Sikhs speak out on Boris Johnson’s India visit

With the UK’s Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson set to visit India for a formal visit in the coming weeks, many Sikhs have begun speaking out on the potential harm his visit could cause.

Boris Johnson will be visiting India in January, most likely for Republic Day celebrations on 26 January, to “strengthen a key strategic relationship which supports jobs and investment across the UK”. Many Sikhs believe his visit could be used to cover up or even have him speak against the ongoing #FarmersProtest issue. Furthermore, the fact that after the recent visit of Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to India the UK Home Office agreed to allow India to attempt to extradite three Sikhs has prompted even more concern.

The World Sikh Parliament, an international Sikh political advocacy group, have raised the fact that in 1984 Conservative PM Margaret Thatcher allowed for the UK to give military assistance to India’s PM Indira Gandhi for plans for the Sikh Genocide, in an effort to secure “military sales” to India. The WSP say that incident has “defined” the UK-Sikh relationship ever since and urge Boris Johnson not to make a similar mistake.

“Boris Johnson and his cabinet colleagues should be in no doubt that Sikhs in the UK and beyond have seen through the expediency of the UK government’s moves… This is a moment for those in UK politics, who cherish the rule of law, to push back against the hate and menace of a majoritarian regime”.

The Sikh Council UK have highlighted the fact some messages from farmers’s representatives have directly called for Boris Johnson to cancel his trip.

Meanwhile, the first ever dastaar (Sikh turban) wearing MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi has led the way with a cross-party calling for Johnson to confirm if he will convey to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi the “heart-felt anxieties of our constituents”. Over a dozen different MPs have currently added their signature to the letter. “The UK Prime Minister is scheduled to visit India on January 26. We are writing to British MPs asking them to stop him from visiting India till the time farmers’ demands are not met by the Indian government,” farmers’ leader Kulwant Singh Sandhu said to India media.

Others have expressed concern that the visit will see a strengthened push for the extradition of UK Sikhs to India, with many believing the move is a public relations stunt to showcase Modi’s leadership as tough on those deemed anti-nationals. Many are concerned Boris Johnson will put trade deals before British Sikh lives. With government admission that “security” will be up for discussion during Johnson’s visit, many Sikhs will be listening closely for what comes out of his meetings with Indian state officials.

As of yet, Boris Johnson has not acknowledged the requests around his upcoming visit to India, or given any further comment on the #FarmersProtest issue to follow-up his confused mention of Pakistan’s involvement, when questioned by Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi.