Sikhs meet the Mayor of London and get down to business

22 July 2005

Sikh representatives have met with the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone to discuss a range of important issues relating to the Sikh community. Informed commentators believe the meeting organised and facilitated by the Sikh Federation (UK) and the outcomes represent one of the most positive developments for British Sikhs in the last 30 years.

Ken Livingstone is probably the second most important politician in the UK after the Prime Minister and has shown by his willingness to support the Sikh community that Sikhs can work with politicians at the highest levels to secure lasting benefits for Sikhs in this country.

The Sikh Federation (UK), the first and only Sikh political party in the UK, and the Sikh Secretariat lead on Sikh issues taken up at the political and Parliamentary level. Much of the ground work for the meeting had been carried out by the Federation and Sikh Secretariat months before the meeting. The meeting was therefore businesslike and focused on reaching formal agreements surrounding several key issues.

Naturally the meeting began with a briefing on the implications for the Sikh community of the terrorist attacks in London on 7 July. It was pointed out to the Mayor that Sikhs had been extremely disappointed by the lack of acknowledgement by senior politicians for attacks on Sikhs due to their identity. Ken Livingstone's own words were repeated to highlight how Sikhs had been ignored.

The Press Release reproduced below and issued earlier today is self explanatory. The Mayor has made clear that attacks on Sikhs and their religious institutions are totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated. In the meeting he also asked the Sikh representatives taking part in the meeting to convey his apologies to Sikhs for his oversight when he gave his first interview in Singapore and did not mention Sikhs.

One of the most important announcements by the Mayor concerns his assurances and promises on separate recognition of monitoring of Sikhs. Immediately after the one-hour meeting with Sikh representatives he was to see the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair and promised to urge him to also separately recognise and monitor Sikhs as a separate ethnic group. The Mayor said he was also happy to make the case to the Government to change the Statutory Code of Practice relating to the Race Relations (Amendment) Act that would require all public bodies to monitor Sikhs.

At the meeting with the Mayor the Sikh Federation (UK) had the support of representatives of different Sikh organisations regarding specific issues and concerns raised. For example, Bibi Balvinder Kaur, Chair Sikhs In England and Sikh Women’s Alliance made clear their activities in support of the London Olympic bid for 2012 and opposition to the Paris bid due to restrictions on religious freedoms in France. The Sikh Federation (UK) mentioned their lobbying and letters to all IOC members with specific targeting of around 50 members. These activities were noted approvingly by the Mayor and reflected in his thanks in his Press Release.

The Mayor indicated the Olympics in London 2012 should allow him to support a major international Sikh event to be organised in the 4 year period running up to 2012. Young Sikhs (UK) who were also represented in the meeting are to set up a project team to work up a series of options with initial ideas being developed and presented at the Young Sikhs (UK) Conference at Leicester University on 20 August 2005.

In the context of hosting the first ever Sikh Identity Conference the Mayor said he would welcome a special feature in the Londoner newspaper on the Sikhs - their philosophy, history, identity and contemporary issues.

The Mayor went much further than expected on a possible legal challenge to safeguard the right to religious freedoms in France. He has instructed his staff to get a legal opinion from leading lawyers on whether he can challenge the French authorities on behalf of Londoners. For example, he indicated he was keen to look into the possibility of supporting a legal challenge by a turban wearing Sikh police officer or teacher who is currently denied by French law and practices the right to work in France without compromising his or her fundamental right to religious freedoms.

The final issue covered at the meeting was a pledge by the Mayor about those involved in genocide and human rights abuses against minorities like the Sikhs not being welcome in London and facing possible prosecution under UK law. At a time when exclusion lists are being drawn up in the UK this sends an important and clear message to the international community about what may happen to those involved in torture, disappearances and genocide of Sikhs in India. The Mayor was shocked to learn that Amnesty International and the UN Rapporteur on Torture are still denied access to Panjab and indicated his desire to visit Amritsar provided the Indian authorities do not object to his presence.

Gurmukh Singh, as the Administrative Secretary to the British Sikh Consultative Forum (BSCF) represented at the meeting the views, issues and concerns raised by diverse Sikh organisations participating in the BSCF. A specific plea was made on behalf of the Transport for London Sikh Association who continue to experience a lack of equal opportunities. A number of actions were agreed in this and in a related context that should allow Sikh representation at senior levels in decision making bodies to improve.

Those representing the Sikh community will be from the Sikh Federation (UK), National Council of Gurdwaras, Sikh Secretariat, Young Sikhs (UK), Sikh Women's Alliance, British Sikh Federation, Sikhs In England, Khalsa Human Rights and the British Sikh Consultative Forum.