On Sunday, 5 May, members of the Indian and South Asian diasporas and their allies gathered in the heart of Westminster to send an united message about the existential danger that Indian democracy faces today.

The Vigil for Democracy in India, organised by South Asia Solidarity Group (SASG) and co-hosted by more than ten other diaspora organisations, brought together a powerful collective of activists and campaigners whose central focusses span Islamophobia, Hindutva, caste, women’s rights, the labour movement, and human rights.

The co-hosting organisations included Ambedkar International Mission, CasteWatch UK, Hindus for Human Rights UK, India Labour Solidarity, Justice Campaign South Asia, Movement for People's Struggles - Sri Lanka (UK), Scottish Indians 4 Justice, StriveUK, Nijjor Manush, Peace in India, The Rights Collective, Unau Welfare International, Unau Welfare UK, UK Indian Muslim Council, and Women Against Caste UK.

I represented Hindus for Human Rights UK along with eight attendees.  We were there to add to the diaspora chorus in opposition to hate politics and Hindutva from an explicitly Hindu name.  We are the only organisation that opposes Hindu supremacy actively as Hindus, which we see as a crucial component in this fight

With more than a hundred people in attendance, the Vigil featured speeches from renowned activists such as anti-apartheid campaigner and former South African MP Andrew Feinstein, Kalpana Wilson of SASG, and leaders from the Kuki-Zo community in India’s northeastern state of Manipur, which has been beset by brutal ethnic violence for the last year.  Several passers-by joined the demonstration to show their solidarity with the event and its message.  This turnout is impressive given the harassment and very real threats (such as the revocation of Overseas Citizenship of India statue, or OCI) that face those that speak out openly against India’s ruling BJP.

While there were many different chants which touched on different aspects of Indian activist struggles, there was a clear thread running through all these chants, given that they ultimately all hark back to the inaction, complicity, or outright criminality of the BJP.

The Kuki-Zo representatives gave powerful testimonies about the horrific violence that has engulfed their community, including their direct relatives.  Their demands centred on the need for administrative separation within Manipur.

Dalit diaspora members were also there protesting against the attacks on Muslims and the BJP's attempts to set Dalits and OBCs against Muslims.. The writer’s comment mocking the slogan “Jai Bhim” is offensive, with “Bhim” referring to BR Ambedkar, a dalit rights activist and chief architect of India’s constitution.

Representatives of UK-Indian Muslim Council (UK-IMC) were also present, with Director Mohammed Owais giving a compelling speech, in which he spoke of the importance of addressing Hindutva and remembering that ‘no autocracy has ever survived in history’.

https://youtu.be/gXKcLYkQrQk?si=kiI__qV4B0JuoDd1

Recent developments upend the perception that Narendra Modi is overwhelmingly popular among diasporic Indians.  The results of a survey of the Indian diaspora here in the UK, carried out by the Platform for Indian Democracy, show that only 35% of British Indians think favourably of Modi, with 52% explicitly saying that they think of Modi unfavourably.  ‘A majority of respondents, including 50% of Hindu respondents, said they did not identify with Hindutva’.

A piece in The Wire is correct to point out ‘the difficulty that [anti-BJP/Hindutva] diaspora activists have in gaining attention’.  But the problem is not majority diaspora support for Modi, it is well-resourced, vocal minority support for Modi.  Those that speak up against Modi have a tall order to face in the form of Modi’s massive propaganda machine that enshrines him as the figure that has heralded economic growth for India, a fact which can be contested and which, even if taken as true, should not be seen as an acceptable trade-off for the prime minister’s presiding over systematic human rights abuses.

Though the Vigil’s attendance was strong, we do need more people.  We need the diaspora and our allies to come out in a groundswell of support for Indian democracy.

And when the diaspora does speak up, there are woefully few Hindus that are part of that.  We need to make room for the few Hindus that will speak up against the vile manipulation of the Hindu faith.  Hindus for Human Rights UK exists for just that reason: to make very clear that Hindutva is not Hinduism and to say “not in our name”.

Do not be fooled into thinking that there are no active, organised diaspora voices that will speak up against Modi and the BJP.  We have to constantly punch above our weight, but we are here and we are not going anywhere.

Between our organisations we have thousands of supporters and allies – people who share our values and love of a modern, free India – and we welcome new members by the day.  Join us so we can raise our voices together for Democracy in India.