Thursday 2 July 2015

Dear Sadiq Khan, Sikhs Aren't Stupid

Sadiq Khan is Labour's candidate for Mayor of London, and hopes to replace the colourful Boris Johnson, who is now the MP for Uxbridge. The same Boris Johnson, whose wife is half Sikh...

He has just released a video on Facebook (see below) outlining why Sikhs in London should vote for him.

Frankly, his three pledges are pure political punditry and opportunism. I cringed at his "Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki fateh". Not one of his pledges helps the Sikh community forward. Sikhs happen to be among the most successful ethnic groups in the United Kingdom - and it was not because of silly sops like he's offering.

1. Vaisakhi in Trafalgar Square: Really? That's an issue? Get lost. We do Vaisakhi and we do it great. Anywhere.

2. Crimes against Sikhs wrongly recorded: Vacuous statement, nothing but hot air. No mention of Oxford & Reading, no mention of grooming gangs, no mention of forced conversions, no mention of radicalisation and marginalisation, no mention of business rates relief (Sikhs have the highest proportion of business owners from any ethnic group).

3. WW1 & WW2 War Memorial: Mian Sadiq Khan hasn't been following the news. We have several war memorials dotted around the UK. Followers of this blog must have seen the links I posted to the unveiling of the statue of World War 2 hero Maninder Singh Pujji some time last year. And then of course, there is the new bronze statue at the Sikh Heritage Museum in Derby...

These aren't issues Sikhs care a big deal about. Here are just two...

1. The UK government's stance on anti Sikh riots in 1984: Just as the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre nearly a century ago, this will remain forever etched into the Sikh psyche. I lauded David Cameron's apology for 1919, but more needs to be done. There are families awaiting justice and there are perpetrators still at large. It's now been over 30 years. Justice delayed is justice denied. If Britain has ANY clout, it should use it. Oh give us the politician who has the balls to say it out loud.

2. Predatory and sexual grooming of young girls: Labour hid this for decades. Rotherham is probably the most shameful example of their callous hypocrisy. And they're STILL not repentant. The best thing this joker can come up with is, "Oh we'll make sure we'll record it properly if someone faces racism by being mistaken for a Muslim." A few isolated cases does not a policy make. Don't pander to us. Maybe try and look after the Ahmadiyya Muslims in your constituency, who have a harder time from other Muslims than the EDL/BNP/BF types.


My three pledges to London's Sikh community
Register to vote to pick Labour's Mayoral candidate by signing up as a Labour supporter.Text LABOUR to 78555. Texts cost £3 - all of this money goes to the Labour Party. Once you text, someone from the Labour Party will get in touch to take your details.
Posted by Sadiq Khan on Sunday, 28 June 2015

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