Sikhs Launch Legal Challenge Against Office For National Statistics (Ons)

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

SIKHS LAUNCH LEGAL CHALLENGE AGAINST OFFICE FOR NATIONAL STATISTICS (ONS)

25 March 2010 - The Sikh Federation (UK) has today lodged a judicial review claim against the ONS for not including a ‘Sikh’ ethnic question tick-box in the 2011 Census.

The 17-page pre-action letter issued to the ONS by Bindmans, a top law firm specialising in human rights and discrimination with nationally recognised leading experts, asserts the decision not to include an ethnic tick-box in the 2011 Census, and the decision-making process leading up to it, is unlawful.

The letter points out serious limitations in the Equality Impact Assessment and prioritisation exercise carried out by the ONS.

The ONS is specifically accused of:

a) failing to gather or commission research that would have provided them with the information needed to make a considered decision;

b) failing to consider relevant information that was already available to them prior to both exercises; and

c) considering irrelevant or flawed information.

The letter states: “ONS’s failure to gather and consider relevant information has led them to reach inadequate and incorrect conclusions which are unsupported by facts.”

“Substantial under-counting of the Sikh population, and its implications in terms of equality monitoring and the provision of services, is an issue of serious concern within the Sikh community.”

The letter concludes:

“There can be no doubt that failure to include Sikhs in the ethnic category of the Census disadvantages them by comparison with ethnic groups who are included. The omission of Sikhs renders them invisible as an ethnic group. The invisibility of Sikhs means that their distinct needs are overlooked in terms of the provision of services and equality monitoring. At its lowest, this means that public authorities cannot identify the needs of Sikhs, or the disadvantages suffered by them, and cannot therefore promote equality of opportunity or eliminate discrimination.”

The ONS will have 14 days to provide a response.

Gurjeet Singh

National Press Secretary

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

Sikhs file plea against census authority

Thursday, 25 March 2010 22:07

London , March 25: British Sikhs on Thursday lodged a judicial review claim against the UK statistics authority over the 2011 census form, which does not describe Sikhs as an ethnic category.

The Office for National Statistics runs the census in England and Wales and the 2011 census will be held on March 27 next year.

“The 17-page pre-action letter was issued to the ONS by Bindmans, a top law firm specialising in human rights and discrimination. It asserts that the decision not to include an ethnic tick-box in the 2011 Census, and the decision-making process leading up to it, is unlawful,” said the Sikh Federation (UK), the lead organisation in the action over the issue.

The letter gives 14 days to the Office of National Statistics to provide a response.

Last month, the Sikh groups had started negotiating with 2011 Census authorities and at the time, the federation’s Jagtar Singh had made it clear that legal action against the ONS would be the last resort. Any legal action against the ONS on the census would halt the 2011 census and affect the census process.

According to the pre-action letter to Census 2011 director Glen Watson, “The ONS failure to gather and consider relevant information has led them to reach inadequate and incorrect conclusions which are unsupported by facts.”

The Sikh organisations in Britain claim that there is a “substantial under-counting of the Sikh population” without the ethnic identification.

There has been an upsurge in lobbying by British groups in the United States over this issue and the issue had to be resolved without marking a special ethnicity box for Sikhs on the census forms as the counting has already started in the United States.

A number of global Sikh organisations are also involved in building pressure on the British government.

SARJU KAUL

http://www.asianage.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6814:sikhs-file-plea-against-census-authority&catid=36:international&Itemid=61

[SikhWorldTv]

wjkk wjkf Khalsa ji 100% Support your efforts.

I must also bring to attention that I have been watching MATV this weeks Ravidass Celebrations. On Wednesday a white male MP (did not get his name) gave a speech and explained his ongoing efforts with other MP's to lobby Parliament and the Census board to recognize the Ravidassia Dharm as a distinct group and to be given a specific status tick box if not this time but in readiness for the 2021 Census.

This may weaken the overall Sikh count as some parts of our Khalsa who follow groups or cults are separating themselves from the Panth.

Mere Pritama Jio

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

Sikh legal challenge against ONS & Sikh Vote 2010 also highlighted on the following web site:

www.onesocietymanycultures.org

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

Following sent to all UK MPs this evening:

Back the Sikh community - Support the ‘Prayer’ against the Census Regulation 2010

1) Last week Sikhs were forced to lodge a Judicial Review claim against the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

2) The pre-action letter (attached) asserts the ONS decision not to include an ethnic tick-box for Sikhs in the 2011 Census, and the decision-making process leading up to it, is unlawful.

3) Will the Conservative Opposition stand by its long-standing commitment for a Sikh ethnic tick-box and table a ‘prayer’ against the Census Regulation 2010 this week that should force a debate and vote?

4) Will the Liberal Democrat Opposition support the need for a Sikh ethnic tick-box and back the motion against the Census Regulation 2010?

5) Will the many Labour MPs that have supported the Sikh demand honour their support for the Sikh community before the General Election?

OR

6) Will the Sikh community have to rely on the courts to intervene as ONS has misled Parliamentarians and acted unlawfully?

SIKH FEDERATION (UK)

[Into the Light]

wjkk wjkf Khalsa ji 100% Support your efforts.

I must also bring to attention that I have been watching MATV this weeks Ravidass Celebrations. On Wednesday a white male MP (did not get his name) gave a speech and explained his ongoing efforts with other MP's to lobby Parliament and the Census board to recognize the Ravidassia Dharm as a distinct group and to be given a specific status tick box if not this time but in readiness for the 2021 Census.

This may weaken the overall Sikh count as some parts of our Khalsa who follow groups or cults are separating themselves from the Panth.

Mere Pritama Jio

As per my understanding, i'm not sure it will have too much of impact on us as if you speak to Ravidassi's, for along time the majority of them have been stating that they are Hindu, so if they want a separate box, it most likely will effect Hindu's more than us as only a very small minority refer to themselves as Sikh.

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

Board rejects Sikh attempt to list Jews and Sikhs as ethnicity

By Simon Rocker

Created 1 Apr 2010 - 12:30pm

The Board of Deputies has distanced itself from threatened legal action by a Sikh group to have both communities included as ethnic groups on the next census.

Both Jews and Sikhs are recognised for the voluntary religious question, which was introduced at the last census in 2001.

But whereas both are legally classified as ethnic groups - unlike Hindus or Muslims, recognised only as religious communities - they are not listed in the ethnic category on the census.

The Sikh Federation UK, a radical organisation which supports the creation of an independent Sikh state in the Punjab, said it would mount a legal challenge against the Office of National Statistics for Sikhs to be identified as ethnic on the next census.

SFUK wants the census to "reflect both the religious and racial identity of both Jews and Sikhs", Gurjeet Singh, its national press secretary, said.

It also accused the ONS of "working behind the scenes to undermine" the proposed change by "exerting pressure on the Board of Deputies".

But Daniel Vulkan, the Board's research and information officer, rejected any suggestion of being under "any kind of pressure or undue influence".

He explained: "In our formal submission to the ONS, we requested that 'Jewish' be included as one of the options under the ethnicity question. However, we understand the reasons why this did not prove to be possible."

He added: "It would also seriously compromise the ability to compare the results of the 2011 census with those from 2001. This comparison will, for the first time ever, provide invaluable information relating to changes in the size and profile of the Jewish community over a period of time."

.

Source URL: http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/30082/board-rejects-sikh-attempt-list-jews-and-sikhs-ethnicity