streets.

It would make anyone nervous, and I think they have every right to feel this way! This is your city/town/village and over the course of your lifetime you see it become a hell-hole, and you would start blaming these extra terrestrial people called ‘immigrants’!

Any colonized people in History would feel this amongst other things such as rape, forcible conversion and slavery.  Over time these lands were granted freedom but at a huge cost; they were left in a quagmire of poverty, corruption and disease. I think in a weird twist of Karma the British people are suffering the same fate as the people they colonized for 200 hundreds or so; a disintegration of culture, language and customs. They have every right to stand up for their rights…

BUT and this is a big BUT, despite the good and valid message the EDL and the BNP wish to get across, they cannot ever be taken seriously until they form a group of highly intellectual people who can argue the points for them without it coming across lazily as racism. I would listen to Nick Griffin and Tommy Robinson if they actually did their research, came up with a valid discussion and talked with a sense of authority (or if in fact they were not racist). As it is they lurch from media disaster to another, and I talk about EDL in regard to this point that they need to rebrand themselves not as drunken thugs but as people who have genuine concerns and are willing to discuss not BEAT UP people to get it across.

I am not for one moment giving credence to such political groups, in my opinion all parties talk a lot of horse manure and seem to do nothing anyway. However, after witnessing EDL demonstrations in Leicester and Luton, as well as watching Nick Griffin fumble Question Time on TV i feel they are doing a huge injustice to the British people who support them! For it is not only white British but plenty others from all backgrounds that support their cause, because they all regard this land as their own and will do anything for it.

As a person who has lived in a very mixed community for the past decade or so I have also seen a  great shift in society due to mass immigration. Some of it has been bad, but a lot of it has been good, and I think personally BNP/EDL need to focus on the good and not only extrapolate from the bad….they owe a lot to the immigrants and their contribution to society cannot be forgotten.

Is Intelligence defined by grades?

A-level results day 2010, I remember it as if it were yesterday. Nervous students who had worked their arses off finally see if they get the grades they truly deserve, some will get into the university course of their dreams, while others may have just missed the required level. I specifically remember the conversations I had with my friends a few days after receiving our results, we were talking at length about people who had in our slang ‘merked it’. They had either got into Oxbridge or one of the top London universities to study fancy subjects, and in our awe in their achievements we would often praise their superior intelligence and work ethic.

Fast forward 3 years and I am sitting in my graduation ceremony. The girl on my left is constantly showing off her marks in her exams as well as her future job in accountancy *yawn*.  Of course she is entitled to do so, anyone that gets a first in a maths degree should have god-given right to show it off!

However, because I have known this girl for the whole duration of my degree I wouldn’t go so far to say she is ‘intelligent’ by any means. She has definitely worked hard and she has given 110% commitment during revision to get that grade.

But intelligent? I don’t think so.

Intelligence CANNOT be crudely defined by grades. By doing really well in an exam suggests that you can do the following things:

• Organize yourself well
• Keep to a timetable
• Work efficiently and with plenty of effort
• Practised lots of questions and developed good exam technique

In my opinion this is a something called ‘book-smart’- the ability to study and pass exams with flying colours based on a plan which works time and time again.

If you think I am wrong then talk to students who hail from countries such as India or China. Such students have a framework of study which is literally rote-learning and if you can study really well then you are capable of getting 90% and above (even this is not enough in India sometimes). But critics of such a system think this lacks creativity and free thought, something I agree with entirely.

For finally I will come to how I define intelligence:

‘The ability to understand, adapt, learn, engage to and from different scenarios, events and experiences yet have the initiative to think clearly, the skill to reason and the passion to accept new and contrasting ideas in an ever changing world’

I don’t think there is anybody alive who has a GENERAL intelligence because to try and define it would be futile. Everyone has a particular skills set and some people are very adept in their particular field(s). People may point to the IQ and MENSA test that some spotty 11 years old take nowadays, but I think that intelligence can change with age and life experiences. For example, Albert Einstein was not recognized as a genius within school because his learning method was much different to the restrictive method which the school used. His way of thinking meant that he had a greater aptitude for maths and physics rather than the literature or language. As he grew he developed methods to combat problems which no other person could do.

