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Historic interfaith meeting in London outlines vision for peace

Bin Bayyah, Chairman of the UAE Fatwa Council and President of the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace highlighted that “coexistence is the only option for this region and for the world…reports Asian Lite News

The founder of the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace and world-renowned Islamic Scholar, Abdallah bin Bayyah, has met with Ephraim Mirvis, 11th Chief Rabbi of the United Congregations of the Commonwealth, for an historic conversation covering Islamic-Jewish relations and their shared visions for the future at an event held at the House of Lords in London.

The event, titled ‘Loving Kindness, Humanity and Flourishing as Faith Communities in the UK’, was the first partnered event between the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace and the Office of the Chief Rabbi, and emphasised the need to recognise shared values in the peace-making process.

Bin Bayyah, Chairman of the UAE Fatwa Council and President of the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace highlighted that “coexistence is the only option for this region and for the world. This is what reason, history, and the scriptures of all faiths teach us. I hope that the contribution of leaders to the spread of peace and harmony throughout the world will continue, and I wish the endeavour here today every success.”

One of the world’s leading experts on the principles of Islamic Law, or uṣūl al-fiqh, Bin Bayyah Is widely recognised as a leading authority on the discourse of tolerance, having dedicated much of his career to illustrating the values of equality, the rights of minorities, and harmony between national and religious identity as well as between Islam and other faiths.

Mansoor Abulhoul, UAE Ambassador to UK, commented: “I was inspired by the illuminating discussion with Chief Rabbi Mirvis and Bin Bayyah , whose mutual recognition of the power of shared values sets an example for peaceful, constructive dialogue that applies to diplomacy as much as it does to religion”.

Rabbi Mirvis said: “An historic paradigm shift in Muslim-Jewish relations is underway, harnessing the goodwill generated by a number of impressive new frameworks for dialogue. Seizing this opportunity is an urgent priority. We have a responsibility to build on the relationships that have been forged and to usher in a new era of engagement between our faith communities, in this country and beyond, for the benefit of the societies of which we are part”.

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Creative Zones of London

Mayor expands Creative Enterprise Zones across the capital. £800,000 is to be invested in nine zones across the capital to support jobs, training and create affordable studio space New funding will help support 5,000 young Londoners to enter the creative sector and create more than 25,000 sqm of new, permanent, affordable workspace…reports Asian Lite News

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced the expansion of his Creative Enterprise Zones programme with an investment of £800,000 to support thousands of jobs and create affordable studio space across the capital.

Hammersmith & Fulham and Ealing are to become the Mayor’s latest Creative Enterprise Zones, joining Croydon, Haringey, Hounslow, Lambeth, Lewisham, Hackney and Tower Hamlets, as well as Waltham Forest which is creating a new zone.

All of the zones are to receive a share of £800,000 which will help support 5,000 young Londoners to enter the creative sector and create more than 25,000 sqm of new, permanent, affordable workspace for the sector by 2025.

The Mayor launched his Creative Enterprise Zones programme in 2018 and has invested £14m to help areas across the capital to support artists and creative businesses find permanent affordable space to work, provide support to new creative businesses and improve access to creative sector skills and employment. The ground-breaking initiative has already established nearly 1,000 creative apprenticeships, training and work placements across London, and by 2025 will have increased new, permanent, affordable workspace by more than 65,000sqm.

In the new zones, young Londoners will be supported to embark on creative careers through information and advice, work experience, practical training. The zones will also create new permanent, affordable artist studios and creative spaces in the community. 

The Hammersmith & Fulham zone will establish a brand-new ‘Made in Hammersmith and Fulham’ hub, utilising a vacant high street shop to support creative entrepreneurs, makers and businesses with support, skills and training. They also aim to engage with 2,400 students through their tech and creative sector career programme and offer 90 training opportunities, through including work placements and apprenticeships. 

The Ealing zone, in partnership with Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, will help increase creative employment opportunities across the borough, through working with young people and local businesses.  In addition, 30 local creatives will benefit from a small grants programme to develop community spaces, through murals, and public art installations.

Waltham Forest has been awarded £70,000 to fund a zone at Blackhorse Lane. It will establish a hub for creative skills and training, building connections between the local education and business communities and boosting local creative talent.

The next round of funding to find the next three zones is now open and will fulfil the Mayor’s original pledge to establish 12 zones. The Mayor is inviting London boroughs to come forward with their ideas for new zones across the capital.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Our Creative Enterprise Zones are creating much-needed affordable workspace, jobs, new businesses and opportunities for young people at a time when the creative industries need our support.

