consequence is of no consequence

21.03.2026

‘There is a type of rage,’ I was telling Alfonso slowly and deliberately, ‘that keeps on growing and growing. You cannot vanquish it. It is the growth of rejection.’

‘You have it. I can see,’ answered Alfonso. He was dressed, as per usual, immaculately. He had a beautiful green blazer on that reminded me of the two colours that the Koreans called green. With a purple jumper and a yellow tie. My handsome, handsome friend. His face was alive with energy, with the radiance of the sun.

‘Indeed, I do,’ I answered. ‘Yes, I sit there thinking to myself that they denied me a place at Cambridge because of the colour of my skin when I actually passed the interview. Then, they denied me top jobs and put me on the reserve list when I had passed the interviews because of the colour of my skin. They denied me what I deserved, what I was owed. They have tried to keep me down. It is because of them that I do not have children and a family right now.’

‘All you can think of,’ said Alfonso sharply, ‘is your revenge. That is all there is with you.’

‘Why deny anger?’ I shrugged my shoulders. ‘As I said, the anger is getting worse and not better. And this anger is not merely for myself. Because that would be selfish. This anger is for the community. For the past, the present and the future. Besides which,’ I continued, ‘this anger has been forged over thousands of years for the oppressed. It is the anger of the whole people. No one can match this anger.’

‘This society that you accuse of racism and oppression,’ asked Alfonso, ‘how comes you have prospered in it?’

‘Because of my family that looked after me,’ I said. ‘Because I worked every hour under the sun doing work that is not on my level. With this work ethic and this energy, no one can keep me down. I am richer than all of them.’

‘How can you accuse them of being racist when all of your nearest outside of the family are from the dominant culture?’

‘Not everyone is a racist. There are those that give acceptance and even love. If a culture is racist, it does not mean that everyone follows the culture. Look at me. I don’t follow it.’

‘How do you know you are not a racist?’

‘Because, as you have just said, all of the nearest and dearest outside my family are from the dominant culture. Unlike the racists in this society, I don’t say one thing and then do another. I do as I say. I practise what I preach. Harmony. Integration across cultures. Inclusivity and diversity. While I respect and value my own background, I am more than willing to accept and befriend others, to be their lover.’

‘You criticise this culture.’

‘So what? I am British. I can criticise as I please. Who is going to stop me? The ones that can’t take my criticism are the racists, because they know that I have brown skin and they would silence me. You can’t silence the truth. This is a culture of cowardice, hate and lies, of mindless conformity and oppression and greed.’

‘Still you say it. Despite being hated for it.’

‘No one can stop me. Because it is the truth.’

‘There are consequences to speech.’

‘Consequence is of no consequence. I am not a yes man or a sycophant or a coward like many in this society. We do not have to live like this and it is not the right way to live. The real value of life is connection, diversity and inclusion. The real value of life is love. Not hate and lies and cowardice. The real value of life is to make friends with difference. To embrace difference with open arms. To learn from everyone. Openness, equality and respect.’

‘You have a narrow view of this society.’

‘As I have said before, look at the leaders of this culture. Are you satisfied with this? Are you satisfied with the garbage that they spout? Are you satisfied with how they burn the world with their greed, how they kill the innocent with impunity, how they coerce their people to follow them with corrupt taxes and corrupt lies? And then, you look at their bias and prejudice in work and even in love.’

‘What bias in work?’

‘You want statistics? One in four young people have reported that their ethnicity is a barrier to progression in their career. There are more ethnic minority workers in insecure jobs. About 12% of ethnic minority workers have been denied promotions based on their ethnicity. We are unfairly disciplined and seen with suspicion at work. Because of our foreign names, we are less likely to be invited to the interview in the first place. About 88% of employees believe racism exists in their workplaces, and three-quarters believe racism is a problem, suggesting little progress over the past few years.This list goes on and on.’

‘You agree.’

‘Yes.’

I passed over a small coconut chocolate sweet to Alfonso and we chewed these little treats together in silent companionship. There was always much to say. And very little time to say it. But we would say it.

the cheapness of the rich

15.03.2026

S: The rich are mean and cheap.

A: What makes you say this?

S: Every time that they have had a choice between the machine and the man, to exploit labour fully, they have chosen the machine. They do not want to feed families. They want labour at a minimal or zero cost. They are cheap and mean. Why did the windmills come in? Because they are cheap and mean. Why did the computers come in? Because they are cheap and mean. Why is AI coming in and taking over all professions? Because they are cheap and mean.

A: And?