Of course there will be many of you who will think I am completely wrong, you are entitled to your opinion as I am to mine. I do not mean to deride or degrade people who get A/A* grades, I am merely offering a different perspective on the generalizing of this word ‘intelligent’. I think we all should accept our individual strengths and weaknesses… I will be starting my job as  a maths teacher and I will never think one of my students is more intelligent in maths than another! I will think that everyone has the ability to do as well as they want.

To be very frank, I think intelligence is overrated; I would have a greater respect for someone who can bake a half decent cake…

A CV for Desi Marriage

I was on facebook one day and my recently engaged cousin brother in India sent me this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeTzOiPAVR4

In this video 2 people look like they have come prepared for an interview for a job, when in fact it turns out they are interviewing for a role of husband! This was a very clever idea and it got me thinking, what would the perfect CV to secure the ‘job’?

This is just a spoof and in this case the CV is targeted to a highly educated Indian woman who wants to marry a rich husband living abroad.

——————————————————————————————————————-

SANJAY SINGH
27 Years old
Single, Tall, 6ft 3, Fair Skin, Big muscles
Looks like John Abraham

Bio

NRI bachelor looking to settle down because my parents are on my case. I am hardworking, industrious and hail from a well-to-do family in London. I have studied really hard and have recently completed my MBA, I now own a business.
I am looking for a potential bride to marry within the next year or so, she should be fit, educated and likes the finer things in life.

Education 

Bsc Computer Science– Oxpord University (2000-2003)
Msc Advanced Computer Science– Cambridge University (2003-2004)
PHd Super Cool YAAR Advanced Computer Science– Harvard University (2004-2008)
MBBS– Harvard Medical School (2008-2012)
MBA– Harvard Business School (2012-2013)

Work Experience

Computer Systems Analyst (IBM)-Basically making codes and playing solitaire

Risk Investment Manager- Telling white folk how to do their jobs

Current: Owner of Business- Selling ‘pharmaceutical products’ to people.
Salary is $100,000 per month. 

Interests

Earning lots of money, studying, hustling, clubbing, buying rubbish clothes, being a mothers boy.

Skills I can bring to the marriage

I am filthy rich, got 4 cars, speak good English and can be controlled very easily. I can pretend to be cultured and religious when needs be,

I also have a green card.

References

Available from my mum,dad, massi, phua, bibi, dadaji…

 

——————————————————————————————————————-

Do you think he will get the offer?

 

 

Failure in life; It will happen, be ready.

Life is messed up. 

God hates me.

I hate my life.

I can’t look at my dog anymore..

Why me?

You may say such things to yourself when you have failed in a certain aspect of your life. The tension and strain which you place upon your body and mind is too much and you curse yourself endlessly. You think you are the only person in the world who has flopped and despite searching for excuses you find the real answer is….you.

Truth be told, we have all been there. I can say for myself I have been there, done that, got the t-shirt and got my beating.

OF COURSE LIFE IS HARD! The problem with a lot of people (including myself) is that we get into a mindset where we believe all we lead a linear sort of existence where things just naturally follow each other without any problems. You must seriously be thick if you think that is the case, for we all know that we stumble, fall, trip up and bellyflop into failure from time to time.

Please do not think I am lecturing you on how to move on from failure, I am nobody to give advice. All this blog will be about is preparing yourself for when it does happen.

If there is anything good I can say about failure it is this, it strips away all the unnecessary things in your life which would otherwise impede your future success. This is the reason why:

1) You have realized you have failed

2) Instead of crying like a baby who needs a diaper change you begin to assess your life at this moment.

3) You make the changes you need to prevent failing again

4) IMPORTANT: YOU WORK HARD TO NOT FAIL AGAIN

5) You succeed.

In future, when you do fail, you may comfort yourself with the fact that there exists billionaires that dropped out of college or that you know people who have done great things from similar failures. This is all nonsense, these people have lived separate and independent lives from you! Their path of life will never be the same and how they overcame their shortcomings will obviously be different to you!

