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London: Days after separatist Khalistan supporters pulled down the Indian flag flying atop the Indian High Commission in London, the Indian community held a large gathering in front of the Commission against the “disrespectful act” of Khalistan supporters 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 with 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.”
India had registered its strong protest with the British government over the safety of its diplomatic mission and questioned the lack of sufficient security at the premises.
Images of shattered windows and men climbing the India House building were circulating on social media and videos from the scene show an Indian official grabbing the flag from a protester through the first-floor window of the mission, while the protester is seen waving a Khalistan flag hanging off its ledge.
The British High Commissioner Alex Ellis also 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.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) summoned the senior-most UK diplomat in New Delhi late evening on Sunday to convey India’s strong protest at the actions taken by separatist and extremist elements against the Indian High Commission in London.
“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, the MEA had said in a statement.
“India finds unacceptable the indifference of the UK government to the security of Indian diplomatic premises and personnel in the UK. 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, it had said.
With inputs from agencies.
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