Monday, Sep 27, 2004
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India & World
By Hasan Suroor
LONDON, SEPT. 26 . Britain's Sikh community has been chosen for a special charm offensive by the Tories in a bid to woo the ethnic minorities ahead of next year's general elections. The party leader, Michael Howard, will kick off the campaign to win over the 600,000-strong Sikh community by attending the 400th anniversary celebrations of the Guru Granth Sahib in London tomorrow. In a speech, he will praise the Sikhs for their contribution to the British society and promise to protect their interests. According to the advance excerpts of his speech, Mr. Howard will tell the Sikh community that it has "led by example''. "You have held on to your traditions and your distinct identity while fully integrating into the British society,'' he will tell the congregation.
Against discrimination
Mr. Howard will also extend his party's support for their demand for more state-funded Sikh schools and vow to fight against "discrimination''. "I loathe intolerance and discrimination, and I will do everything in my power to end it,'' he will say. Sikhs strongly supported the Tories under Margaret Thatcher, but in recent years their vote has become more dispersed. Commentators said that Mr. Howard would try to "reconnect'' with the Sikh community as part of the party's efforts to cash in on the ethnic minorities' disillusionment with the Labour Party. But the campaign was seen to be at odds with the Tories' anti-immigration agenda, and critics pointed to Mr. Howard's own comments last week calling for a ceiling on the number of immigrants who could come to Britain every year. He said Britain could not accept an unlimited flow of immigrants and refugees.
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