India: Minorities

Debate between Lord Singh of Wimbledon and Baroness Chapman of Darlington

Wednesday 2nd July 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I would also add the Dalit community to that list. This is obviously a concern. There is no room for conversion laws—that is not something that we want to see, and it is a concern in terms of human rights. As I have said when other issues of concern have been raised, we will continue to raise these as appropriate, usually in private with the Government of India.

[Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB)]

My Lord, it is right that we criticise the treatment of minorities in India, where a historic mosque was demolished to build a Hindu temple, where the Home Minister describes Muslims as “termites” and where a young British Sikh has been detained and tortured for years. But does the Minister agree that our condemnation would carry far more weight if we were seen to treat non-Abrahamic communities fairly in this country? The Casey report of 2016 gave numerous examples of hate crime against Christians, Jews and Muslims, but no mention of non- Abrahamic faiths. We now talk of additional protection and funding against antisemitism and Islamophobia, again ignoring the suffering of non-Abrahamic faiths. I must declare an interest: I speak as a Sikh, believing in the equal treatment of people of all faiths and beliefs.

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I do not think that there is anybody in this House who would not agree that we should—and do—believe in the equal treatment of all people of all faiths and beliefs. This is fundamental to who we are. We have laws that support this, and the vast majority of people in this country support that too. Where we fall short or where there are problems in our communities or at high-profile events, there are steps that could and should be taken, and this Government support that.

International Aid Workers: Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Debate between Lord Singh of Wimbledon and Baroness Chapman of Darlington

Tuesday 26th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

As the noble Lord should know—perhaps his noble friend might like to remind him—UNRWA is the only viable way to get aid into Gaza at the scale that is needed now. We understand the concerns of the Israeli Government, which were investigated. We resumed funding because we have an approaching crisis; many thousands of people are about to lose their lives unless aid gets into Gaza.

[Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB)]

My Lords, the United Nations aid agencies, the International Criminal Court and human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch all say that what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank is genocide. The Pope says it is genocide. In the circumstances, does the Minister agree that to talk of humanitarian aid while supplying weapons to assist in the genocide is nothing short of hypocrisy?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

My Lords, I am very careful about the use of the word “genocide”. It is not a word that should be bandied around by any politician. Genocide is for a court to determine. That has not happened, and unless and until it does, I will not refer to this as genocide.