Videos: Diaspora converges at Indian High Commission against Khalistani separatism

Music, dance, songs and splashes of colour broke out in central London on Tuesday morning as hundreds of Indian men, women and youth gathered to celebrate the diversity and unity of India in front of the Indian High Commission.

Two days after Khalistani radicals broke windows at the Indian High Commission in London and pulled down the Tricolour from the first floor of the building, the Indian community assembled on Tuesday morning at the premises in a show of solidarity against incidents of hate.

Under pressure, the British government arrested the Khalistani militant responsible for the violence against the Indian High Commission.

 Indians gathered in large numbers outside the High Commission in central London as they danced and played music. The crowd waved Indian flags as they chanted slogans and sang patriotic numbers. A large number of women joined the show of support in front of the high commission which had been vandalised on Sunday.

Confronted with unprecedented violence, Indian High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami met with the Indian diaspora. He reportedly told the diaspora that the protection of the High Commission lies with the host country. He said the host country knows that the Indian High Commission has been attacked several times, yet no security has been provided.

Indian activist, Dr Vivek Kaul told India Narrative: “The British establishment is providing fool-proof security to the Israeli embassy including armed guards. Why can’t we have the same. We have the precedent of being attacked by the Islamists and the Khalistanis. We also have the proof from 2019 when we attacked left, right and centre by the Jihadis who had been organised by the Pakistani High Commission”.

The High Commissioner told the Indian diaspora that his doors are open for discussions with the Khalistanis to resolve their issues. He is reported to have said in the meeting that he is open to any Indian group for any discussion on their grievances.

London police was present on Tuesday to maintain order. It had come under criticism for not being present at the time when a violent group of Khalistanis had damaged the high commission on Sunday evening.

The presence of the police was to prevent any assaults on the peaceful crowd by Khalistani radicals and Pakistani extremists. The combination of these two had in 2019 attacked Indian families outside the high commission while celebrating Independence Day and Diwali. The radicals had pelted eggs, frozen water bottles and other projectiles that injured Indian families, journalists and caused damage to the building.

The Indian diaspora in the UK has been under attack by both radical Muslims as well as the Khalistanis. Last year, extremist Muslim mobs had attacked Hindu homes and cars in the north-eastern of Leicester in a communal frenzy lasting weeks. Independent investigations showed that communal hate and radical ideologies imported from Pakistan led to the violence in Leicester. It was later believed that the Pakistani politics of blasphemy and bigotry against non-Muslims had been influencing British Muslims as well.

The Indian government has taken up these incidents of violence against the diaspora in both New Delhi and London. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar even spoke about the Leicester violence against Hindus and their symbols with his British counterpart James Cleverly in New York last year.

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