British children starving, but Arrogant UK Parliamentarians barking like Dogs at India
After being exited unceremoniously from the Euro Union, Britain is now facing a huge economic crisis. According to the Social Market Foundation think tank almost 2 million children in the UK went hungry during the economic turmoil of 2020. The Evidence Network said on “UK Household Food Security” that 10% of UK adults live marginally in food insecurity. Another 10% live with moderate to severe food insecurity, meaning people often go hungry.
According to UNICEF, in 2017, 19% of UK children under the age of 15 lived with someone who faced moderate or severe food scarcity. The Joseph Rowntree foundation claims that 3 million children are locked in poverty. Covid 19 has put the whole nation in a crisis and the UK government has borrowed billions of pounds to prop up the economy. The National Audit Office predicts 94% of Councils will have to cut their expenditure. This situation will spark unrest and create massive unemployment. So Britain is facing all this and many more serious issues.
Given the situation, it is surprising that British MPs would spend time condemning India on totally false and unsubstantiated allegations. They forget that barking dogs have no impact on an Elephant. However such misdeeds of these MPs have indeed dampened the huge potential that both countries have to forge a great political and economic bond. A democratic India will resolve the protest undertaken in a few States by some of the farmers. It will be resolved sooner rather than later. However what will happen to Britain ?
India is the world’s largest democracy and functioning in the most vibrant manner.It needs no certification from any one else, high and mighty like USA or camp followers like Britain. India is one of the leading economies of the world and a market of 1.3 billion people. Boris Johnson is talking of a £100 billion trade deal with India. So a trade embargo on India will be damaging for the UK. India is no longer a pushover. Both the US and UK as well as many nations of Asia need India. Only India has demonstrated that it can stand up to Chinese.
On 8 March 2021 a most foolish “debate” took place in Westminster Hall on the farmers’ protest in India. Around 36 MPs took part causing immense damage to the future of Commonwealth Concept. The Indian government was accused of heavy-handed policing of the farmers. Imagine Indian Parliament carrying out a trial of the British Monarchy for all its misdeeds in India and Asia and then expelling Britain from the Commonwealth itself.
MP Layla Moran of the Liberal Party blabbered that many in the UK had relations in Punjab and were rightly concerned by the treatment of peaceful protesters. Pat Mcfaddon, shadow treasury minister, said that the peaceful conduct of the protesters was a rejection of the idea that those engaged in the protests were somehow not loyal to India. SNP MP Martin Day said that the use of water cannon and tear gas as well as repeated clashes between the police and farmers were a concern. Stephen Kinnock, Labour’s shadow minister for Asia went a step ahead belching out much gaseous statements and said, “We are deeply concerned about reports of live ammunition being used by the police. Modi needs to realise the world is watching.” Kinnock we Indians are also watching your acts, just keep that in mind.
The farm reforms are a matter concerning India and the Indian government and no monkey needs to jump around and try and poke its nose into this. The previous leader of the Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn showed his total ignorance of the matter when he said that farmers were protesting because they were predominantly small farmers with less than five acres of land, and many of them very poor. He was unaware that the new farm laws are meant to assist exactly such people, but then Corbyn never has displayed the will or the brains to read and analyze. He went on to say that 22,000 farmers had committed suicide since the protests began. One wonders where he got his number from. He might as well have said 50,000. Till date there has been one suicide as per reports.
Under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership the Labour party got accused of being openly anti-Semitic. It is amazing how Labour MPs taking part in the farmers’ debate did not utter a word of dissent regarding the anti-Semitism directed towards Jewish Labour politicians or Jewish Labour supporters under Jeremy Corbyn.
Nigel Adams, the Conservative government minister for Asia at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said, “We look to the Indian government to uphold the freedoms guaranteed by its Constitution and international instruments to which India is a party. Whilst this is an exciting time for the UK-India partnership it does not hinder us from raising difficult issues.” Well Nigels we Indians are now certainly going to ensure that it becomes a exiting time for UK. We will ensure that UK exits from Chagos Archipelago, Diego Gracias and
any other occupied territory in the Indo Pacific. Our full support will now be for Argentina to get back its Malvinas ( Falklands ).
These “honourable “MPs forget that World is watching them. They have not uttered a single word to condemn the extremely heavy handed policing at a vigil held in Clapham by the women’s “Reclaim the Streets” movement. The media and the governments all over the World are outraged. How would it look if Indian Parliament discussed this and reminded the British government of the rights of citizens to protest?
In an unprecedented move the Indian government summoned Alex Harris, Britain’s High Commissioner to India. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla described the British parliamentary debate as a gross interference and added that British MPs should refrain from practising vote bank politics by misrepresenting events, especially in relation to a fellow democracy.
The Indian High Commission in London in a press release said that “When aspersions are cast on India by anyone, irrespective of their claims of friendship and love for India or domestic compulsions, there is a need to set the record straight.” It is clear that India is casting away its image as a soft target by any number of countries, international bodies with biased agenda and biased press and social media handles.
The question that hangs in the air is what exactly the British government or the MPs can do to India. ZILCH. India on the other hand can expel UK from Commonwealth itself or mount a campaign for its removal from the UNSC.