 “The zones have shown what can be achieved to help local communities and businesses, and I am delighted to be expanding the programme into Hammersmith & Fulham and Ealing.

 “As the number of zones increases and investment across our capital continues, we will ensure that together we are building a better London for everyone.”’

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‘Windfall tax on Covid profits could solve food crisis’

A windfall tax could be used to alleviate the cost of living crisis for the poor in developed countries, and the building hunger in the developing world, said Bucher….reports Asian Lite News

Food, fossil fuel and pharmaceutical companies that have enjoyed bumper profits in the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath should be hit with a windfall tax on their excess income, the global head of Oxfam has said.

A windfall tax of 90 per cent on the excess profits globally would yield about $490 billion that could be used to solve the food crisis, which is heading to “catastrophic levels” for hundreds of millions of people, and set the world on the path to a sustainable food system, the Guardian quoted Gabriela Bucher, executive director of Oxfam International, as saying.

“The food crisis we’re facing is extremely serious, and probably unprecedented. There’s insufficient funding to address the immediate life-saving that is required, but also for the long term, addressing the root causes,” she said.

“If we don’t act fast, it will continue and reach really catastrophic levels.”

A windfall tax could be used to alleviate the cost of living crisis for the poor in developed countries, and the building hunger in the developing world, argued Bucher.

“We know that large corporations are making very significant profits, and have been making them during the pandemic,” she said, singling out fossil fuels, food and pharmaceuticals.

“We’ve calculated how much excess profit there has been during the pandemic and taxing excess profits as a windfall tax would generate resources both for the most affected populations in the richer countries, and to be able to fulfil commitments in terms of aid, and responding to the worst suffering in the world.”

Such a tax would also produce funds to bolster the food system against future crises, the Guardian quoted the Oxfam executive director as saying.

“(It would) also address longer-term food security issues, because it’s important to save lives now, but also really strengthen the systems that will enable populations to be resilient,” she said.

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TUC Turns heat on Boris& Team

The TUC is calling on the government to stop inflaming the dispute by refusing to aid negotiations, insisting on imposing cuts, and threatening to revoke workers’ legal rights…reports Asian Lite News

The Trade Union Congress (TUC), Britain’s largest workers’ forum, is calling on the Westminster government to adopt a positive role in the rail dispute instead of “inflaming tensions” and threatening to revoke workers’ legal rights.

The RMT workers are on three-day strike this week. Rail workers in Wales have reached agreements with rail operators on pay and job protections. And in Scotland there is meaningful negotiation taking place. But the TUC says this opportunity has been blocked for other rail workers by ministers in Westminster, who insist on imposing cuts rather than negotiating a future for rail that benefits both rail travellers and staff.

And last week the Transport Minister Grant Shapps undermined a negotiated outcome by threatening to change the law so that employers can draft in agency workers in place of their workforce during industrial action – a proposal reminiscent of the action taken by P&O.

Rail workers have already had their pay frozen for the last two years, at a time when most other workers got nominal pay rises. And many of the rail workers who will be taking industrial action are on low pay, so will be hit particularly hard by real terms pay losses worth thousands of pounds.

The TUC is calling on the government to stop inflaming the dispute by refusing to aid negotiations, insisting on imposing cuts, and threatening to revoke workers’ legal rights.

“The government has the power to help end this dispute,” said TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady. “But rather than working in good faith to find a negotiated settlement, ministers are inflaming tensions and trying to pitch worker against worker. Instead of threatening to do a P&O on these workers and rip up their rights, ministers should be getting people around the table to help agree a fair deal.”

Outlining why workers are taking action, Frances added: “Nobody takes strike action lightly. But rail staff have been left with no other option. Many rail staff who will be hit hardest – such as caterers and cleaners – are on low and average earnings. It’s insulting to ask them to take yet another real-terms pay cut when rail companies took £500 million in profits during the pandemic. If these cuts go ahead thousands of safety-critical and frontline jobs will be lost, with train services at risk too. We need a better vison for the future of rail than commuters packed on unsafe trains like sardines.”

Under government pressure to cut spending, Network Rail plans to cut annual expenditure by £100 million, mainly through the loss of 2,500 rail maintenance jobs. RMT analysis of Network Rail data finds that this will lead to 670,000 fewer hours of maintenance work annually. Network Rail responsibilities include track maintenance – essential to avoiding accidents fatal like Hatfield, which was the result of the metal tracks fatiguing. Network Rail is also responsible for maintaining signals to ensure trains are on time and prevent collisions, for the electricity supply to the network, and for the safe upkeep of buildings including public spaces like the UK’s largest rail stations.

