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From The Times
July 24, 2008

Unfair restrictions on new marriage proposals

Syed Nahas Pasha

There has been a lot of confusion in the British mainstream between forced marriages, which are wrong, and arranged marriages, which are more of a cultural issue. People in the Asian community will welcome any measures against forced marriages. However, there are other points in the Government’s proposals where the real agenda is not tackling forced marriage, but instead applying stricter immigration controls to Asians from the sub-contintent.

I don’t think there will be much resistance to raising the age for sponsorship for a marriage visa from 18 to 21. At 21, a girl or boy will be more responsible and mature enough to make a decision about marriage.

However, having an agreement to learn English as an entry requirement is an unfair burden. I came to this country 33 years ago at the age of 18. I had studied English and Bengali in Bangladesh, but when I got here I couldn’t speak English. After a few years, I was as fluent as anybody.

I think it’s very rare that you will find a girl or boy from England going into a village in Bangladesh and marrying an uneducated person. No parent wants that. These spouses may not be fluent in English yet, but they are not uneducated, and they will pick it up once in Britain.

The Government cannot and would not apply this rule to Poles or Czechs who came to this country, because they live in Europe. Why should it be more difficult for Indians, Pakistanis or Bangladeshis to enter, just because they can’t speak English?

With regard to the power to revoke indefinite leave to remain if the marriage route is abused, this is similar to a return to the “primary purpose rule” that the Labour Government once abandoned. It is unfair.

The Government has to go deep into the community and make people aware of the problem of forced weddings. As time goes by, second and third-generation Asians will have more weddings here, rather than choose someone from Bangladesh or Pakistan.

— Syed Nahas Pasha is editor-in-chief of Janomot, Britain’s oldest Bengali language newspaper

Wrong. Immigrants must be educated in the ways of a liberal democracy, women must be told of contraception being available, or their right to work, to go to university, not to have to wear religious dress suited for Islamic nations, of the right to marry under UK law by a registrar.

Fati, Dalston, UK

We do need much stricter control on immigration - this country is collapsing and we cannot afford anymore spongers. The ethnic minorities have a much bigger say in Britain, and when we the indigenous population speak out, we get classed as being racist. We are not racist, but are just being exploited

jo, Shrewsbury,

Why do we want any more immigration from the subcontinent at all?Britain is already so overcrowded the roads in certain parts of the country are almost unusable.The NHS is at breaking point ,the Social Services are swamped and the nation's classrooms are so overcrowded decent education is impossible

john pepper, bangkok, thailand

Syed, get over it! What was wrong with the primary purpose rule? It was a filter for dishonesty, not ethnicty and applied to ALL immigrant spouses. And the language requirement is fair. It won't apply to Poles and Czechs because of the EU - it will apply to Albanians who are also european.

Bertie, London,

As I understand it under the changes, partners will be requried to take English lessons only once they arrive. It's a perftectly reasonable, and long overdue, proposal. The fist step of creating a cohesive community is ensuring that the various members of it can communicate.

simon, Battersea, London,

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