Parveen Rani and Tushar Kumar, the mother-son duo who have become mayors of two towns in the United Kingdom thirteen years after migrating from Haryana, have talked about the challenges they faced in a foreign nation, how they entered politics and achieved success, and how immigration is viewed in the European nation now compared to when they arrived on British shores.
“Look, I think public sentiment towards immigration has definitely changed from what it used to be. When we came in 2013, it used to be very different to what it is now.
Kumar, the youngest-ever Mayor of Elstree and Borehamwood Town Council, UK, said that public sentiment towards immigration has shifted. I think it would be wrong of us to turn a blind eye to the fact that there is an immigration problem,” he said.
“People didn’t use to question people’s identity before, as to whether they were English or if they were British or not. I think there are more conversations now than ever questioning people’s identity. Because some of the people have literally been born in the UK, so yes, we do get cases where people have faced racism, and I think it’s really heartbreaking.
“There definitely is an immigration problem, but I think we also have to distinguish between discussing and debating immigration policy, versus hostility towards people because of their ethnicity and background,” he added. Kumar further said that immigrants come to a different country with hope for a better future, for opportunities, for their future generations, and it is the government that lets them in. He said that despite the changing sentiments, the people of the country are still very welcoming to immigrants. They’ve lived their whole lives there, and that’s their home,” he said. Rani said she had moved from Haryana’s Rohtak to the UK to build “a better future for their kids”.
