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sdmsh@tstt.net.tt
Discrimination
of Hindus
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Hindus in Malaysia taking British Government to court
for years of alleged atrocities.
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Hindus subject to discrimina-tion in employment, study
and general walks of life.
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Hindu temples being destroyed and desecrated.
In
my capacity as secretary general of the Sanatan Dharma Maha
Sabha, I threatened legal action against the state of T&T
and the British Government for compensation regarding our
years of being discriminated against.
This statement was made on May 30, 1999, on the grounds
of the Tunapuna Hindu School where the Indian Arrival Day
programme was in process. Basdeo Panday was the then Prime
Minister and when approached by the media his negative reaction
was that he will not respond to every foolish statement.
My statement, however, is proving to be one that was based
on facts and quite in the realm of possibility. In its world
news segment of November 26, on page 35, the Express’
lead story demonstrated this by a picture of protesting
Indians in Malaysia.
It quoted a Malaysian Indian who said, “The British
brought our forefathers here 150 years ago. Whatever the
government suppose to give us to look after our welfare,
well, they have failed!”
But prior to these street demonstrations and protests that
are now engaging the attention of the world, the plight
of Indians and Hindus of Malaysia was well known. In a message
to the Maha Sabha of T&T, they stated that on September
7, they filed legal suit against the UK Government. The
message reads:
“Hindus
in Malaysia are taking the British Government to court for
years of alleged atrocities. P Waytha Moorthy is a solicitor
based in Kuala Lumpur who filed a public interest litigation
(PIL) at the Royal Courts of Justice in London last week.
“He
now has three months to serve this notice to the Foreign
Office for damages worth over £1 million for each
of the country’s two million Hindus. His move has been
supported by the British-based Hindu Human Rights (HHR),
which organised a protest outside the Malaysian High Commission
in London on Friday to mark the country’s 50 years
of independence from the British.
“Mr
Moorthy told the Eastern Eye: ‘Malaysia supposedly
became independent 50 years ago but the Hindus of the country
have never experienced independence. They are denied the
right to practise their religion, their temples are desecrated,
they are forcibly converted and are subjected to unbelievable
atrocities.
“‘The
British Government must take responsibly of their treatment
as these Hindus were brought into Malaysia forcibly as indentured
labourers during the British Raj in India.
“‘Before
independence was declared for Malaysia, the British Government
assured that the peculiar position of the Indians would
be protected. But that never translated into action, which
is why on the eve of this anniversary we have decided to
file this case,’ he said.
“The
PIL is also demanding that the Malaysian constitution be
declared null and void, all Hindus be granted British citizenship
and the Malaysian Government be referred to the International
Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court at
The Hague for human rights violations against minority Indians.”
HHR spokesman Arjun Malik added: Already subject to heavy
discrimination in employment, study and general walks of
life, Hindus in Malaysia have begun to suffer in more specific
ways. Hindu temples are destroyed and desecrated regularly
with the full backing of the Government.
“Hindus
are denied the right to follow their own faith, even in
death, denied the right to a decent Hindu funeral. Forced
into economic and social margins, Hindus have become the
prime victims of religious and racial hatred, on which few
commentators and human rights organisations even bother
reporting. This petition and our protest is aimed at drawing
attention to their plight.”
In November of 1992, the Government of T&T under Prime
Minister Patrick Manning established the Centre for Ethnic
Studies.
The objective of the centre was to conduct research into
the problems “arising out of cultural divergence in
an ex-colonial society and to make recommendations for addressing
such problems in the context of public policy making.”
The directors of the Centre where Prof Selwyn Ryan and Prof
John La Guerre.
Under general discussion the centre found that “although
the national security services might have formal policies
of equality, the process of hiring and promotion is based
on prejudice and favouritism. Situations often arise where,
inspite of elaborate guidelines, arbitrary changes are introduced
to facilitate unqualified people.
“Exam
results may be held back if too many Afro-Trinidadians have
failed. A requirement of a standing one might simply change
to two. Promotions are effectively controlled internally.
We need to look at some of the open systems being developed
in the US Army, in various police offices and fire services
where there is an emphasis or training in cultural sensitivity,”
said the report.
Some minor improvements have taken place in T&T but
state preference and bias are still manifest in areas of
employment, promotions, culture and security of the person.
n Satnarayan Maharaj is the secretary
general of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha
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