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‘India @ 75’ lecture by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud at London School of Economics

The Constitution is a transformative document’ in which the judiciary and legislature recognize various conceptions of these rights, and that is the language in which political and social issues are generally framed…reports Asian Lite News

The National Indian Students and Alumni Union (UK) and LSE South Asia Centre have found a very timely and appropriate collaboration, to host the inaugural ‘India @ 75’ lecture held at the Hong Kong Lecture Theatre on 22 June 2022. With the aim of discussing and deliberating the role of courts in adjudication matters and upholding the democratic ethos in a constitutional system, the Summit hosted Hon’ble Dr Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Judge of the Supreme Court of India and incoming Chief Justice of India who spoke on ‘Experiences with Adjudication: Reconciling Rights, Identities and Prejudices’. Justice Chandrachud began his lecture by highlighting how the rights in the Constitution are abstract rights.

‘The Constitution is a transformative document’ in which the judiciary and legislature recognize various conceptions of these rights, and that is the language in which political and social issues are generally framed. People with different socio-political views use this language to advocate their rights. In the Indian context, affirmative action is debated on facets of the right to equality. ‘Law is an aspiration for change’, and the answers one gets are based on how you frame the discourse. Justice Chandrachud did not discuss the fallacy of framing social issues in the context of rights, but instead explored the possibility for conflicting rights to exist within one constitutional framework.

He explained how the judiciary interprets rights based on its vision of the common good with respect to the Constitution; national identities are identifiable by a nation’s past, but a constitutional identity draws a balance: ‘Our survival depends on our ability to stay awake.’ Engaging with a range of questions from an enthusiastic audience, Justice Chandrachud spoke on judicial impartiality in the context of social media and media trials, inclusive representation, role of artificial intelligence in adjudication, digitization and data privacy, amongst other topics.

The Chairperson of NISAU Sanam Arora remarked, “We are honoured that our activities to celebrate the 75th anniversary of India’s independence and the NISAU’s tenth anniversary have been inaugurated by the foremost expert of the Indian constitution, Dr Chandrachud at the London School of Economics. The LSE, which incidentally is also celebrating the centenary of Dr BR Ambedkar’s PhD this year, is where the NISAU was born, and for us to mark this triple occasion in the presence of Dr Chandrachud has been a great honour.” Vignesh Karthik, Head of Thought Leadership observed “Justice Dr. Chandrachud meticulously invoked India’s constitutional ethos that upholds sacrifice and commitment of the founding fathers of our republic towards steadily achieving social, economic and political justice for all.”

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YOGA IN LONDON

The Indian High Commission in London led the celebrations on the 8th International Day of Yoga with community events kicking off since last week, culminating in a central event on Tuesday at the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir, known as Neasden Temple, in London. “This year the theme is Yoga for Humanity. As the Honourable Prime Minister has said, Yoga is not just about exercise, it’s a way to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, with the world and with nature,” said Indian High Commissioner to the UK Gaitri Issar Kumar.

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Ambivalence on Gandhi versus Godse in London play

Its sister paper on Sundays The Observer was not as enthusiastic. It said, “this is a first-person narrative, delivered with bias and embellishments”…reports Ashish Ray

A controversial play on the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi performed at the prestigious National Theatre in London has fared well at the box office and has even received praise in reviews in a section of the British press.

A spokeswoman for the National Theatre indicated the stage show had achieved a “a seated capacity of 80 per cent throughout the course of the run” since last month.

The main character in the production is not Gandhi, but his killer Nathuram Godse. The depiction unfolds into a portrayal of Gandhi versus Godse ideologies, leaving comment on them somewhat unanswered, unless the audience is expected to reach a conclusion from the cacophony of Godse’s role.

“Any dramatization of history requires a degree of imaginative licence of the playright,” argued the writer of the play Chennai-born Anupama Chandrasekhar in a note in the programme for the performance. That’s fair enough. She continued: “This is not to say that the play is primarily a work of fiction. Rather, I have used history as the frame within which I could track the trajectories of both Gandhi and Godse, and therefore, of India.”

Admittedly, not a great deal is known that widely about Godse compared to a universal figure like Gandhi. This is but natural. How can a school dropout, who worked briefly as a tailor’s assistant and was in Chandrasekhar’s words “a small-time party worker” of the Hindu Mahasabha and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and then the assassin of the father of the Indian nation be of general curiosity other than his unspeakable crime?

Chandrasekhar described it as “this battle between the Champion of Ahimsa and his very opposite”. Can hate and violence be on the same pedestal as Gandhi’s peace and non-violence? She acknowledged in reference to two million people dying at the time of the partition of India: “The fact that Bengal was fairly peaceful is testament to how much people respected Gandhi – and how big India’s loss was with his death.”

