Sikh group calls on Sikhs to defend Africans in India following racist attacks

Sikh political organisation Dal Khalsa UK have spoken out against a racist attack against African students in India and called for India’s Sikhs to help protect “African brothers and sisters”.

The attack which took place last week in the town of Noida, Uttar Pradesh, saw a mob of Indians set upon two students for no apparent reason. The students were hospitalised with stab-wounds and various other injuries after the brutal attack in a shopping mall. The attack is just one of many reported since India’s African community has significantly grown over the last few years.

You can see a video of the attack here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCbRddO-yxw.

An online statement about the incident by Dal Khalsa reads:

“Over the last few years there has been a marked increase in attacks against African students in India. We have seen African Students beaten, robbed, tortured and even murdered by mobs in full view of the authorities. The public do not make any attempt to stop the brutal attacks.

“The mob in Noida that attacked the African students did so for no apparent reason. These Mad dogs of Indian nationalism are fanatics that hate everybody that is not aligned with their theology. Africans are just an easy target. They have a small population in India. They have no representation. And they are an ethnicity which is easily distinguishable as different. They have been described as rakshasa (demons) by nationalist groups.

“There is a colour hierarchy in India which mimics the Hindu caste-system, and dark skinned people are at the bottom of this. The founding father of the Indian state Mahatma Gandhi has been documented about his own bigoted views of Africans, so it is no wonder the children of Gandhi are behaving in such a way.”

The head of Africans Mission called the attacks “Xenophobic” and also claimed the Indian government have done nothing to deter such attacks. The African Students’ Association of India last week requested students to stay indoors and not attend lectures as tensions against Africans reached a peak, with President Samuel Jack making a public statement on the level of abuse Africans suffer in India. The victim of the mall attack in Noida Endurance Amalawa also spoke about the mall’s security doing nothing to prevent the attack, whilst no bystanders tried to stop the incident either.

Gurcharan Singh said of the issue, “Indian law, media and politics not only covers this fanaticism up, but actually aids and abets it. This attack in Noida shows the current reality of India. India is a country with a huge issue of racism, despite being predominantly occupied by dark skinned people. The problem won’t change as long as India is run by fanatics as it currently is.”