Several months ago, Home Secretary David Blunkett had already announced a slew of measures meant to make UK citizens "more British". In his latest addition last week to the citizenship reforms, Blunkett added the factors "know the British way of life, and know the English language". Anyone seeking a British passport will have to pass tests on the Queen's language and the ways of life in her dominion.

The reforms are part of a white paper titled "Secure borders, safe haven: Integration with diversity in modern Britain".

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BLUNKETT'S BILL FOR A SECURE BRITAIN Anyone seeking a British passport must pass a test in the English language One must adapt to and follow the British way of life The Bill extends race hate laws to cover religious hate It will allow detention of terrorist suspects without trial New rules require reporting of suspicious financial transactions Those found taking up arms against British or American forces would be charged with treason

What most perturbs the community that hails from the subcontinent, however, is the crackdown on arranged marriages-a traditional South Asian culture that finds little sympathy in liberal Britain. The home secretary's package includes measures that are meant to expose "bogus or sham" marriages by requiring British citizens who marry foreigners to undergo a two-year probationary period in which sham relationships may be sniffed out.

In 2000, more than 38,000 people were granted the right to live in the UK through matrimony. "There has been a tradition of families originating from the Indian subcontinent wanting to bring spouses from arranged marriages to live with them in the UK," the paper states, suggesting a "discussion" on whether more arranged marriages "could be undertaken within the settled community here".

Blunkett feels that "fraudulent marriages are a growing problem in our immigration system and forced marriages abuse the rights of women in this country". He reasons that the country needs to get tough-changing the rules and following up reports of abuse with enforcement action. "Our changes will not penalise those in authentic relationships, but will provide a longer period to test the genuineness of the marriage and increase the chance of exposing sham marriages."

Commission of Racial Equality Chairman Gurubux Singh welcomed the draft but was unhappy about the decision on arranged marriages, which will affect Indian immigrants at large because of their traditional matrimonial practices. "It is an individual's decision who he wants to marry, where and when," he told the BBC.

There will be US-style citizenship ceremonies when applicants complete their courses so that becoming a British passport holder will not just be a "piece of paper arriving in a brown envelope alongside the gas bill".

Registration officers would conduct the ceremonies. Besides the oath of allegiance to the Queen and her heirs, the new testimony will also include a pledge to "respect the rights and freedoms of the UK. I will uphold its democratic values. I will observe its laws faithfully and fulfil my duties and obligations as a British citizen."

The measures are meant to deliver a well managed, robust and integrated system of immigration, nationality and asylum in the 21st century. Blunkett's citizenship plans-first revealed in 2001-have already sparked an intense debate in the wake of last summer's riots in northern towns.

But no one is sure if the Government's prescription is the panacea for a multi-cultural Britain, where ethnic minorities make up 6.5 per cent of the population. Recently, the Metropolitan Police had to pay for practising institutional racism.