Yet, she leaves the question suspended on stage and indeed permits Godse the last word. The uninitiated could leave the hall a little baffled between right and wrong, the hero and the villain. They could even wonder if today’s extremism is justified because of the death sentence handed down to Godse.

Chandrasekhar highlights the story of Godse being brought up as a girl by his parents. Is there a suggestion that the psychological injury thus committed on him at childhood was the cause of him going astray? Grounds for what he did? It’s a risky territory to venture into without scientific substantiation.

“When it comes to taboo-busting, Anupama Chandrasekhar has form,” wrote The Guardian. Its sister paper on Sundays The Observer was not as enthusiastic. It said, “this is a first-person narrative, delivered with bias and embellishments”.

Financial Times called it an “exhilarating, epic play”. But the Daily Telegraph defined it as a “dramatically slight study of Gandhi and his killer”. The New European summed up, “it’s hard not to feel Chandrashekhar has bitten off more than she can chew”.

Shubham Saraf as Godse, Paul Bazely as Gandhi and Sagar Arya as Vinayak Savarkar, not to mention Ayesha Dharkar as Godse’s mother and Sid Sagar as Narayan Apte, catch the eye. Director Indhu Rubasingham brings script together in parts quite arrestingly.

A rumour doing the rounds was the Indian government refused permission for the play to be staged in India. This was dismissed by the National Theatre spokeswoman who said: “There has never been any plan or intention to produce the play at another venue in the UK or abroad.”

The play’s current run finishes this weekend.

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London to Host Bengal Pride Awards

Draw up a list of the greatest academics and professors in UK, the greatest doctors, the greatest artistes across the nation or some of the most successful media personalities, chances are your list will include several names from the Bengali community…reports Asian Lite News

20 July 2022 will mark the third year of the Bengal Pride Awards at the House of Commons, London, dedicated to celebrating the achievements of the Bengali ethnic community from India and Bangladesh. 

The Bengali community has been, for decades, contributing to growth not just across South Asia but right across the globe. This is nowhere more evident than in the United Kingdom, where nearly half a million Bengalis live, thrive, and excel in every sphere of life. 

Anna Firth, MP and our Chairperson said: “I’m so proud to be part of the Bengal’s Pride Awards. It’s such a great way to celebrate the Bengali culture, heritage, and contribution the Bengalis are making to the UK and the global economy and society. The organisers have decided to create a very special Sir David Amess Memorial Award to remember his sacrifice and contribution to make Sound end on Sea a city.”

The awards were created to recognise community members who have made significant contributions but have never been recognised for their efforts.

One of the Trustees, Liji George noted that “The Bengal Pride Awards provide an opportunity to bring forth such individuals, showcase their accomplishments, and the worthy winner is chosen by an independent panel of judges. In recent years we have recognised some incredible individuals who would not have been known in the community otherwise,”.

Goutam Ghosh, Brand Ambassador commented, “It’s indeed a great pleasure for me to join the team of Bengal’s Pride Awards 2022… lets nominate those individuals who are making great contributions to our societies to make it great. I’ll be there to celebrate the success stories along with you all.”

 “This is the 100 years birth centenary of Bangladesh’s first PM, Sheikh Majib and 50 years of Bhasha Dibas, and both these dates are important to the Bengali sentiment.”, says Samit Biswas, Trustee Advatech Foundation.

Draw up a list of the greatest academics and professors in UK, the greatest doctors, the greatest artistes across the nation or some of the most successful media personalities, chances are your list will include several names from the Bengali community.  Refer to this page to nominate people for the awards: https://thebengalsprideawards.com/categories

BPA is the only award in the UK to acknowledge Bengalis and their achievements across all walks of life and aims to create role models for tomorrow’s community leaders – entrepreneurs, professionals, and social workers. 

They strive to recognize the pioneering spirit of the Bengali and honour the individuals who, through their work, have made a huge difference to all lives, inspiring to endure, flourish and nurture. While the awards are being held in the UK, invite nominations right across the world.

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Sadiq unveils new plan to tackle violence against women

It will target the behaviour of those who perpetrate abuse and make sure they are the focus for change…reports Asian Lite News

A new plan that champions a public health approach to ending violence against women and girls has been unveiled by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan on a visit to Waltham Forest.

While there the Mayor met a beautician and visited a dry cleaners and library to see first-hand the training and education being delivered to men about VAWG to help them become more active allies.

