Thousands protest Modi govt's anti-farmers law outside Indian High Commission in London

LONDON: Thousands of Sikh community members surrounded the Indian High Commission in London for nearly three hours in support of farmers peacefully protesting in India against the bills on farmers introduced by the Narendran Modi-led government.

The Kissan support protest was called by the Federation of Sikh Organisation (FSO) to show solidarity with farmers from Punjab and across India fighting for their rights. Veteran Sikh leaders said this was one of the biggest demonstrations by British-Indian Sikh members and the second-largest protest outside the Indian mission. The last time a huge number of Sikh community members protested was against the Indian government's raid on Golden Temple killing thousands.  

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The protesters came in cars, coaches, tractors, heavy bikes and cycles -bringing areas around the Trafalgar Square, Holborn and Oxford Circus to a complete halt. An estimated 700 cars were concentrated around the protest venue. Over a hundred policemen were present at the protest to ensure compliance with COVID-19 laws.

A spokesperson of the Sikh federation told Geo.tv that the organisers had informed the police and local Westminster Council that about 300 protesters will assemble but thousands had gathered outside the High Commission from 11:00am to 3:00pm.

"The turnout surpassed our imagination. Thousands have come from all over the United Kingdom on their own. They are outraged and demand justice for the farmers in India," said federation's Dabinderjit Singh, adding that the protestors had come out to "denounce Modi".

"You can hear the slogans against Modi's government," said Singh.

Protestors said the Modi government was targeting Punjabi farmers in particular because they largely belong to the Sikh community, adding that the far-right Bharatiya Janata Party did not like Punjabis and Sikhs.

Throughout the protest, the demonstrators let off orange smoke bombs as dozens of bikers revived their bike engines. A minor clash erupted between policemen and a group of youth raising Khalistan slogans while trying to get closer to the commission's central entrance.  

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Speaking to Geo.tv, protestors said millions of farmers in India are protesting the Modi government's bid to change agricultural trade laws discriminating against farmers. They said the main issue is the removal of minimum support price - a regulation safeguarding farmers' right to a fair price for their crops - and removal of rules preventing corporations from hoarding. The farmers believe these changes will leave them vulnerable to exploitations and lead to bankruptcy and land seizures. 

A group of 36 cross-party parliamentarians has written to the UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, asking him to discuss the impact of farmers' demonstration on British-Punjabis with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar.

A letter drafted by British-Sikh Labour MP Tanmanjeet Sindh Dhesi and signed by other MPs including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for representation to be made about "the impact on British Sikhs and Punjabis, with longstanding links to land and farming in India".

“This is an issue of particular concern to Sikhs in the UK and those linked to Punjab, although it also heavily impacts on other Indian states. Many British Sikhs and Punjabis have taken this matter up with their MPs, as they are directly affected with family members and ancestral land in Punjab,” it read.