PM Modi insulted Indian Dalit diaspora in London
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LONDON - Prime Minister Narendra Modi was accused of snubbing British Dalits after failing to visit Ambedkar House in London on Thursday, to unveil a statue of B.R. Ambedkar in the house’s garden.
There were hopes that during his trip to London the Prime Minister would visit the newly refurbished house during a 90-minute window on Thursday afternoon, the Anti-Caste Discrimination Alliance, which was one of the campaigning groups that raised funds for the house, said.
“Around 50 guests from the Ambedkarite, Ravidassia, Valmiki, Dalit organisations campaigning to outlaw caste discrimination in the U.K. took the opportunity to submit a joint memorandum to the PM,” said a spokesperson for the organisation.
“PM Modi’s no-show at the house signifies that he has no respect for Dr. Ambedkar or the Dalit diaspora. We wanted to call on him to tackle the injustices and impact of the caste system.”
The memorandum was submitted instead to Rajkumar Badole, the Minister for Social Justice, Maharashtra, who attended the event.
“A silent protest by a group of Ambedkarites who had hoped to ask the Indian Prime Minister about the escalating violence against Dalits and minorities in India since he came to power apparently led to Mr. Modi cancelling his visit and calling off the inauguration ceremony abruptly,” said a representative of CasteWatchUK, which had organised a separate protest outside the venue. “It is an insult to Ambedkar and a snub to Dalits. As such it exposes the hypocrisy of PM Modi.”
