Protests and support rallies greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he kicked off an intense day of bilateral meetings ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting. As during his 2015 visit, members of the Diaspora gathered in central London, reflecting the diverging views among the 1.4-million strong community in the UK.

Early on in the day, a rally was organised by a number of community groups, including Indian Ladies in the UK and the Friends of India Society, that had gathered across the road from Downing Street, chanting Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Vande Mataram . Members of the Indian Ladies in the UK, dressed in colourful saris, performed a dance as the Prime Minister departed from the bilateral. “We are here to welcome him and celebrate and show our support for greater work within the Commonwealth,” said Jayesh Patel, the organiser of the Friends of India Society, who said that after Modi’s visit in 2015, when the number of protesters outnumbered the supporters rallying outside, they wished to provide a counterbalance to those who were trying to “drown” his voice out.

However, some of them, who had gathered at the rally, said that in addition to welcoming the Prime Minister they also hoped to send the message that the Diaspora community wanted him to act on the Kathua and Unnao rape cases. “Nobody is perfect but the Prime Minister is often judged too harshly. Sexual violence and rapes have been happening for many decades before this in India…we need to give him more time,” said Kanika Sachdeva, one of the women who gathered for the dance.

By lunchtime protestors from the South Asian Solidarity Group , Southall Black Sisters and Caste Watch UK gathered outside Downing Street to protest against violence against Dalits and religious minorities, and women, with some carrying banners with images of Asifa, the 8-year-old who was raped and murdered in Kathua, and Gauri Lankesh, the journalist who was murdered last year. “Our message is that in the name of nationalism, Hindu fundamentalists are violating the rights of Dalits and religious minorities,” said Satpal Muman of Caste Watch UK. “Since the government came to power there has been a huge rise in attacks,” he said. “People try to paint anyone today who opposes the government as anti-national and tools of Western or other powers but as Dalits we believe in an undivided India. They must stop framing anyone who disagrees with them as anti national,” he added. “They must ensure freedom of speech is not curtailed.”

Another group of silent protestors, numbering around 100, dressed in white, also stood on Parliament Square carrying signs that read “Justice for our child” and “Politics minus rape” to express solidarity and publicly express their grief and sorrow over incidents of rape . “As a group we feel that justice delayed is justice denied. It is time to question why, as a civil society, it has taken so long and so many unspeakable atrocities to speak up,” they said in a statement.

Protests by supporters of Khalistan and an independent Kashmir was also held at Parliament Square with some climbing on to the Gandhi statue and draping it with the Khalistan flag.

Related Topics