In a historic win, an Indian-origin politician from the United Kingdom’s opposition Labour Party, Councilor Mohinder K Midha, has been elected mayor of Ealing Council in west London. With this, she is the first woman mayor of a local London council belonging to the Dalit community.
Midha was elected for the next year’s term of 2022-23 at a council meeting on Tuesday.
The Dalit politician received 2,272 votes and was elected for the next year’s term of 2022-23 at the council meeting, according to the ‘Who Can I vote for UK‘ website.
Wishes pour for Midha’s success
“We are so proud that Cllr Mohinder Midha has been elected Mayor of Ealing for the next year,” the Labour Party in Ealing said in an official statement.
At the council meeting on Tuesday, the new Mayor, Cllr Mohinder Kaur Midha was inaugurated and the new cabinet was announced – read more: https://t.co/Kk2EkZoiwE pic.twitter.com/jUjmVdB1X3
— EalingCouncil (@EalingCouncil) May 26, 2022
Ealing London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Ealing in Greater London, United Kingdom. It is one of the 32 borough councils in the England capital.
The electoral victory is being celebrated by the British Dalit community as a proud moment.
Also, read: Canada’s British Columbia Province Declares April As ‘Dalit History Month’
“She is now the first-ever Dalit woman mayor in the UK. A proud moment for us,” exclaimed Santosh Dass, chair of the Federation of Ambedkarite and Buddhist Organisation (FABO) in the UK, an umbrella group representing Dalit rights in the country.
Duly elected in the last 5 minutes Mrs Mohinder K. Midha as #Mayor of #Ealing for 22/23. The first ever #Dalit #woman mayor in the #UK. A proud moment for us. @meenakandasamy @Profdilipmandal @nitinmeshram_ @aparna_banerji @Mayawati @BhimArmyChief @Raj_Ambedkar @RajBangarBallan pic.twitter.com/t5jozxsfvc
— Santosh Dass (@SantoshDass1048) May 24, 2022
Federation of Ambedkarite and Buddhist Organisation is an umbrella group that represents Dalit rights in the country.
Midha was re-elected as a Labour councilor for the Dormers Wells ward in the Ealing Council in the May 5 local elections in London. Earlier, she had been serving as the Deputy Mayor of the council.
“Tackling the cost of living. Recovering from the pandemic. Fighting violent crime and antisocial behavior. Fixing social care. Re-growing, re-wilding, and recycling. Delivering more genuinely affordable homes”, read the local Labour Party manifesto she campaigned on.
Dalit Community in the United Kingdom
There are around 2,50,000 Dalits living in the United Kingdom. However, the exact figure is unknown due to the issues concerning identification.
While culturally specific menial occupations such as manual scavenging are not undertaken by Dalits in the UK, the age-old regressive untouchability still persists and the UK-based Dalits are often victims of several forms of direct and indirect discrimination.