S: They have no empathy with others. They do not want to share their resources with others. They want to keep all the money for themselves and keep themselves at the top of this fawning and sycophantic society of slaves that fawn over them. They do not care about the planet. They care about AI. They do not care about the families. They care about themselves. They would rather have everyone out of work and for AI to be taking all of the jobs.

A: If you hate them so much, why don’t you do something about it?

S: I have told you so many times before. You can not touch them. You can do nothing about it. Because this is a society of slaves. They would let anyone walk all over them. They have no backbone, no discipline and no idea of how to organise and do anything. Try to persuade them. They will do nothing. Unless you preach hate against those that they perceive as less than them.

A: Become a luddite. Destroy the machines.

S: That is what this age calls for. And yet, these cowards and non-men sit there, doing nothing. The world burns with climate change. What do they really do about it? They can do nothing. That is why they are non-men. The leaders that they choose have nothing in them. They can do nothing against the rich because they worship them. They want to be them.

experiencing racism

24.02.2026

S: Someone was directly and unashamedly racist to me today. In the news this week, there is racism in sport. Players are being subjected to hate crime, thousands of messages a week. In film, there is racism. At the BAFTAs, someone used a racial slur. And in politics, all you have are these racists.

A: I notice you are not swearing.

S: That’s because of the censorship board that sits there. They never censor racism. Only when you criticise racism. We all know who they love.

A: What happened to you today? What was this racism?

S: I was helping some elderly people. Then this old man asked me what my name was. He didn’t understand it, so he had to ask to read it. Then, he said ‘Is that your real name? Has it been shortened? Because when these people come over here, they shorten their names and use different names.’

A: How was that racist?

S: It’s good you asked. Because in this racist culture, that would count as normal conversation even though it is so offensive. It is racist because it was my grandfather that came over. It is racist because this guy doubted that I was using my real name, like I was some criminal or something. It is racist because he assumed that I wasn’t British and had come over recently even though I’ve been born and bred in Great Britain. It was racist because he couldn’t even accept my answer to his question because I was different from him.

A: What did you do?

S: I looked at this ignoramus and smiled at him. Because in my culture, we treat the elderly with respect. And I knew that he would never stop being a racist. If I had said something, he would have taken offence and kicked up a fuss. Because an ethnic minority man was challenging his racist behaviour. I wasn’t racist to him. I didn’t look at his skin and assume he would be a racist. I didn’t prejudge him.

A: What is the solution to ending racism?

S: You can’t stop these idiots being ignorant. They always say that they didn’t realise how offensive they were. They say that you have to excuse our ignorance. They are ignorant on purpose. They read papers that are full of hate. They listen to politicians that are full of hate. They defend each other’s racism and teach it in schools and in their films and books and TV shows. They are a culture of deliberate ignorance and distancing from anyone perceived as different.

A: Why tell about it?

S: What else is there? Except to point out that their whole culture is one of racism. Even when you are helping them, that is the treatment that you get. And when you point it out like I do? They hate you even more. Because you dared to tell the truth about how they treated you because you were an ethnic minority man.

A: Feelings?

S: Just confirms what I think of this racist culture. There is no surprise. Someone on my level should be sitting at the top of this society. I am not because of their racism. Even when I was with the one I am with, someone shouted at me in a car to go back home when I was with her recently. That is what this is.

power hunger

27.01.2025

S: Those that want power and that get some power, they hold onto it desperately, with everything that they have got.

A: Example?

S: Why do you think that they will not recruit from certain groups in society? It is all a game of power. Power means having in this society. It is not India where those that do not have have the greatest power. In India, the poor and the disenfranchised are the ones that control the votes. They vote more than the wealthy. Here, it is the wealthy that control the politics. Wealth is power over here. So, therefore, they try to keep some from wealth. They are gatekeepers. That is what they think power is.

A: So, the professions where the wealth is, they keep us out?

S: Precisely. There is a devilry in the deception and the defrauding that goes on here with opportunities.

A: Anything further?

S: It is also a game of sexual power. In this society, it is wealth that is seductive. The way that the wealthy are. By denying wealth, you are denying sexual power.

A: And what has happened with you?

S: I am wealthy despite them. Because someone that works as hard as me will never be poor. Someone that can do so much will never be poor. I have power. I have a voice. I have soft power. As a writer, a journalist, a photographer, an artist, as someone that shapes cultural experiences. They couldn’t stop me. I am invincible. However much they tried to keep me from power, I have power anyway. No one can stop me. I am a dominant force. What is their power before the power of The Tiger? It is nothing. What is outside of Punjab has never been able to triumph over Punjab.

the age of independence

20.01.2026

S: You know, when people tell me to become independent, I just drone it out. They are constantly saying it.

