The Indian diaspora on March 1 assembled in 18 European cities to condemn the Delhi riots, mourn the victims and demand immediate action against the perpetrators, a report said. Demonstrations took place in Glasgow and Krakow, in Helsinki and Stockholm, in Dublin and Berlin…. And everywhere white roses served as a symbol of protest and condolence. The white rose is the symbol of the anti-fascist movement in Europe and was the name of a German group that advocated non-violent resistance to the Nazi regime.
A bouquet of white roses was placed on the pavement in front of the Indian embassy in The Hague in the Netherlands.
In Paris, French citizens joined Indians to protest what organisers described as “state-sponsored violence last week”. Some of them had even sat out a night in front of the Eiffel Tower “out of anger and anxiety”.
“A freezing wind started blowing in course of our protest meet and it rained, too… Voices were trembling but I managed to explain the context, describing how the riot was instigated by hate speech,” Alokparna Roy said from Cologne in Germany.
A Brussels Chalo march is being called when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the city for the India-European Union summit on March 13 and 14, added the report.
Hundreds of Indian Americans of different faiths rallied outside Indian consulates in major American cities on Friday (February 29) evening to protest against the recent violence in Delhi that has killed over 50 people, and injured hundreds.
Outside the Indian consulate in New York on Friday evening, protesters gathered chanting “Shame!” at officials as they tried to exit or enter the building.
A large group of students, human rights activists and diaspora group representatives gathered outside the Indian High Commission in London, on March 1 for an “emergency protest” against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the associated violence in Delhi. The India Society at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), South Asian Students Against Fascism and South Asia Solidarity Group were among the groups behind the protest. “If the world does not take note and react urgently, the consequences will be disastrous,” SOAS India Society said in a statement. The protesters chanted slogans and demanded the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah, for alleged “gross failure” to maintain peace, and the arrest of BJP politicians accused of instigating violence in Delhi.
They also called on the UK government to issue a “strong condemnation” of the Narendra Modi government for the violence in Delhi.
Also, India came under fire in the House of Commons on March 3 with Labour, SNP, Liberal Democrats and Conservative MPs, including Indian-origin MPs, queuing up to criticise the Indian government for the recent violence in Delhi and the CAA and urging the UK government to take stronger action.
Iran on March 5 continued its criticism of India over the Delhi riots, with the country’s Supreme Leader Sayyid Ali Khamenei saying that the Centre should “confront extremist Hindus and their parties”, and called for a stop to the “massacre of Muslims”.
Several thousand Muslims on February 28 marched from the main mosque in Dhaka, Bangladesh to denounce India’s government for allegedly inflaming tensions between Hindus and Muslims, leading to clashes that left over 50 dead and hundreds injured.