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Diversity and Discrimination
Manjit Gill, Dhanwant Rai, Jasdev Rai,
Elina Stamou and Sukvinder Thandi
SHRG, August 2001
Executive Summary
The six papers in this booklet bring together a synthesis of some of the most prominent issues in the fileds of 'race', ethnicity and culture, raising questions that require new thinking on developing democratic systems that embrace essential equality amongst all its members.
The first paper explores the issue of cultural diversity. It analyses the notion and the term 'cultural diversity' as well as that of 'cultural difference', concluding that equality based cultural diversity requires a rethinking of the practice of assigning fixed cultures to ethnic minority communities by the dominant culture. There is a need to review the 'ethnicization' of cultural differences for the correct conceptualisation of equality and difference, as Hall observes, "appears to outrun our existing political vocabularies". In essence, it requires acceptance of cultural differences within a new framework of equality that has the ability to recognise and accommodate the sporadic fluidity and flexibility of and within 'ethnic minority cultures'.
The second paper looks at the issue of institutional racism and discrimination, the biggest hurdle to the elimination of racial discrimination within societies. With references to the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, this paper studies the meaning and practice of institutional racism and discrimination pointing to crucial steps that need to be taken in order to ensure long-term solutions.
A group with a distinct identity, the Sikhs, face discrimination in employment, education and places of social interaction and often have to seek judicial protection for their right to express their distinct identity. This third paper, explores the ways that national and international legislation fails the Sikhs as a distinct group. Statements that deal with discrimination in general adopting generic language, usually exclude the Sikhs in practice. Paradoxically, this visible community (one of the aspect of their distinct identity is the wearing of the turban) becomes invisible within the ambit of legal protection and state policies that aim to combat racism and discrimination. Ways to overcome that are also presented in this paper.
In an attempt to highlight the issue of discrimination towards asylum seekers, refugees and internally displaced people, the fourth paper of this booklet, argues that discrimination is generated through the creation and development of deep divisions between 'people in place' and 'people out of place' inherited in the policies and practices of the international refugee regime. The imposed homogeneity of the modern 'nation-state' creates a national identity on the basis of superficial similarities such as common religion, race or ethnicity that is in turn rooted to the perception of a pre-existing fixed 'natural' connection between people, identity, culture and place. Contrary to this approach, a closer look at reality reveals a world of multiple, dynamic and interconnected social spaces formed on the basis of relations of power. Diversity is the word that corresponds to this picture, not homogeneity. As this paper suggests, an alternative approach needs to be adopted that embraces this diversity, including rather than excluding people. On the basis of this approach lie the human rights principles.
The fifth paper analyses the UK's immigration policies relating to refugees and asylum seekers. Such policies have been characterised by an unhealthy attitude towards non-white migration and asylum seekers of a different cultural background. This in turn seems to be linked with the strong emphasis placed on the narrowly defined 'British' culture. It emanates from politicians, the media and the general public.
The last paper explores the foundations of the discourse on racism and discrimination that are to be found in the history of colonialism, increasing western power and the development of science in the west. All this, lead to the perception of a European/Western superiority and somewhat authoritarian source of all knowledge that categorised people into definite groups according to their race, ethnicity etc. The anti-racism and anti-discrimination discourses developed as a reaction to such approaches, overlooking as a result forms of discrimination that fall outside the boundaries of the dominant western discourse and its neatly defined concepts of 'race', racism and discrimination. Most importantly, the continued usage of those terms and concepts as they have been formed and development through time in the west, presumes a pessimistic perpetuity of the problem. Although crucial, the 'anti-discrimination' approaches need to go hand in hand with more positive ones that start from a point of reference that involves equality; approaches that concern the understanding and promotion of diversity on the basis of equality and human rights principles.