A: Are you not sick of it and them?

S: The problem is the problem of the zealot. Independence is their religion. They will have no blasphemy of their god, independence.

A: There is a criticism here.

S: This is the age of independence. And look what it has brought them. They are all sick and suffering from depression. Because they are alone and they are not connected.

A: Is that just from their independence?

S: Most likely. Do you think it is normal to live without human connections? Obviously it is not. They have made themselves sick. I’m not going to make myself sick. They have made themselves poor. I’m not going to make myself poor. It is against reason. Why would I court precarity, the precarity of independence? Again, look at their politics. They are the politics of independence.

A: What do you mean?

S: Brexit and the solitary isolation of Great Britain. Trump in America deciding that he is going to make enemies with all the world and separate himself with walls and with hate from everyone. Keeping out of the climate accords and Nato. No togetherness and no community. Not so splendid isolation all over the world with the far Right. Trade tariffs and other bullshit to try and keep the world disconnected and countries isolated from each other. It is the politics of isolation and independence. Yet these politicians are not different from the people in this country. The people always say it is not us, it is the politicians. However, these people and these politicians are all one with each other.

A: What do you think?

S: Fuck their so-called independence. We come from India. We come from Punjab. We are Tigers. We have a community. We live for the community and connection. We have a family. We live for the family and connection. We have real independence. Because we do not believe in the state. We hate the state. We believe in ourselves. The village and Punjab. We do not believe in false superiority based on race and ethnicity. We do not believe in the injustice of ‘independence’ which relies on exploitation and the mongering of hate and superiority. We are not wage slaves because the family supports us. We are not selfish, greedy and grasping because the family supports us. Our reliance on the family is not dependence. We are independent because we rely on the family. In the village and in Punjab, we have the politics of togetherness. The community comes first, not the individual and his isolation. Belonging comes first, independent identity afterwards. We don’t have the ego and arrogance to be independent in the way of these selfish countries and their politics. In their countries, we are the only ones that are independent. Because we copy no one. We follow no one. We follow our own path. The path of The Tiger. The path of the truly independent. And that is why we have self-determination. And them? They have nothing and are nothing. There is no way that they can last. Because their independence will lose them all of their power. The way of power is connection, not arrogance. The way of power is togetherness and not loneliness. The way of freedom is not the solitude of the tyrant, but the laugh of the crowd. They deal with atoms. We deal with the universe in its connections.

Suneel’s Christmas Message – TfL RACE CNG Newsletter December 2025

It is time to write a Christmas message. I write this message as someone that comes from a Hindu, Guru Ravidasia and Sikh background but, as everyone knows, Christmas has become cosmopolitan in the United Kingdom, even regarded by many as a secular festival. All faiths and backgrounds sit together on Christmas day to make it an occasion for family and friends. Christmas is celebrated in different ways by all of us but we share the celebration together.

In my view, one of the themes of Christmas is a belief in dignity against a society that may take dignity away from people. Jesus is born to a poor family, in a stable, and first welcomed by shepherds—people on the margins of society. In addition, Jesus was a Jew from Galilee and Jews in 1st-century Judea were an ethno-religious minority living under Roman imperial rule, with limited political power. Within the Roman world, Jewish people were often stereotyped, taxed heavily, and at times persecuted for their customs and beliefs. So for me, the nativity story, which sees Jesus as God, returns dignity among those often overlooked.

If there was an earnest belief in dignity, I believe the work of improving society would have been done and the champions of diversity could rest. This could have happened long ago. One of the great examples of the belief in dignity is the Edict of Ashoka from the 3rd Century BCE. Reeling from the devastation of wars that he had caused, wracked by guilt, Ashoka turned to compassion and respect for all people to transform himself and his world.

In his rock and pillar edicts, Ashoka affirmed the inherent dignity of every individual, passing over divisions of ethnicity, religion, or social status. Ashoka supported religious tolerance among Buddhists, Hindus, Jains, Greeks, Persians, and other groups within the empire. He promoted equal justice and humane treatment under the law, as well as respectful dialogue between cultures rather than dominance or suppression. Ashoka wrote that honouring others’ beliefs “strengthens one’s own faith,” reflecting an early understanding that dignity and equality thrive in diverse societies.

