This week, Humza Yousaf was elected as the new leader of Scotland, ushering in a new age of diversity in British politics.
It may be stated that the United Kingdom is breaking new ground in post-colonial history with leaders of Pakistani origin Yousaf in charge at Holyrood and Indian origin Rishi Sunak in charge at Westminster.
After Yousaf’s triumph, human rights attorney Jelina Berlow-Rahman in Glasgow tweeted, “The empire strikes back.”
The moment, in Berlow-view, Rahman’s was one of triumph, which fueled pride in her own parents, who had worked hard to give their kids a better start in life. Berlow-Rahman is the daughter of Bangladeshi immigrants.
People from ethnically diverse countries have a tougher time integrating and establishing themselves, particularly if they are members of a visible minority, she told Al Jazeera.
Human rights attorney Berlow-Rahman, who was raised in London, relocated there for school.
She doesn’t want the UK to break up, unlike Yousaf, who supports Scottish independence, hence she is unlikely to support his Scottish National Party.
She doesn’t like Sunak’s conservative right-wing administration either, which is putting through contentious laws meant to crack down on asylum seekers coming in from the English Channel.
She questions whether Sunak and Home Secretary Suella Braverman, whose Indian-origin parents were born in Kenya and Mauritius, feel that they must prove themselves to their party because they are minorities.
It’s how they do it, she explained. “The language and demeanor sometimes need to be toned down.”
Foysol Choudhury, a Labour member of the Scottish Parliament who was born in Bangladesh, stated that Yousaf’s ascent to power is a proud moment for the South Asian community.
I understand how challenging it is to be a minority in politics, he remarked. “It ought to be honored. I’m incredibly happy for him.
He advised Yousaf to advocate for his own ideas if he wanted to change anything.
He will always be up for a tea with his old friend, even though those opinions will unavoidably differ from his own.
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader born to Pakistani Muslims, frequently joins them.
“After the debates, we’ll stroll out together and talk about other topics a lot of the time,” he remarked.
“That proves that we are all human,”
The idea of a Scottish-Pakistani and a British Indian negotiating the division of the UK is too alluring for Qasim Hanif, the convener of Scots Asians for Independence in Glasgow, to ignore.
The British Empire “would not have predicted this in 1947,” he claimed. Several of those colonialists “would be spinning in their graves,” said the speaker.
Yousaf claims that before launching “indyref2,” the second referendum on secession that the Scottish government has planned, he wants to persuade a “sustained majority.”
At the most recent election, majority Scots chose to stay.
But the 2016 referendum on EU membership changed people’s minds.
When the majority of English voters chose to leave the EU, the majority of Scots chose to stay, creating a rift that gave the Scottish independence cause new life.
Hanif thinks Yousaf made the right decision to abandon Nicola Sturgeon’s proposals to effectively hold a referendum during the upcoming UK general election.
“He is a skilled politician. He will already be in trouble if he conducts a de facto referendum, the speaker claimed. “The UK establishment will involve you in protracted legal disputes for a very long time.”
But, he expects that Yousaf will launch a judicial challenge against the UK government’s contentious Section 35 veto on Scotland’s gender legislation, which would make it simpler for people to change their recognized gender.
They must respect the Scottish Parliament’s wishes, he said.
It’s a risky move to make as an opening move.
Other people, including those in Yousaf’s own party, doubt the prudence of pursuing a dossier that plagued Sturgeon’s final weeks in government.
Yousaf has come under fire for serving as a continuity figurehead for a complacent party that has been in power for 16 years.
His incisive defense of the party’s progressive beliefs, however, has confirmed the SNP’s platform and brought the widening divide between Scotland and England into sharper relief.
Assa Samaké-Roman, a French citizen who moved to Scotland after Brexit, is well aware of the two countries’ different approaches to immigration.
The journalist remarked, “What the Tories are doing in government is dog whistles to the far right.” “They don’t have it in Scotland.
The goal of Scottish independence is this. According to her, the SNP is fighting to change the harsh social and immigration policies that Scotland didn’t even vote for.
Sunak’s Tories at Westminster, in her opinion, stand for a “toxic brand of Britishness.”
Scotland, in contrast, supports civic nationalism.
Samaké-Roman stated, “It implies even if I’ve just been here a few years, I’m as legitimate a Scot as anyone else.”
First Muslim leader in Scotland
Yousaf’s triumph has been felt outside the UK because he is the first Muslim to be the leader of a democratic Western country.
Wow, this is where Scotland is, I’m thinking as a French citizen, she said. Because of all the Prejudice, “I can’t even see France having a Muslim president.”
Yet, Yousaf won’t have it easy.
Following a twin blow from COVID and Brexit, Scotland has suffered damage comparable to the rest of the UK.
He will take office in firefighting mode, facing the ongoing consequences from the ferry procurement catastrophe, which is now five years late and 240 million pounds ($300 million) over budget, as well as the strains brought on by cost of living increases and record hospital waiting lists.
He also takes over a party that is in trouble.
The SNP’s top officials were found to have lied to the media about a membership decline of 30,000 during the leadership race. This scandal forced Sturgeon’s husband, the chief executive Peter Murrell, to resign.
Also, authorities are currently looking into the theft of $740,000 worth of party cash totaling 600,000 pounds.
