Tuesday, Nov 04, 2003
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India & World
By Amit Baruah
As he interacted with a group of Indian presspersons, Mr. Dhanda handled all kinds of questions with aplomb. The second generation Britisher of Indian origin left no doubt in one's mind that he is destined to climb higher in the politics of this country. How did he come to politics? "My mum was a cleaner in a hospital. She was involved in a trade union," Mr. Dhanda says with pride about his mother's working class background. "My dad was a lorry driver." His parents hailed from Jalandhar in Punjab. They came to this country in the early 1960s, he pointed out. And, like many other Indians, invested heavily in the education of their three children. "I, too, worked in the trade union movement. And, when there was a vacancy in Gloucester, I applied. I was far from being the favourite. Nor was I from the constituency," he said. But, Mr. Dhanda claimed, his candidacy speech did the trick. "I spoke of organisation. I also pointed out that I had both youth and experience of working in the Labour Party." In a House of about 650, Mr. Dhanda is one of 12 "non-white" MPs. Of them, six are of Asian origin. "Ethnicity is an extra challenge," he maintained. Does he feel pressured to raise "ethnic" issues in Parliament? "I am pressed to raise ethnic ands race issues. Equally, I have a responsibility to do so." But Mr. Dhanda is clear that what happened in Mumbai, Gujarat or Kashmir has little to do with his "white" electorate. Having said that, Mr. Dhanda expressed concern at the recent riots in Gujarat and pointed to the presence of some "Muslim Gujaratis" in his constituency. "Gujarat is a massive area of concern." What position did he take on the Iraq war? "I did rebel on the Iraq issue," Mr. Dhanda said, adding that it was the "hardest thing to do" in his political career. "I was clear that we need a second United Nations resolution authorising any military action," he stated. A day before the crucial vote, he met the Prime Minister, Tony Blair. "I respected his opinion," the young Parliamentarian said. But the meeting did not change his mind — Mr. Dhanda voted against his Prime Minister and the party. In retrospect, what did he feel about the non-discovery of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq? "It is looking more increasingly likely that we will not find WMD." But, now, he felt that the "best" had to be made of a "bad situation". Both the United Kingdom and the United States had the responsibility to see this situation through. "We cannot escape from this." Has he been to India ever? "Yes, three or four times — most of them when he was a child." But, he did visit India recently and spent time with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). "I saw the inequalities of Indian society. I also saw the areas of economic growth," he said, adding that India needed to find the "right balance". He loved Gurinder Chadha's film `Bend It Like Beckham' and Mira Nair's `Monsoon Wedding'. "It's quite fashionable to be Asian at the moment in the United Kingdom," Mr. Dhanda added.
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