The nativity story and Ashoka matter to us today. The belief in human dignity is not a modern invention but has deep historical roots. This belief has long been essential to peaceful coexistence in multicultural societies. I hope that we can all believe in dignity so that we can all live dignified lives. Not just at Christmas, but all the year round. My thoughts go out to the Jewish community as I write because of the recent Bondi Beach mass shooting, but also to all in this world affected by those for whom there is evidently not a belief in dignity, of the dignity of life, the dignity of choice, the dignity of difference and the dignity of diversity.

Dr. Suneel Mehmi (Lead Editor)

the impermeability and resilience of hate (microfiction)

21.11.2025

S: A lot of people think that racism is natural.

A: Why?

S: Because they have cultivated it to be so strong here. One of the most xenophobic and racist countries in the entire world.

A: Why remark upon it? They are racist but you are not allowed to say that they are. They don’t want to admit it to themselves. They are under the delusion that they are good people. They have made the country into an embarrassment.

S: The reason I bring it up is to ask you the question. Have you ever pondered upon the impermeability and resilience of hate?

A: What do you mean?

S: These haters can be around people of difference the whole day at work and so on. In different social settings, wherever. They have been around us for hundreds of years. And yet, they still hate us. We are not included in their social networks. Their deepest relationships are like for like.

A: So from that you draw the conclusion that hate is impermeable and resilient?

S: It is not, of course, everyone. There are exceptions. My closest friends are across cultures. But, speaking in general terms, all it takes is a human dung heap like Farage or Trump for them to flare up with their hate crimes. And recruit their little chickenshit scumbags to stoke the flames and rouse up these imbeciles in this society against us.

A: What is the point of pointing it out? It is not going to change anything.

S: To say the truth is an act of resistance in itself. I don’t accept the bullshit lip service narrative that they are trying to project, that racism has been cured, that there is no work to be done, that everyone is living in a rosy tinted reality holding hands. They are wrong. They are atrocious. Their society is atrocious. It is worse now with racism than when I was a kid, when the skinheads were around.

A: You want to say the truth and they want to cancel you. What is this game? Why is it worth playing?

S: One day, they will look back at this period in history and they will say that it was The Tiger that was right. It is right to be militant against their racism. It is right to criticise them. It is right to fight them. It is right to keep on saying that it does not matter what colour someone is, what culture they are from, that everyone is worthy of love and that we are all human beings.

A: But you don’t see these racists as human beings. All you do is swear at them.

S: When you become a monster, then in the story, there will be someone to kill the monster. The hero. In this story, it is The Tiger.

killing hitler (microfiction)

11.11.2025

S: There are two kinds of people. Those that would kill Hitler. And those that would not.

A: Are you just talking about Hitler?

S: That is up to you to decide. When a tyrant and a despot, a fascist, when scum takes over, should you lie back and let him fuck you? Should you let the scum dictate the terms? Or should you end it? That is the difference between a non-man and a responsible citizen. It is the key question of our times, of any time.

A: So you would kill Hitler.

S: In the cradle if I had to.

A: You could square that with your conscience?

S: Do you hear the screams of the ones that he persecuted? Do these screams haunt you? Can you hear those screams in the night?

A: You would be the judge of life and death?

S: If you do not kill Hitler, you are Hitler. You accept sin.

A: Sin, judgement, murder. What is this philosophy?

S: In the film ‘Hum’ (Us), Tiger says that there are two kinds of cockroaches. A cockroach from the gutter can make an individual sick. But a cockroach from the dirtiness of sin makes the whole of society sick.

A: Nobody believes in sin any more.

S: That is your mistake. Sin does exist. Sin is objective fact. Sin is what the Hitlers of this world commit. If evil has a face, that is it.

A: What makes you so good that you would punish sin with death?

S: Whether I am good or not, I try to be good. Whether or not there is a fight, I try to be a warrior. Whether or not I have the opportunity to make a real difference, I try to make a real difference. It is not your nature that makes you good or evil. It is what you do with what you have. We all make mistakes.

A: Hitler will never come before you. You are one of the little people. There will never be the occasion. Hitler is protected by this society. This society models itself on Hitler, despite the pretence that it does not. This society is obsessed by Hitler.

S: When there was no way, Narsimha the Man-Tiger exploded from the column to kill the tyrant that thought himself invincible. The prayer of the people is god upon earth, to kill Hitler. In my culture, the obsession is the murder of Hitler. In one corner of the world, they give birth to warriors. That is why Punjab is immortal. That is why Punjab is just. Because we kill Hitler. India’s contribution to the war against Hitler was decisive.

the shock of the racist (microfiction)

28.10.2025

S: It’s ludicrous, isn’t it?

A: What?

S: The shock of the racist.

A looks at S quizzically.

