Religion
British citizens of history
Published 13 September 2007
Jack Straw's green paper The Governance of Britain, published in July, has provided the best laugh I've had in years
A keen sense of irony appears to be part of the sense of fun of our new and renewing government. Indeed, reading the section on citizenship in Jack Straw's green paper The Governance of Britain, published in July, has provided the best laugh I've had in years. At the outset, let me make it clear that I take my British citizenship very seriously. I remember the day my father lined the whole family up and formally presented us with our naturalisation papers. Not exactly the ceremonial occasion the government is contemplating, but more deeply felt than any bureaucratic invention.
The trouble is that this long ago seminal moment in my family's life was itself laden with irony. Both my parents were born British subjects, citizens of the British Raj. Britain had been in the business of shaping their identity, and consequently mine, for centuries. It was only when we ventured to set foot in Britain that doubt about our citizenship and ability to be British arose. Now Straw informs us that the concept of citizenship is complex. He suggests we should "look to history to help us to define citizenship". But alas, the history Straw has in mind is the "more clearly defined sense of citizenship" that he finds in the US, Canada, Australia and South Africa! Does no one at the new Ministry of Justice have any knowledge of history? Are we to draw our lessons from the most racist and confused states on the planet? All became "nations" by dispossessing the original inhabitants.
Take Australia, the only country where no treaty was ever made with the indigenous population. Its idea of citizenship included hunting them to extinction for sport; the last such massacre occurred in 1958. Aborigines became citizens only in 1948 and the road to effective citizenship remained tortuous. They still have few rights despite being citizens.
South Africa became a nation by reserving 13 per cent of its land as the rightful abode of its indigenous population, allotting all the rest to white immigrants for their enrichment. South African citizenship is still suffering from this historical baggage, despite the process of reconciliation consequent on abolishing apartheid.
Canada, too, had to face its own problems of reconciliation when two European identities - English and French - refused national assimilation into Canadianness. This prompted a third group, the Ukrainians, to demand parity. The upshot led one prime minister, Jean Chrétien, to declare Canada a "post-national" state with a string of issues yet to be resolved. As for that beacon of patriotism, the United States: its deification of the symbols of nationhood has not spared it from spawning patriots dedicated to taking up arms against their own government. The 1995 Oklahoma bombing was committed by US-born white citizens. And today, the vast majority of black Americans still suffer second-class status.
To develop our own ideas of citizenship, we have to look at our own history. A great proportion of Britons of African-Caribbean and south Asian origin arrived here with a history of connection and service to Britain. Often, they were families of those who had fought for Britain in two world wars or served its colonial administration, and all had been raised with and educated in British mores. It was Britain that found them ambiguous and threatening.
Like so many of this ilk, I remain proud to be British despite a lifetime of "Paki go home" punches. I need to know Britain is proud of me, embraces the distinctiveness of my historic formation in Britishness, and is prepared to muddle along to a future we will make together. Importing historic nonsense from white settler communities and flying Union Jacks is no answer.
Post this article to
We want to encourage people to comment on our content and to exchange views with other readers and hope this will be done on a courteous basis. However, if you encounter posts which are offensive please let us know by emailing comments@newstatesman.co.uk and we will take swift action where necessary.