Cafes, libraries, dry cleaners, pubs, beauticians, gyms and other everyday venues across London are being encouraged to be part of the Mayor’s ‘whole society’ approach to tackling violence against women and girls.

The holistic approach will see close to £18m of additional investment from City Hall on specialist services to improve support for victims and survivors, tackle the behaviour of perpetrators and better educate the public on the help they can provide.

The investment in support services includes a specialised response to support all victims to have equal access to justice and services.

The Mayor’s newly refreshed strategy recognises that more robust policing or the threat of the criminal justice system alone cannot prevent violence against women and girls. 

Sadiq’s new strategy will adopt a public health approach to preventing and reducing violence against women and girls. It will place a stronger emphasis on partnership working, prevention and education across a wide range of services in London.

It will target the behaviour of those who perpetrate abuse and make sure they are the focus for change.

“The epidemic of violence is a crisis which should shame us all which is why I’m uniting with partners across London to not only provide support to women and girls but to help educate and inform all Londoners, especially men, about the danger posed by misogynistic attitudes and behaviours,” Sadiq Khan said.

“As well as record investment in services for victims and survivors, I am also funding initiatives which address the behaviour of those at risk of offending or reoffending to help prevent them turning to violence,” he added.

As part of the new plan, local authorities, the NHS, night-time venues, high street shops, Transport for London and the transport industry, universities, the police and the criminal justice system will work more closely with support services tackling VAWG to spot the signs and intervene earlier as part of the Mayor’s whole society approach to effectively tackling violence against women and girls.

High street venues across London, including dry cleaners, beauticians and cafes are being urged to sign up to become information points so that victims of violence or those at risk can be directed to support services safely, quickly and discreetly.

Civic settings such as libraries are also being encouraged to become disclosure settings where women and girls can seek specialist help. City Hall will also convene a round table discussion next month with partners to determine how the NHS and wider health sector can better tackle VAWG collectively in the capital.

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ECONOMY IN TROUBLE

A closed shop at city centre in Manchester. (Photo by Jon Super/Xinhua)

The record for job vacancies has been broken several times since the second half of last year. In the first quarter of 2022, for the first time since records began, there were fewer unemployed people than job vacancies across Britain…reports Asian Lite News

As Britain’s economy grapples with the impact of a record number of job vacancies, a labour market expert has warned that the problem may continue for another three to five years.

The impact of Britain’s departure from the European Union, and of the COVID-19 pandemic, have sparked one of the biggest worker shortages in years, Donald Houston, a professor from the University of Portsmouth, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

Data released on Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the number of job vacancies rose to a new high of 1.3 million during March to May 2022. This is over half a million more than before the pandemic.

The record for job vacancies has been broken several times since the second half of last year. In the first quarter of 2022, for the first time since records began, there were fewer unemployed people than job vacancies across Britain.

“It’s important to say that what’s happening is not that the economy is suddenly booming, and that we’ve got a huge growth in labor demand. This is driven entirely by a reduction in the number of people in the workforce,” Houston said.

British employers in many industrial sectors are reporting serious difficulties recruiting enough workers, he said. This has led to difficulties including chaos at airports, and massive flight cancellations during the jubilee holiday.

“What’s really been going on is a combination of the pandemic made slightly worse by Brexit,” said Houston, a professor of economic geography at the university’s faculty of science and health.

He said Britain’s shortage of workers became evident as the country emerged from lockdown.

“Some staff moved into early retirement because they’d had enough of working during the lockdown, and a lot of people moved out of the labor market because of long-term sickness, no doubt a good chunk of that due to long COVID. And then we’ve also lost about 100,000 European workers compared to before the pandemic,” he told Xinhua.

Earlier this month, an ONS survey revealed that an estimated 2 million people in Britain had lingering COVID-19 symptoms more than four weeks after their initial infection, which is classified as long COVID.

However, Houston said the job vacancy crisis should improve fairly rapidly, but will not completely disappear for a long time.

“Because some of the issues are long-term structural issues, such as losing well over 100,000 people of working age to early retirement during the pandemic, and losing another 100,000-plus people to long-term sickness because of the pandemic, plus the loss of 100,000 EU workers. Those problems aren’t going to go away anytime soon,” he said.

“It’s going to take another three to five years beyond that to make sure that we have sufficient workers, and workers with sufficient skills to build a sustainable recovery,” the professor said.

He also blamed the geographically uneven vacancy crisis across Britain. The highest vacancy rates in the country have been seen in rural parts of the southwest and northwest, as well as certain inner London boroughs.

“Some of these rural and inner London boroughs are some of the places that have the greatest dependency on foreign workers, in particular for agriculture and hospitality,” said Houston.

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