Indian diaspora comes out in solidarity with Tricolour, call on British govt to act and not issue statements
Mar 21, 2023
London [UK], March 21 : The Indian community held a large gathering in front of the Indian High Commission in London against the "disrespectful act" of Khalistan supporters towards the Indian flag and demanded that the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan and the British government act against the perpetrators at the earliest.
The desecration of the Indian Flag this past Sunday has led to an unprecedented outpouring of support from the diverse Indian community settled here in Britain.
Expats from all across the UK travelled to London to express their solidarity with the Indian Flag and with the Unity of India. The gathering resoundingly debunked the idea of Khalistan, saying there are no takers for it.
One protestor said, "We demand action, not statements from Sadiq Khan and from the British government."
In a video, protesters were seen dancing to tunes of "Jai Ho" from the film 'Slumdog Millionaire'. Significantly, during this peaceful protest, British security officials were also seen shaking a leg witn members of the Indian diaspora to the groovy, patriotic tune.
Another protester said, "It was my duty to come out in support of India and the Indian government after what happened on Sunday. I think it is very important that we express our disappointment and anger at the insult of the Indian flag. We all are standing united under our Tricolour."
A pro-Khalistan protestor in London climbed the High Commission of India's balcony and pulled down the Indian flag, on Sunday.
A video of the same incident had gone viral on social video. In the now-viral video, the Khalistani protestor can be seen on the balcony attempting to bring down the Indian flag. At the end of the video, another man reaches the balcony from inside to avert any more harm to the flag.
The senior-most UK diplomat in New Delhi was summoned on Sunday night after the Indian High Commission in the United Kingdom was vandalised. The senior-most UK diplomat in New Delhi was summoned late evening today to convey India's strong protest at the actions taken by separatist and extremist elements against the Indian High Commission in London earlier in the day, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release on Sunday.
An explanation was demanded the complete absence of British security that allowed these elements to enter the High Commission premises. She was reminded in this regard of the basic obligations of the UK Government under the Vienna Convention.
"India finds unacceptable the indifference of the UK Government to the security of Indian diplomatic premises and personnel in the UK," the MEA press release said. Demanding "immediate steps" from the UK Government, the official press release from the MEA said, "It is expected that the UK Government would take immediate steps to identify, arrest and prosecute each one of those involved in today's incident, and put in place stringent measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents."
The British High Commissioner Alex Ellis condemned the attack on the Indian High Commission in the United Kingdom today. He condemned the "disgraceful acts" and called them totally unacceptable.
"I condemn the disgraceful acts today against the people and premises of the High Commission of India - totally unacceptable," British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis tweeted.