On India’s Republic Day, the Sikh and Kashmiri diaspora communities in Britain traveled to London despite an attempt by the Indian authorities to ban the protest. The aim was to inform the public of the ongoing crimes that the Indian State under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committing against the Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Dalits.
Last August, the Muslim-majority area of Kashmir was stripped of its semi-autonomous status and demoted from a state into a federal territory. The Kashmir valley was put into a state of lock-down. Tens of thousands of troops were dispatched, landlines and cellular connections were suspended and internet services were cut. According to the NY Times it has been “the world’s longest internet shutdown in a democracy”. As many as eight million people have endured a punishing information blackout.
Foreign journalists and diplomats have been blocked from visiting and the government has arrested scores of Kashmiris, including former heads of state without disclosing charges.
This time the attempt to ban the march was stopped.
We must preserve the right to speak out and the right to protest.
Janine Wiedel photo Blog 