S: All they do is spout hate. Every single word is a hate crime. But then when you point out that they are racist, suddenly there is shock and surprise.

A: You are talking about someone in particular?

S: Look at that piece of shit Farage…

A: Here we go again.

S: He is lucky…

A: Stop there. Don’t say it.

S: Okay, I won’t. But look at their strategy. Hate crime after hate crime. The persecution and oppression of anyone perceived as other because of their culture or race. And then, if you ever point it out, then there is denial, denial, denial. Outrage even. That is the thing about a racist. If you point it out to them, they think that they are entitled to anger. They love lies and lies only.

A: And what of it? A bastard is a bastard. They cannot be legit.

S: You know what it is? The racist pretends that they love the Other. They have this deceit that they love the Other. They won’t countenance any exposure of the stuntedness of their hearts.

A: That’s going a bit far, isn’t it? How do you reckon they are fabricating a tale of love?

S: Look at imperialism. They pretended they loved us so that they could rule over us. They said they loved us so much that they were going to ‘civilise’ us. When they had no civilisation because unjust rule over another is not civilisation, it is barbarity. Thinking yourself better than another because they are different and excluding them is barbarity, not civilisation. A civilisation of barbarity.

A: You are importing your experience of that one into things. I know you. And your constant sneering is why you are unloved.

S: Love at the cost of conscience is not love.

A: Have you not heard that all is fair in love and war?

S: Stoop to their degraded level for love? Impossible for The Tiger. That is the cant of their culture, their celebration of injustice. Love is justice or it is nothing. And justice itself is love. That is why I stand apart from them. That is why there is one Tiger. And a world of sheep.

Educational Poverty for Dalits in India

Dr. Suneel Mehmi

This piece was submitted for a journalism internship as a writing test. The author, Dr. Suneel Mehmi, is proud to come from the Dalit Community and to be an Untouchable.

06.09.2025

India, which has a caste system and caste discrimination against Dalits (the lowest castes) also has the largest population of 287 million illiterate adults in the world. That is 37% of the global total [1]. If illiteracy can be considered an indicator of exclusion from education, then Dalits must be considered as victims of this educational poverty and deprivation, since 62% of Dalits are illiterate indicating they have likely not completed primary school [2]. Informal data indicates that more than nearly 60% of children who drop out of school are Dalit children [3].

Caste discrimination aligns with gender discrimination to fuel illiteracy, evident in the fact that the literacy rate of female Dalits in Bihar was 38.5% in 2011 [4]. To put that into perspective and stark contrast, the literacy rate in the United Kingdom is considered to be 99% for both men and women [5].

Despite the fact that education is the best way to eradicate poverty and build a better future, this education is still systematically denied to Dalit children in India [6].

While the caste system has been abolished in the law, there is ongoing discrimination and prejudice against Dalits throughout India including in the field of education. Dalit students face unique challlenges in becoming students. The family is so poor and unemployment rates are so high that even in today’s world, Dalit children are sold into bonded labour so that they cannot study, just so that the family can eat [7]. Many Dalit children are studying while they are malnourished.

In schools, Dalit children are often bullied and discriminated against. In Bihar State in India for instance, while there is a legal obligation to include children from all castes, still schools are either abandoned or barely functioning. If Dalit children attend the schools, they are treated with cruelty or neglected. Practices of discrimination include being forced to sit at the back of the class and prevented from touching or interacting with classmates from other castes [8]. Far from being able to join in school activities, stories of verbal and physical abuse against Dalit students from both teachers and classmates are rife [9].

The dropout rate for girls is exceptionally high. Children already vulnerable due to caste prejudice are placed in even greater danger, and there is the perpetuation of a cycle of poverty which has remained unchallenged for generations [10].

Education is key to increasing the prosperity, security and happiness of any country. If there is systematic and institutionalised exclusion of the Dalit community in India from learning, then the country cannot advance as a whole. To counter poverty, we must first counter the educational poverty and deprivation for Dalits.

[1]

https://www.oxfamindia.org/featuredstories/10-facts-illiteracy-india-you-must-know

[2]

https://childrenontheedge.org/how-we-help/education/dalit-children-in-india/addressing-caste-discrimination

[3]

https://childrenontheedge.org/how-we-help/education/dalit-children-in-india/addressing-caste-discrimination

[4]

https://www.oxfamindia.org/featuredstories/10-facts-illiteracy-india-you-must-know

[5]

UNESCO Institute for Statistics (retrieved March 13, 2016) quoted at https://countrymeters.info/en/United_Kingdom_(UK)

[6]

https://www.globalcare.org/project/india-patripul-dalit-education/