Hindu
community leaders and the Chai-Pakora Syndrome
by
Rajun Shah
A
few years ago, I became aware of several problems that affected Hindus
in Britain, and wanted to do my bit to help. I have come across many
young Hindus who have felt like this at some point in their life.
In
my innocence, I thought that joining some or other large Hindu organisation
would be a good idea. Over the next two years I attempted to work
with many Hindu organisations in Britain, as well as some local temple
committees. God knows how I persevered so long!
With
a few exceptions, my experiences were not positive. Most meetings,
which should have been places of constructive discussions, consisted
rather of the reading of accounts sheets, a few resolutions (that
never got implemented), followed invariably with samosas, pakoras,
chai and mithai (or other variants of Indian snacks).
Occasionally
I would try and suggest new ideas, for example sports, debates or
other events. It was the prospect of helping organise these types
of activities that brought me there in the first place. However instead
of receiving support, I was inevitably greeted with twenty reasons
why my idea was 'not feasible under present circumstances'.
While
it is true that there are always hurdles or challenges involved in
setting up new work or activities, that isn't a reason not to even
try.
New
people often turned up to meetings, clearly with a lot of energy,
enthusiasm and ideas. After some time, such individuals would stop
turning up to meetings, clearly discouraged that they were getting
nowhere.
Leaders
and committee members of such organisations often meet prominent persons,
such as councillors and MPs, as representatives of British Hindus.
I often attended such meetings.
At
these meetings I was greeted by a similar sequence of events that
I had encountered at other meetings (tea-party), except with one more
feature thrown in - the photo shoot.
I
was shocked by the importance that many of our community leaders attach
to having their photographs taken with councillors, MPs and (even
better) members of the royal family, and then treating these photographs
as trophies. If you visit the homes of one of these community leaders,
they will have these photographs adorning their walls, and will draw
your attention to them. This may seem like a minor quibble, however
in many ways, it has a detrimental effect on the community. We are
not going to be taken very serious politically if every time the supposed
representatives of our community meet politicians they turn the occasion
into a chai-pakora party and photograph session instead of taking
it as an opportunity to raise concerns or make suggestions regarding
issues that concern Hindus in Britain. At any rate, it is not a very
good image or example to other Hindus to show such a cringing and
subservient attitude towards those who wield a little power.
It
became apparent to me that the individuals who are running many Hindu
organisations are more concerned about personal prestige and comfort,
rather than using their positions to serve the communities. This led
me to quit trying to work within large organisations.
Many
people will criticise me for this article, saying that I will make
Hindus look bad by saying these things, and damage people's enthusiasm
to get involved in community work. That is not at all my intention.
I sincerely believe that despite all of this, there is a lot of scope
for Hindus who want to make a difference - once we stop expecting
anything from our supposed community leaders, and learn to take responsibility
ourselves. I don't wish to paint a picture of gloom - the problems
I have described can be overcome in several ways.
The
main message I wish to put across is this; if you have any ideas that
you want to implement, don't rely on any organisation to help you.
Get a few like-minded people together and do it yourselves. This is
what I did, and my experiences have been far more rewarding. Over
the past few years I have come across many similar small groups of
Hindus who run their own very impressive activities without help from
any 'major Hindu organisation', and have clearly made a difference
in educating, uniting and supporting the Hindu communities of Britain.
There are people who have put together discussions, exhibitions, sports,
martial arts events, high quality websites, social gatherings and
many other events with limited resources.
The
future Hindu renaissance is going to created and shaped by the efforts
of people on the ground, people like you and me. Whether or not large
organisations want to play their part is up to them, but they are
not essential to the grand scheme of things.
Hindu
Voice comment:
This article is the author's own viewpoint, and is not necessarily
shared by Hindu Voice UK. We encourage all Hindus to express their
opinions and experiences, in order to create a lively culture of debate
and reflection about issues that affect us. Anybody is welcome to
offer an alternate viewpoint, if they disagree with any article that
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