Never be comfortable in the depths of failure, you will need to stand up and do what you have to do. I can honestly say that I have never flopped as much in my life as I did at university, and the toll I took upon myself did not help me a bit.  But I never regretted those shortcomings as each one taught me valuable lessons about myself which I would not have found out otherwise. I was never the smartest person in my lecture hall, but so what? My 3 years have been the most tortuous but the most revealing, and I took away a lot more from my uni than my 2.2 in Bsc Maths reads on my certificate.

Thus you need to embrace failure as it is a part and parcel of human life. It is human nature and to ignore or shy away from your problems will be a huge injustice to you and those who care about you.

I am not here to offer words of comfort, I am a practical person who always wants to learn, and if I have to fail time and again then so be it, but I will succeed in the end.

Why can’t Aunties mind their own business? #ASIANrant

I was walking down the road in my local town centre and I saw a middle aged woman who I immediately recognized. At this point, instead of being courteous and initiate a conversation I tried to ignore her by hiding in Primark. I started breathing heavily my sweating became uncontrollable, my pulse was out of control and I could feel my stomach go up and down like Swami Ramdevs belly antics. Once she walked past I heaved a sigh of relief and walked merrily on my way, looking back over my shoulder occasionally to make sure she has really gone…

A scene from a horror film? No but my boxers do need a change.

‘You are a mean guy Ash, should have said hello!’- You might be thinking.

NO. The reason why I did not engage in conversation is because this woman (or ‘Aunty’ as we asians call) is quite a nosy person. She would ask me very subtle questions to try and grab any information she can about my life, for example this is an example of what she asked me a few weeks ago when I bumped into her in town:

Crazy Aunty; Hello Puth (son) how are you? How is Mum?

Me: Yes I am fine Aunty, how are you? Mum is good.

CA: Good to hear, is your Mum at home I have been trying to call her all day? She seems to be ignoring me…

Me: Erm no she is at work aunty, I don’t think she would try to ignore you *laugh nervously but trying to escape*

CA: Ok puth, I heard your got a job? Well done. Where are you working? Is salary good?

Me: Thanks Aunty, yes it’s ok working locally…sorry Aunty I have to run I got to buy a few things before shops shut.

CA: OK puth bye.

Now let’s run through this conversation with all the added commentary:

1. She begins to nose around and make assumptions about my mum because she has not been picking up the phone. This is typical Aunty behavior; assume and exaggerate a very minor situation. But to be honest my Mum was ignoring her.
2. She doesn’t explain who told her about my job, instead she goes right in and asks very personal questions about salary, she asks this to compare with her children.
3. At this point I think this woman is getting too cocky so I change the topic and on the false pretense of shopping I make my escape.

This woman and hundreds like her exist in many Asian communities, spying on the youth and gathering information for later reference. For those who may think the questions are pretty harmless, you do not know the repercussions of what would have happened if I answered the questions as she wanted. That aunty would spill all the beans and once my mother finds out…not even childline could save me.

These woman also gather in groups at each others houses to gossip and reveal their latest findings with great excitement. They talk in great length and with no regret over cups of tea and Bombay mix and once this group discussion ends and they go back home they all phone each other and bitch about each other! #crazymuch

These middle aged aunties don’t try to trip up people on the streets only, they have now taken their sly work onto the internet with the use of facebook. One aunty recently posed as someone else I know so that I would accept their ‘add’, once I clocked out it was a fake account I blocked her! God knows what she could have found out about me from my profile…

It is actual espionage…and yet the worst part about this is that there is NO REASON for it! Some of these aunties may be middle aged and older, but now they are also between 30-40 and have kids! Surely they should have something better to do with their time than stalking me on facebook? LOOK AFTER YOUR KIDS for example??

Here are some other weird aunty-type behaviors which annoy me:

• Walking down my road with my mate, some random aunty neighbour peeks from the curtains to see what I am upto and then PROCEEDS to tell my mum about it the next day…WHY?
• I commented on my mates facebook status, what I didn’t know was that his mum (aka an aunty) also has facebook and told my mum that ‘Ashish uses bad language’.
• I  was walking back home from school and bumped into a family friend’s daughter. After having a ONE MINUTE CONVERSATION I got back home to find my mum talking on the phone to some aunty who thought I had a girlfriend!

