So the BNP has won a couple of seats and the radio phone-ins are in melt down. I have listened to at least two phone-ins on the BBC, and it was interesting to hear the reactions.

Some seemed surprised at the win and some were angry. Most of the callers were slightly embarrassed and some were offering reasons. And there were those who have voted BNP and were eager to tell us why.

The phone-in on the BBC Asian network was full of anger, but I did not hear even one person accept any responsibility or even hint, that what could have led some people to vote for that party.

I will accept that there are people who are racist and who do not like people who are different from them. But I will maintain that majority of British whites are tolerant, believe in fairness and do not believe in racist policies.

So what has happened? What has led one million people to vote for a party which is known to be racist?

I feel that immigrants have to accept their share of responsibility for this change. In the last few years the divisions between the communities has got wider. Certain areas in the inner cities were no-go areas for the White British people. The BBC’s Panorama did a programme about it about two years ago.

But was anything done about it? No. There was a deafening silence from the local authorities and the government.

Not to mention the stupid rules made by beaurocrats to call Christmas ‘winterval’, remove the words ‘baba black sheep’ from the nursery rhymes and make learning about other religions compulsory in schools. When the Christian parents complained, they were branded racists.

Then there was the incidence of hurling abuse at returning soldiers in Luton. I accept that it was a minority of Muslims who were involved. The majority of peace loving Muslims did not shout loud enough to condemn them. This has been the way things have been all along. I accept that the majority of Asians want to live peacefully. But the problem is that they do not come out and condemn those who behave badly.

I remember I used to write a column on an Asian website and when I tried to condemn and write about such things, I had threatening emails, death threats and such hostility that the editor has to set up a separate address for the emails.

I have tried saying this on Asian radio phone-ins, but the men are threatening and rude even on air. So the so-called decent people have been living in denial and may have thought these things were not their concerns.

And now we have the BNP in the European Parliament.

I suggest that this election is a wake-up call for all the immigrants – for all of us who are not indigenous white. It is a wake up call that we have to make an effort to find out what people find objectionable. After all, it is us who have decided to make this country our home. It is up to us to make it work.

Otherwise this will not be the only victory the BNP will have. And that is truly frightening.