Conservative Party – UK PM declared British Sikhs as a model community
The Network of Sikh Organisations (NSO) expresses disappointment at the British government’s continuing apathy on the subject of Sikh victims of hate crime.
In late 2015, the government announced anti-Muslim hate crime would be monitored as a separate category across all police forces, providing parity with the recording of anti-Semitic hate crime.
In contrast Britain’s other minority faiths like Sikhs and Hindus are not separately tracked, although the government has given assurances it will address hate crime against all communities even-handedly.
The NSO has learnt that it is likely that Sikh victims of anti-Muslim hate crime in London are being incorrectly recorded as victims of ‘Islamophobic offences.’
The MET does not break down Islamophobic hate crime by faith group.
The NSO is pressing government officials to monitor Sikh hate crime within a separate category, to provide parity with provisions already in place for Jews and Muslims.
In a debate last week which focused primarily on concerns about violence against Muslims post Paris, Lord Singh of Wimbledon said,
“The Minister will be aware of numerous attacks on Sikhs as a result of mistaken identity. While hate crimes against the Muslim community have been monitored by every police force in the country, not a single penny is being spent on monitoring hate crimes against Sikhs.” It is also important to keep in mind that the UK government does not spend any extra budget for hate crimes against Buddhist, Hindu and Jain communities as well.
He went on, “the American Government are well aware of this problem which Sikhs suffer from and are taking steps to monitor that hate crime. When will the British Government catch up?”
Members of both, the Sikh and Hindu community have expressed concerns over a potential backlash in the aftermath of the Paris terror attacks.
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