Dear Editor,
I am deeply pained by Nigel Farage’s recent remarks about immigrant schoolchildren in Glasgow not only as a Scottish political activist, lifelong Scottish Independence supporter and educationist, but as a father and immigrant who has proudly called Scotland home for two decades.
To describe diverse multilingual classrooms as evidence that Glasgow has been “culturally smashed” is not commentary on policy, it is a racist attack on children who are already striving to belong, learn and contribute.
Scotland has long aspired to be “One Scotland, Many Cultures”, welcoming those who come here to build a better life and contribute to the prosperity of Scotland.
From Irish workers in the nineteenth century to South Asian, African and European communities today, migration has helped shape modern Scotland’s economy, arts and civic life. Surveys consistently show that people in Scotland tend to hold more positive attitudes to immigration than elsewhere in the UK, reflecting an instinctive sense of fairness and solidarity.
As a proud Indian‑origin Scot, I have tried to live up to those values. For over twenty years, I have taught thousands of students from Scotland, the rest of the UK and every corner of the globe.
They are now professional marine engineers, shipbuilders, skilled engineers, entrepreneurs and public servants. My two children are proud second-generation Scots who speak with Glaswegian confidence and carry both Indian and Scottish heritage with ease. They, like the pupils smeared in Mr Farage’s video, are not a threat to Scottish culture; they are its future.
In 2025, working with colleagues across parties, I helped bring forward the first motion in the Scottish Parliament condemning Hinduphobia and affirming the contribution of Scotland’s Indian Hindu community.
That moment showed what our politics can be at its best: listening to minority voices, challenging prejudice and strengthening the social fabric rather than tearing it. It stands in stark contrast to attempts to win votes by stoking resentment against children in our classrooms.
As a promoter of Scottish business, I have also championed Scotland’s most successful global product, Scotch whisky, in India, now the world’s largest market for Scotch by volume.
A deep UK–India trade agreement that cuts India’s punitive tariffs could unlock up to £1 billion in extra Scotch exports and around £190 million a year for the Scottish economy, supporting jobs from Speyside to Glasgow.
It is an immigrant like me, with roots in both Scotland and India, who has been working to tell Scotland’s story to Indian consumers and policymakers, proof that migration is not a burden but a bridge.
Newspapers help define the boundaries of what is acceptable in our public discourse. When racist language about children is normalised, real harm follows in playgrounds, buses and workplaces. Scotland and the wider UK face serious debates on housing, public services and the pace of change, but these arguments must never be conducted by dehumanising those who are already here and already Scottish.
I urge editors and readers alike: challenge the politics of scapegoating. Celebrate, instead, the quiet success stories, of classrooms where many languages are spoken, of new Scots helping sell Scotch to the world, and of a nation confident enough to know that welcoming others does not weaken its identity, but deepens it.
Yours in shared ambition,
Dhruva Kumar
Former Glasgow South MP Candidate
Depute Convenor, Alba Party, Glasgow