From the above examples you may think my friends get me into trouble, but the consequences of my past actions have generated a sense of paranoia whenever I walk outside my house! I often dodge such women on a regular basis and I always try to keep away from any talk or behavior which could land me into trouble.

I really do not understand why such awful women make it an aim of their life to make people like me suffer? What have I ever done to such people? 

I think personally it stems from a variety of reasons, one being boredom. These women have nothing to do in their homes and like to stir things up in their lives. Another more plausible factor could be that they watch endless hours of Indian serial programmes which ADVOCATE FAMILY POLITICS! These serials then corrupt their minds into a poisonous state, wreaking havoc wherever they go. Other reasons also include; jealousy, greed, envy or general mental breakdown.

Whatever the reasons, I will end on this note:

AUNTIYAN ARE CRAZY.

*If any aunties do read this then I am joking, you guys are cool PLEASE DON’T TELL MY MUM* 

The challenges of keeping your culture and religion in University

Many of you who are above the age of 21 will fondly remember your University days with a tinge of sadness. Now you are in your working life and yearn the wild nights out, the one-night stands and your alcohol-induced antics. You will remember falling out of bed in the morning with an intense hangover, as if someone had just beaten you with a kitchen sink.

Ahh those were the  days…

Except for me, my uni life was completely different. Before I set off to university I made pact with myself that I should not drink, eat meat or engage in one-night stands. Why was this you may ask? Well for me, and I think for hundreds of other students who take their religion and culture seriously, it is to not to go against your teachings and upbringing of your parents.

I think for many a uni life without meat can be achievable, but without alcohol? The 2 words ‘uni’ and ‘alcohol’ go together like ‘One direction’ and ‘Crap’.

But I think I had the best 3 years of my life at uni by being sober! You could remember your best nights out, make up stories to hangover sufferers about who they made out with AND look half decent in pictures. But obviously my student life wasn’t always fun…

Freshers was the toughest week of my life, before that I had never experienced the smell of alcohol, the sight of drunken fun or even making out which could only be described as ‘hoovering the carpet’. With all this happening around me, I had to keep sight of what was important to me, my culture and my religion. I knew if I gave into these temptations then I could never look myself or my parents in the face ever again. Sure enough explaining my soberness to my  flatmates generated a sense of suspicion but also empathy as to what I was missing out. Though I will say this, the white folk never tried to coerce me…it was the Asian students who were keen to force me to try a shot or 2! It was deeply saddening that the people who should know my culture are the ones who want me to abandon it for a cheap thrill.

However after waking up from the coma of Freshers I managed to make plenty of friends just by trusting myself that I am interesting enough for people to know me sober. As first year progressed my peers respected me for my lifestyle and over time friendships developed out of pure respect and not any love of the drink. Clubbing was not an issue and usually people could recognise me with my glass of water in hand in the corner trying to bust a bhangra move in the RnB room (yes I was that guy). Obviously this meant that I could not chat up any of the student birds in the club, but this was fine…I doubt they would be impressed if I tried to charm them by buying a orange juice over a vodka and coke. As it is I do not believe in messing about with girls or one night stands, I am waiting for ‘THE ONE’ *vomiting noise in toilet*

But the monotony of clubbing sober soon set in to the point where in 3rd year I summed it up as:

Attempting to dance very badly to very loud music  in a dark room  with a sticky floor and chilling with drunk friends until one of them pulls a bird/gets into a fight/gets wasted/loses all their money and annoys all his/hers mates until he/she walks back on their own.

Still even into my final year it was the Asian students that had the biggest problem with me being sober, I think many of them thought I was out-of-touch or that I didn’t have the balls. But I discovered at University how to dance to Bhangra music, this was MY alcohol and you could see my sweaty face in most of the bhangra nights within Leicester and surrounding areas.  The adrenaline rush when you have a showdown in a club with other guys is second to none AND surprisingly a few girls found it an attractive part of my personality ( I was still going to buy them orange juice though). Fair to say though whenever the Rnb/Hiphop music came on the black brothers would just own you anyway.

