By Dr. Sawraj Singh
I have just read two reports about discrimination and racism: one from the U.S. and the other from the U.K. Both of these reports should serve as an eye-opener for the people who have the wrong impression that the West is the champion of democracy and human rights. The truth is that racism, hypocrisy and double standards are integral parts of western capitalism. Even though discrimination exists in every society, whether based upon race, color, ethnicity, caste, national origin, gender, religion, socioeconomic status or for holding different political views, yet no other society has claimed itself to be the champion of democracy and human rights.
For example, discrimination on the basis of caste is a well-known fact in India. I have never seen any serious political leader or a true intellectual denying the fact that casteism exists in India. Similarly, no serious person has made the claim that India has achieved a casteless society. However, there are many people who claim or believe that western societies are law-abiding societies in which the laws are equally applied to all people.
The report on the U.S. prison rate was just released by the National Research Council (NRC). Since 1970, the rate of incarceration has quadrupled. In 1973, the number of Americans in prison was around 200,000. By 2009, that number grew to 1.5 million. An additional 750,000 Americans are held daily in local jails. The U.S. penal population of 2.2 million is the largest in the world, close to 25% of the world’s prisoner population, although America has a population which is about 5% of the world’s population. The U.S. rate of incarceration is 5-10 times higher than Europe and other democracies. The NRC calls this “historically unprecedented and internationally unique.”
Most of the prisoners are blacks and Hispanics and come from the most disadvantaged segments of the population. They are mainly men under age 40 and who are poorly educated. A very disturbing fact is that a black man under the age of 35 and who did not graduate from high school has a greater chance of being in prison than in the work force. The report concludes: “The meaning and consequences of the new reality cannot be separated from issues of social equality and the quality of citizenships of the nation’s racial and ethnic minorities.” Regarding this report, David Downs of East Bay Express has said it best, “Congrats, fellow Americans. We did it. Like mastering the atom, or walking on the moon, we’ve succeeded where others have come up short. We’ve put more people in more cages than any country ever in the history of the Earth. Land of the free, indeed!”
According to the just-released statistics from the Medical Council, Indian doctors are far more likely to be stopped from practicing Medicine, four times more than locally trained doctors, in the U. K. The countries with the largest numbers of doctors removed from the U.K. register are India, followed by Pakistan, Egypt and Nigeria. This is yet another example of discrimination within the system. I am glad that the U.K.’s statistics have been released. I have extensive experience of the American medical system discriminating against minority physicians, particularly of Indian origin. I have repeatedly asked the State Medical Boards to release data regarding the racial and ethnic backgrounds of physicians against whom they took disciplinary actions. However, such statistics have never been released.
My impression is that Indian physicians face much worse discrimination in the U.S., even compared to the U.K. I feel the main reason for this is that Indian physicians not only face discrimination because of being a minority, but also because many times, white physicians become very jealous when they see that Indian physicians can be more intelligent than them. Another factor which works against Indian physicians is that sometimes their command of the English language can be better than American physicians, and sometimes patients like and prefer Indian physicians more than white physicians. These factors make white physicians extremely jealous of Indian physicians. White physicians gang up against them, incite patients against them and conspire with attorneys. Not only do white physicians get rid of their professional rivals, they also make money in the process. If the western countries were really law-abiding, then such doctors, attorneys and members of Medical Boards should have been tried for inciting racial hatred. To my knowledge, the FBI or any other law enforcing agency has never shown any interest in exploring crimes of racism in medicine. These racial crimes are far more dangerous than the so-called fraud charges brought against Indian physicians. Inciting racial hatred can deepen racial divisions and eventually risks tearing the country apart. Whatever the reasons may be, the fact remains that Indian physicians face discrimination much more than any other racial or ethnic group. An ironical and disturbing factor about Indian physicians and other Indians is that they are generally the biggest admirers of the western capitalist system until they become victims of it. Then they suddenly have a change of heart. Unfortunately, many times that change comes too late.
There are many Indians who are holding on to and actively propagating the myth that western societies have risen above all prejudices and have become role models of social equality, justice and respect for law. These two reports should at least make these people reconsider their beliefs. The reality is very different than what they think. Maybe they will understand that their beliefs are a manifestation of a slavish mentality and the fact that they are products of an educational system whose foundation was laid by the East India Company. This foundation was laid upon the principles of imposing values of western admiration and promoting an inferiority complex amongst Indians towards their own culture and heritage. Contrary to their belief, western capitalism is based upon racism and inequality. Without them, western capitalism in its present form cannot survive. The West is neither a champion of democracy nor of human rights; racism and inequality are an integral part of it.
Western capitalism was founded upon the fundamental principle of generating profit. This translates into the concept that economics is above ethics. Combating racism and promoting social equality are questions of ethics. When a society pushes ethics to a subservient position to economics, then it can neither eliminate racism nor can it uphold principles of social equality and justice.
The Indian people, who generally have a better command of English than other minorities, can help to expose the true nature of western capitalism. Not only will they be doing a great service to their community, but to all other communities, including whites, because when there is social inequality and injustice, then everyone in that society pays a price. Moreover, if a society voluntarily takes steps to reform itself,then it has less chance of violent change. The present western-dominated world is destined to change to a multi-polar system before the middle of the century. It is in everyone’s interest that this change should be peaceful and smooth, rather than violent and full of turmoil.
Dr. Sawraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S. is the Chairman of the Washington State Network for Human Rights and Chairman of the Central Washington Coalition for Social Justice. He can be reached at [email protected].
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