The Conservative Friends of Bangladesh (CFB) recently joined their counterparts from India and Pakistan in a rare show unity in London to welcome the UK’s first British Asian Home Secretary, Sajid Javid.
Bajloor Rashid, Vice-Chair of CFB, said Javid’s “historic appointment” to the UK Cabinet reflected the significant and influential contribution made by the Asian community in Britain.
“Traditionally, the Labour party was seen as the natural home for Asians but that trend has changed as more and more Asians turn towards the Conservative party. So, watch this space,” said Rashid, a UK-based restaurateur, who urged the minister to look into addressing the crisis faced by Britain’s curry industry.
“We are struggling to recruit the right staff but there has been no hint of policy change from the government. We finally have a louder voice in Parliament,” he said.
The CFB, along with its counterparts in the Conservative Friends of India and Pakistan had organised the special event earlier in September to mark Javid’s appointment to one of the senior-most posts in the UK government in April this year.
“This is an example of all our communities working together as the very best of friends,” said Javid during his speech at the event, where he was joined by his mother, brothers, wife and children.
“It is on the shoulders of my mum and dad that I stand before you… We are bigger than the cultural heritage we represent. We are a core part of the country’s offering and an indispensable asset to British society,” said Javid, the son of a Pakistani bus driver father who migrated to Britain in the 1960s.
He took charge as the UK Home Secretary at the end of April after his predecessor, Amber Rudd, was forced to step down amid an escalating Windrush immigration scandal involving the unfair treatment of Commonwealth citizens, largely from the Caribbean. British Prime Minister Theresa May decision to appoint the son of Commonwealth immigrants to the crucial post was widely seen as a way to curtail the brewing backlash.
“We have come together to celebrate the first-ever British Asian to hold such a senior Cabinet post and applaud Asian success as well as unity between Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis in this country,” said Rami Ranger, Founder & CEO of Sun Mark Ltd and co-chair of the Conservative Friends of India.
British electorate with roots in the Indian subcontinent have been traditionally seen as favouring the Left-leaning ideals of the Opposition Labour party, leading to the Tories making a decisive play for this significant ethnic minority vote-bank that is believed to hold the key to crucial constituencies in any general election.
“The appointment of Sajid Javid has given the entire Asian community in Britain a leap of faith and one day we could even have an Asian Prime Minister. We have no Bangladeshi-origin MPs from the Conservative party but that trend is set to change soon,” concluded Bajloor Rashid.