So out of ten I would rate my sober University experience as a solid 8.5. I not only proved to myself that I could have fun without comprising my culture and religion but also my parents, brothers and friends. My advice to anyone going through or is about to go through my experience would be to trust your guts, explore other passions and don’t give in!

It’s funny really; sometimes you underestimate how strong you really  are.

Why are Asian parents so obsessed with Marriage?

HAHA such a cringe topic, but sadly it is something that has been on my mind for some time.

My cousin sister in India recently graduated from her college with flying colours and is considering an MBA. She is 22 and at this point in life everyone and anyone will be asking her about that one thing which we all dread:

SHAADI

According to my cousin it gives her great distress when family ask and tease her about that fateful day, but it is even worse when total randomers ask her about it as well! I think generally girls always have it worse off; parents are just too keen to get them out.

But in all seriousness where has this national passion come from? This whole debacle has been THE major producer of Bollywood storylines for decades and has generated endless love triangles/squares/octamahedrons. It has been the scourge of our generation and it affects British Asians here as well!

But sometimes we don’t really help ourselves by talking about it at between the ages of 18-24. Group discussions at University planning and thinking about Prince Charming or Princess Priyanka Chopra. As soon as people at my local temple found out about my job they thought that gave them license to ask about my marriage plans…of course I smile but this is what I really think:

HOLD ON I AM 20, JUST GRADUATED AND SKINT.  I CAN BARELY LOOK AFTER MYSELF LET ALONE THINK ABOUT MARRIAGE. PLEASE GO AWAY SMALL WOMAN, I DO NOT HAVE THE TIME. PLEASE DON’T TALK TO MY CRAZY MUM.

My mum is never going to support me in my vast visions of bachelorhood. I don’t know what she is more happy about now that I have graduated; the fact I have a job or the fact that she can brag about it to potential suitors. In any case on my teachers salary she can forget it.

To the crux of this post; I think that the older generation are so obsessed because in the ‘Good old days’ people used to get married at a lot younger age. Also back in that time people didn’t give two monkeys about looks, money or whether he/she can speak English. Marriage was seen as a duty which had to be done, much akin to giving birth or getting a beating with a slipper.

Another factor in this craze is the fact that our generation are generally a lot more educated and wealthier than the previous generation. This meant whereas in the past people were concerned about how much farmland, magic beans or cows you owned, now people care about social status and career. By this I mean if you do not possess AT LEAST an MBA, MBBS, MSc you will be single for the rest of your life. Also I think all Asian people like to have a party, and a wedding is the biggest party you can have! *bust random bhangra move*

In conclusion, I think marriage within the Asian community is seen as the pinnacle of human existence, its what we have to strive for and if we don’t attain that then we will be doomed to a life of mediocrity. At least that’s what my mum tells me.

Seriously, let me enjoy my youth. You only get it once!

 

An Idiot’s Guide: How to make a Bhangra song video!

Hey guys/ladies, ever wanted to find out how you can make your really hipping track really up-to-date and modern? Are you passionate about showing Punjabi culture to the world?Do you want to make a lot of money and look stupid in the process?

Then please look not further than this guide…

1. You need a song which contains any of the following themes/keywords:Jatt, Jatt di Zameen, money, girls, fashion, Chandigarh, muscles, biceps, gym, Honey Singh, YO YO, Alcohol, Drugs, motorcycles, guns, emigration.

1. Any song which talks about pind lifestyle, Punjabi ma boli and other such things are frowned upon, that’s so Gurdas Maan.
2. Once you have a song, you need some cameramen who have the total creative acumen of a flea.The cameramen will provide many awful backgrounds to shoot in, but make sure you go for: grotty bars, cheesy nightclubs, parking spaces and if you want to go all out you can try and use a field in the middle of nowhere.
3. You now need actors, actresses and background caste.This is really important, mess this up and people will not care, in fact it is more important than the song itself…and your mother maybe.
   The vital person is the actress; you can either use the woman who made the song or if she is too ugly then you can pay some modelling agency in the pind to send some random girl from the kheth. Apply tons of makeup, give a dress which would make her potential in laws gasp in shock and hey presto! A typical Punjaban.
   The actors and background cast can be made up by inviting your random mates and family members with the promise that they will be famous if they just stand in the corner and pretend to look vaguely sober.
4. NOW finally the video shoot!
   
