Bruised, battered Bradford limps back to normality

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, JULY 9. Sporadic violence targeted at Asian businesses was reported from Bradford on Sunday night after a day of deceptive calm marked by indications of a tough Government response to the increasing racial tension in the predominantly Asian towns of north England.

One restaurant, a petrol station and a pub were attacked by white youths in an apparent retaliation against the widespread arson by their Pakistani peers the previous day, but the situation was quickly brought under control.

As a bruised and battered Bradford started to pick up the pieces after a weekend of rioting, described as the city's worst racial confrontation in years, the Home Secretary, Mr. David Blunkett warned that nobody whether ``blacks, Asians or whites'' would be allowed to take the law into their own hands.

The warning was seen to be directed as much against the neo- fascist groups which have been accused of fomenting tension in racially mixed towns in recent months as against Asian youths, overwhelmingly Mirpuri Pakistanis, who went on a rampage in Bradford on Saturday night.

In an apparent reference to the local residents' charge that they were provoked by the racist National Front activists, he made it clear that nothing could justify the sort of violence witnessed in Bradford. Only fascists could benefit from senseless violence and disorder, he said.

Mr. Blunkett's strong words, coupled with the hint that police might be given more powers to deal with rioters, were echoed by political leaders and commentators. There was a strong sense that unlike Oldham where Asians had been victims of white racist attacks, the riots in Bradford had more to do with plain goondaism with Pakistani youths using the provocation from National Front supporters to give vent to their frustrations.

Mr. Marsha Singh, Labour M.P. from Bradford West, said the response of the Pakistani youth was ``completely disproportionate'' to the presence of NF activists. ``These people did the work of the National Front for them - fanning the flames of prejudice,'' he said.

Independent observers pointed out that the NF and the British National Party had virtually no presence in Bradford unlike Oldham and Burnley where the BNP had done remarkably well in recent general elections. On Saturday, the NF was able to muster ``fewer than 20 supporters,'' according to one newspaper confirming the impression that the immigrant youth had over- reacted.

The Times was unsparing arguing that young Asians in Britain ``cannot claim incitement''. ``There is increasing evidence that the desire to riot is becoming the cause of riot'', it said in an editorial pointing out that the behaviour of racist NF supporters might have been an affront to ``civilised values but it was hardly incitement for what followed.''

`Ghetto mentality'

Most analysts attributed the racial divide in Bradford to the ``ghetto'' mentality of Pakistanis who, they said, had simply failed to integrate. ``The amount of integration is minimal. Whereas we've had extensive integration with Hindus, Bangladeshis and Sikhs, it just hasn't happened with the Mirpuri community,'' Mr. Terry Rooney, Labour M.P. from Bradford north told The Guardian.

The local Asian community, comprising mainly of Mirpuris from Pakistan, was shocked at the sheer scale of fury of their younger members.

Most of the elderly residents said they had no control over their children who, they said, had been ``spoilt''. Born and brought up in Britain and subjected to racial prejudice, they had taken on the role of angry young men out to ``avenge'' all the wrongs and injustices - real or imagined - that their parents had suffered. ``This is mindless. We are very sad. We live here and we want peace. This is not Muslim. This is not Islamic,'' one Muslim resident told journalists.

For a change, few were inclined to accept the rioters' charge of heavy-handedness against the police, and most believed that the police had a tough time battling it out with a mob which seemed to have simply lost its mind.

Muslims embarrased

Many Muslims were embarrassed and said the unruly behaviour of some was bringing a bad name to the entire community. There were 55,000 Pakistanis in Bradford, and only a handful were involved, they said. Yet the impression, they pointed out, was that ``all Pakistanis and all Muslims'' were behind it.

Mr. Mohammed Taj, a member of the committee which inquired into the 1995 riots in Bradford, was reported as saying that no lessons had been learnt from the previous riot. ``Now Bradford is counting the cost'', he said.

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