Race and Class Among the Upper Classes

Published: 15/01/2009

Sooty
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
Quieten down, I say to those building up fresh outrage over Prince Charles and his polo buddy, Kolin Dhillon AKA ‘Sooty’. Whilst it was absolutely right to raise strong objections to Prince Harry’s ‘Paki’ joshing, this new furore is foolish. Dhillon, a multimillionaire says he doesn’t mind the nickname given to him when he first joined Cirencester Polo Club way back in 1975. It is a ‘term of affection. You know you have arrived when you acquire a nickname’ - a revealing comment. The most loaded immigrant can still crave acceptance.

One of my friends back in Uganda was married to an Indian barrister whose father owned race horses in Kenya and smoked Churchillian cigars. After they moved here the father-in-law joined two exclusive golf clubs in the English shires. The pompous gentleman’s skin was very dark and so his circle of toffs called him ‘Inky’. He too thought it was a mark of belonging. And it was. These chaps are of the same caste and they will always stick up for each other. On the whole, colour prejudice is largely ignored in the interests of class solidarity.

On rare occasions this pact breaks down. A famous example is Prince Aly Aga Khan, father of the leader of my Shia Muslim community who mixed with the British aristocracy. He memorably said in the fifties: ’They called me a nigger and I paid them back by sleeping with their women’.

I hope the ex-Maharaja who lives in Lancaster Gate is reading this. He used to rage at me for not showing enough respect for the British establishment. Then one day he took me to lunch in Mayfair. A couple next to us muttered something about ‘Pakis’. I was about to throw a fit and he hissed:’ Don’t make a fool of yourself. This is not that kind of place. They meant you, I think, not me’. I left.

Such pedigree aristocrats from the Indian subcontinent are loyal to a fault. Their ancestors- even after they were stripped of their power by the British - were always keen to pay homage to Queen Victoria.

Now enter the Asian nouveaux-riche seeking snob value. Think of the fabulously satirised Goodness Gracious Me Kapoors in their golf gear who were happy to put up with bigotry as long as they could get into elite joints. Who are we to stop them? Kolin Dhillon, is obviously embarrassed by this attention. He doesn’t need nor want shrill anti-racists coming anywhere near him. And we, surely have more important things to do.

Published in Evening Standard