   Set a date, get your actors etc together as well as video crew. Now to make a great video one must take as much time as possible, a day or 2 maybe. Put a couple of bottles of vodka on the ready to give to your background cast. Make random dance moves and if you want to be risque; add a proper bhangra  team (for a folk touch). Emphasize all the action on the main girl and her moving body, with the background cast all having a glassy on the side. Main man just needs to stare and dance around main girl until they fall in love.
5. Song promotionAll the hard work is done! Now to promote like crazy on facebook, twitter, instagram, newspaper, radio, email, TV and youtube. Promotion is everything, you have to promote the best of Punjabi culture *as well as earning dollar*. Get it advertised on prime tv if you have the rupaiya. Interview with all the big names in Bhangra music industry and go into nightclubs to sing your gundeh gaaneh in the hope someone will buy it….don’t forget ONLY BUY OFF ITUNES!
6. Sit back and see your singing career take off!*This blog is a parody of what I think is the state of the Bhangra music industry which portrays good about Punjabi culture and its history*

My take on 1990’s Bollywood films: A parody.

Is there one word on this Earth which can invoke feelings of nausea, paranoia and insanity as that of the word ‘Bollywood’. For seasoned film watchers like me I have watched the complete spectrum from 1960s Classical Bollywood to today’s nonsensical garbage ‘Bollywood’. But for me, as I think it is for many others, the 1990’s holds a special place for our hearts, it was the decade of cheese and cringe as well as bad fashion. Here is a script for a theoretical movie I plan on making called:

KUCH KUCH NAHI HOTA HA

Storyline:

• College hero (called Sanjay) walks on campus like a don. He has several girls surrounding him at all times and rides a red motorcycle. He speaks English like a drunken Dutch guy and wears plastic for underwear. Sanjay is the hero if you don’t get the jist already.
• On the last day of college Sanjay collides with geeky looking girl on campus, slow motion captures this collision. All of the geeky girls books fall on floor, Sanjay helps her to collect them, he looks up at her and gazes in slow motion at her eyes.
• BREAKS INTO SONG IN SWITZERLAND WHERE HE AND THE GEEKY GIRL CHASE EACH OTHER AROUND TREES AND COWS AND STUFF *10 minutes*
• Sanjay wakes up from this ‘dream’ only to see the geeky girl (ok call her Neha) walk away quickly to get to class. Sanjay thinks he is in love at which point his mates are laughing at the fact that he has wet himself.
• 5 years later Sanjay becomes a successful man working in finance or something like that. He has become a lot more mature and his marriage is arranged to some normal girl somewhere.
• One day Sanjay is walking in London and catches a bus. He looks to his left and is in shock as he sees NEHA (the geeky girl who forgot to say thank you when he collected her books). He begins to stalk her endlessly through London’s myriad streets until he sees her in a cafe sitting down. He begins to think at this point ‘Damn shes hawwt’ (in Hindi).
• Somehow he plucks the courage to say Hi to her and she takes some time to recognise him and smiles *why she isn’t freaked out is beyond me*. They talk for hours on end and Sanjay is happy.
• BURST INTO LOVE SONG IN AUSTRALIA WHERE NEHA RUNS AROUND KANGAROOS AND KOALA BEARS *20 minutes*
• So everyday these 2 met and talked and began to like each other, but Sanjay suddenly remembers ‘Oh fiddlesticks I have been arranged to a woman in India’. At this point he tells her the truth and they part ways…
• BURST IN SAD SONG IN INTENSE RAIN WHERE SANJAY WALKS ALONE IN LONDON IN DEPRESSED STATE *30 minutes*
• But when he arrives in India he cannot forget Neha and decided to tell his family that he loves someone else, this does not go down well.
• BREAK INTO SUICIDAL SONG WHERE HE CALLS UPON GOD IN A DRUNKEN STATE TO HELP HIM.
• His family disown him, his life falls into tatters but he keeps a single picture of Neha in his pocket while he sleeps rough on the streets. He keeps seeing her face everywhere and goes crazy.
• In the meantime Neha is living the life with a new husband in India, they see a beggar on the street and throw 10 rupees into his hat…..the beggar looks up, and Neha is shocked to see a picture of her in this beggar’s coat pocket.
• Neha asks: ‘How do you know this girl?’ at which point Sanjay explains his story. Neha then slaps him for having her picture and leaves.

