The British government has rejected India’s demand for a ban on a pro-Khalistan rally on August 12 in London. A US-based group – Sikhs for Justice – is planning to issue a ‘London Declaration’ for a ‘referendum’ on Punjab’s independence from India at the Trafalgar Square.
When asked about the Indian government’s request to ban the rally, a spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said that in the UK, people have the right to gather together and to demonstrate their views, provided that they do so within the law, news reports in British media said.
Moreover, on Monday Britain’s Green Party came out in support of the pro-Khalistan rally.
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The spokesman said that actions will be taken if laws of free speech are violated or disorder or violence is encouraged in Britain, according to the reports.
Sikhs for Justice held a press conference in Southall, London, and announced its plans of ‘referendum’ with the pledge that it will continue to highlight the case of a separate Sikh homeland. The group hopes that around 10,000 Sikhs will attend the event in London from all over the UK.
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Last month the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India expects the UK government not to allow a group ‘whose intention is to spread hatred and impact our bilateral relations,’ to use the country. He emphasised ‘good relations’ with the Sikh community more widely, but expressed concerns around ‘fringe elements’ who sought to spread ‘hatred and communal disharmony’.
The Sunday Times reported that the event next Sunday in Trafalgar Square has caused a diplomatic rift between the British and Indian governments, with India lodging a formal protest with the FCO. Indian government wrote to the British government that a minority of Sikh hardliners are exploiting free-speech laws in Britain to call for the creation of a separatist state known as “Khalistan”.
The paper reported that the rally is being funded by ‘Sikhs for Justice’ and that one of the key figures linked with the event is a Birmingham-based activist, Paramjeet Singh Pamma, wanted in India for his alleged involvement in bombings in 2010 and for the killing the previous year of Rulda Singh, a political leader who worked for the Hindu nationalist cause.
Pamma, who came to Britain in 2000, denies the “false charges” and said the British police investigated him in 2010-11 which resulted in no action against him.
Pamma said the rally is intended to raise awareness for a non-binding referendum in 2020, calling for the Sikh-majority state of Punjab to be granted independence. Organisers are hoping a high turnout will put pressure on the United Nations to ask India to hold a plebiscite, said the Sunday Times.
The Metropolitan police said it was aware about the march in London and “an appropriate and proportionate policing plan is in place”, according to the report.