Britain has long been a multiracial country. It is not as if racism is new in the country. The race riots in Southall and Brixton are rude reminders. But what has happened in Britain this time is unprecedented. It began with the shooting of a Caribbean but then it spread to different parts of the country involving not only the Afro-Caribbean communities but also Indians and Pakistanis. Rioting and looting went on in London and Birmingham started burning. Prime Minister David Cameron flew back from his holiday in Tuscany and so did other ministers who were enjoying their August holidays. Cameron firmly stated that looting and rioting would be stopped at any cost. Police have so far arrested more than 1000 people and charged nearly 500 in connection with violence in London. Cameron said that there was a major problem in British society with children growing up not knowing the difference between right and wrong. He ascribed it to poor parenting. He stressed that the current crisis arose not from poverty but from a culture which glorified violence.
It is partly true. But the unrest arose mainly from lack of employment. Cameron is facing a grave crisis, following the one on telephone hacking. He knows he will have to push through spending cuts, rebuild the economy and cope with widespread job losses. But he was not prepared for the wave of criminality. One hopes the attempt to get a grip on the wave of violence will succeed. The question arises as to how the roots of the crisis can be removed. The global meltdown is one of the causes. But the US where it originated did not have race riots. It is unfortunate that the British government which had been known to be anti-racist has now been badly stigmatised.