DNA Edit: ‘Adopting’ racism

Racism by any other name stinks just as bad. Despite a new wave of social liberation emanating essentially from Europe and the United States, which place much currency on discarding watertight compartments of gender, race, and religion, it seems that the vice grip of racism is just as strong as it used to be in the days of yore in many first world countries.

Take, for instance, the case of the Manders. They are a Sikh couple residing in Berkshire, UK, who were denied permission to adopt a white child by an adoption agency, which cited their ‘cultural heritage’ as a roadblock. The couple claims it was open to adopting a child of any ethnic background when the adoption agency Adopt Berkshire told them that only white children were in need of adoption.

The agency also discouraged them from putting up their names as potential adopters as preference, the agency let on, would only be given to white Britishers or European applicants. Thankfully, the couple has chosen to challenge the agency’s decision in the courts. Their case is also being supported by PM Theresa May who has written to the agency as well as to the Equality and Human Rights Commission in the UK. The actions of the agency run contrary to a 2014 law called the Children and Families Act, which stopped the practice of allowing prospective parents to adopt a child from their race.

The adoption agency runs under the aegis of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council, which has 57 councillors. Barring six, all of them are conservatives, and a large majority of them are white. There are no Sikh or Black councillors in the body. Naturally, an organisation, devoid of cultural and social diversity, will only take a decision which reflects its inherent prejudices. One cannot be faulted for believing that an adoption agency would value prospects of a child’s security, the material well-being of the adoptive parents and their capability to rear a child with care, concern, and competence.

However, as Adopt Berkshire has shown, it is the colour of one’s skin, and not the moral content of one’s character, which is a determinant of whether or not one can adopt a kid in the UK. Lest you think that this is a one-off incident, you would do well to look at the nationwide figures on the kind of discrimination faced by British Sikhs. A survey in 2016 concluded that at least 20 per cent of Sikhs have faced discrimination in everyday life, while 15 per cent have faced discrimination in a workplace setting. In the 12 months prior to the survey, over one lakh hate crimes were committed against Sikhs over the age of 16.