END…

Moral: Don’t pick up books.

Is the issue of Caste important in modern British Asian society?

Since the 1950’s hundreds of Asian families from all parts of the now defunct British Empire came to these shores to seek a new life away from their chaotic lives in India. Many of them brought with them their culture, language and food of course and much of what they sought to preserve are good things.

However, they also brought with them something which you may not immediately have thought of; the ugly conception of social stratification known to many as the caste system. It is a system by which people are separated into a level of society based on which family they were born into and what that family’s ancestral occupation was. Hindus, Sikhs, Christian and Muslims from India/Pakistan/Bangladesh all have the caste system in varying degrees and they have implemented and kept this practise alive to this very day.

For those of you who may not know why caste is controversial, this is a breakdown of facts;

• Thousands of years ago the ancient Hindus had generated a system of social stratification which was based on what you did for a living. Priests, Kings and Merchants formed the upper castes while cleaners and other such were considered of the low castes.
• However, the initial intention was not to divide but to provide a scientific solution for a smooth and effective running of society. Over time though, people in the higher castes twisted the narrative to their advantage and to maintain superiority; caste is now determined by birth.
• As a result those born in the higher castes have, for centuries, looked down upon those of the lower castes
• There has been over time a concerted effort on part of groups of the higher castes to keep people in lower castes in their place i.e. poor, uneducated and unable to move socially and economically
• This has over generations created huge divisions in society, where its forbidden to marry out of caste, walk in a lower caste area or even drink water from an ‘untouchable’.

Of course during Indian history many people in these lower castes tried to escape such persecution by converting to Islam, Sikhism or Christianity. But the old system was still carried over and their descendants are not any better off despite the message of equality being carried out by all 3 of those faiths.

So that is the ‘brief’ history of caste issue, I shall not go into further detail for the time being…

Now welcome to 21st century Britain,  the descendants of those first migrants from Asia are successful in all aspects of society. They contribute so much to the economy and to the diversity of the UK. The 2nd and 3rd generation British Asians have moved on to integrate well, but the lingering problem of Caste still haunts them.

No more so is caste such a divisive issue as when it comes to marriage.

I live in Gravesend, which has a large population of Sikhs who would consider themselves as of the Jatt caste (the farmer caste). Despite the fact that Sikhism abhors caste and talks of equality in scripture, there is a reluctance amongst the elderly in this conservative society to marry sons/ daughters outside of the Jatt caste. There is a fear that family reputation would be tarnished, especially if a daughter marries below caste, indeed you may have seen on the news that families commit honour killings to try and preserve their caste ‘ideals’.

So you can understand the friction that would be caused between family members if suddenly their son/daughter brings home someone of a lower caste. The Sikh youth of Gravesend do not wish to bring ‘insult’ to their family and accept that they must try to marry within caste.

However, Gravesend should not be taken in isolation. The Gujarati Hindu communities of Harrow have their own systems of caste, as do the South Indian families of East London. Even the Kerala Christians who have migrated recently keep to their own specific sects of Catholicism. All the youth of these communities try to not diverge from their respective castes, but inevitably problems can arise with devastating consequences. Caste discrimination can also spread to the workplace, places of worship and even school! I can instantly recall many students during my school days cherishing and glorifying their particular caste to those around them for no reason.

Caste and the effects of caste discrimination should not really exist in this day and age in the UK, however people wish to hold onto their cultures, traditions and beliefs. This may seem as a worthwhile effort, but nowadays British Asian youth no longer occupy those positions which their ancestors held for hundreds of years, so really what is the use of discriminating and separating?

Thus in conclusion, caste is still an important issue and it will be important for sometime in the future.  How future generations deal with this will be interesting to see…