By Dipankar De Sarkar
London, Nov 21 (IANS) An elderly Sikh man’s closeness to the British National Party (BNP) has set off furious speculation that he may become the first non-white member of the far-right group if and when it drops its whites-only criteria.

Rajinder Singh, an anti-Islamic activist, is being projected by at least one BNP leader as a “brave and loyal” supporter who deserves the “honour” of membership.

The party recently won two seats in elections to the European Parliament but has had to freeze its membership in September after a legal challenge by the Human Rights Commission of Britain over its ban on non-whites becoming members. In an order issued at a London court last month, the BNP agreed to use “all reasonable endeavours” to revise its constitution, or risk breaking the law.

A leading member of the party supported membership for Lahore-born Rajinder Singh, whose father was killed in Pakistan during the Partition, and who has been sympathetic to the BNP, writing regularly for its paper, Freedom.

BNP communications and campaigns officer Martin Wingfield told members on his website: “I say adapt and survive and give the brave and loyal Rajinder Singh the honour of becoming the first ethnic minority member of the BNP.”

“He would be a good political colleague, he has a very good brain and would make a very good BNP member,” he added.

But Wingfield was later forced to issue a clarification, saying while the BNP would “welcome” Singh, “the membership is frozen at the moment so no new members can join.”

“We are not accepting any members for three months, until we regulate our criteria for membership,” Wingfield said.

Meanwhile, Rajinder Singh told The Independent: “I am a retired teacher, living a quiet life. I got in touch with the BNP on certain core policies that appeal to me. I also admire them since they are on their own patch, and do not wish to let anyone else oust them from the land of their ancestors.”

Rajinder Singh, who came to Britain from India in 1967, provided a character reference for BNP head Nick Griffin in 2005 when he was being tried for inciting racial hatred.

Singh supports the BNP for its campaign against “Islamification.”

But Dr Indarjit Singh, director of the Network of Sikh Organisations and a respected interfaith figure, said: “Sikhism stresses equality for all human beings. Therefore Sikhs who are true to their faith, will having nothing whatsoever to do with any party that favours any one section of the community.”

(Dipankar De Sarkar can be contacted at dd.sarkar@ians.in)