London: India has strongly protested against the British government for allowing a rally to be held in Birmingham on July 8 to commemorate death anniversary of Hizbul Mujahideen ‘commander’ Burhan Wani who was killed on July 8, 2016. India's deputy high commissioner Dinesh Patnaik in a 'note verbale” asked the British government to stop the rally as it was an anti-Indian act. The July 8 event is billed as ‘Burhan Wani Day’ and ‘Kashmir Rally’.
The development came less than a week after high commissioner Y K Sinha delivered an unusually strong speech at a book release event here, when he said post-Brexit Britain’s eagerness to intensify trade with India cannot happen at the cost of India’s core concerns.
Sinha said: “The way the UK permits anti-India activity on its soil, in Delhi people are quite perturbed about that. We are also a democratic society but we do not discuss issues that affect our friends and allies.”
“Allowing anti-India elements to flourish here in the name of democracy will not do”, he said that caused ripples and raised eyebrows in diplomatic and political circles, but was welcomed in Indian quarters.
It was conveyed in the ‘note verbale’ that allowing an event to commemorate an individual considered by India as a ‘terrorist’ was not expected of the Theresa May government. Wani was photographed with an AK-47 rifle, seeking dismemberment of India, it was pointed out.
Wani, who was an associate of Syed Salahuddin (recently branded a ‘global terrorist’ by the United States) was killed on July 8, 2016, leading to a prolonged phase of unrest in the Kashmir valley. Posters announcing the event have been circulated across the social media, featuring a photograph of Wani and mentioning figures about alleged human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir, including injuries caused by pellets fired by security forces.
