You've seen the welcome for Narendra Modi in the UK? Now watch the protests
Despite the effusive welcome rolled out by the British government to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the UK, despite the huge reception planned at Wembley stadium – the biggest ever for an Indian Prime Minister outside India – there's a small but strong wave of protest as well, with several groups coming together to voice their opposition.
On Thursday his arrival was met with protests from a number of Sikhs, Tamils, Dalits, Nepalis, and human rights activists. Hundreds of demonstrators from around the UK gathered outside Downing Street, holding placards and signs saying "Modi not welcome." Some posters even displayed pictures of Modi and Hitler, equating the two.
A few days prior to his visit, on Sunday a sign projected onto the British Parliament in London bore a large image of Prime Minister Modi wielding a sword. Behind him was a logo of the symbol ‘Om’ being slowly transformed into the Swastika. Bold letters splashed across the image said “Modi not welcome”.
London mayoral candidate George Galloway too joined the protests on Thursday. He can be seen in the video below describing Modi as "the leader of the group that murdered Mahatma Gandhi." And that the red carpet rolled out for his was a symbol of the bloodshed he is supposed to have caused.
A member of the Sikh rights group Das Khalsa UK, Jas Singh, told RT that the protest displayed a united front of minority religions against "the politics of Hindu fascism."
"All the minorities here have put on a united front. They are protesting against the 'politics of Hindu fascism' also known as 'Hindutva ideology'" he said.
While many of the protestors cited the 2002 riots as the reason they were demonstrating, others raised issues of human rights, protection for women in India and accusations of injustice against Tamils, Dalits and other religious and ethnic minorities.
The Guardian reported that "...a smaller group of fewer than 50 pro-Modi demonstrators, kept at a distance by police, waved Indian flags and chanted 'welcome Modi'".
Prime Minister Modi's reception at Wembley will possibly see more support for him than thus far witnessed in the UK. Although some protestors have said that there will about 8000 of them at the Wembley event, they will be far outnumbered by Modi's supporters at the stadium, whose capacity is close to 70,000.