Not only is the Narendra Modi government facing flak within India from the common man, farmers, thinkers, unbiased media and the opposition, for the first time in many decades, but India is also facing a volley of questions put forward by opposition Members of Parliament in various parts of the world.  In response to the starred query of Lord Singh of Wimbledon -Indarjit Singh seeking to know what intervention, if any, has the United Kingdom made in the Farmers Protest in India, the Boris Johnson government has admitted that “the right to gather lawfully and demonstrate a point of view is common to all democracies.”

FOLLOWING THE MASSIVE PEACEFUL PROTESTS BY FARMERS of Punjab, joined now by the farmers of Haryana, Rajasthan, Western Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, Lord Singh of Wimbledon asked the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office a parliamentary question on 8 December 2020, to which Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon replied on 22 December 2020.

As the farmers were shelled with tear gas and water cannons, baton-charged and harassed, not only the Sikh community but conscientious people worldwide were shocked to see the brutality of the police and paramilitary forces acting on orders of the right-wing governments of Haryana and the Union of India.

Sharing his pain and agony for the farmers of Punjab, Lord Indarjit Singh had asked as to what assessment has the government of the United Kingdom made of the government of India’s response to the protests against the proposed reforms on the sale, pricing and storage of farm produce; and what representations they have made to that government about its response.”

In a typically haughty British reply, on 22 December, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, on behalf of the British government, sent a terse written reply, saying,  “Our position is that the right to gather lawfully and demonstrate a point of view is common to all democracies. Democratic governments also have the power to enforce law and order if a protest crosses the line into illegality.”

Our position is that the right to gather lawfully and demonstrate a point of view is common to all democracies.

He further added that “The Government is conscious of concerns in India, and from communities in the UK, about India’s agricultural reforms. The Foreign Secretary discussed protests on this issue with his counterpart, Minister of Exterior Affairs Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, during his visit to India 14-17 December.”

Reacting to the reply, Lord Singh tweeted satisfaction that the UK government accepts “that the farmers have a right to protest.”

Lord Singh of Wimbledon wrote to the Government on 8th December, and today has received an answer from @tariqahmadbt

“At least the U.K Government accepts the fact that the farmers have right to protest. Let us see if the Indian Government heeds this” – Lord Singh of Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/HRBG8O6f3f

— Lord Indarjit Singh CBE (@LordIndarjit) December 23, 2020

The rider in the reply, “Democratic governments also have the power to enforce law and order if a protest crosses the line into illegality,” bespeaks of the sway that India has over the United Kingdom that they almost endorsed the Indian angle of reducing the peaceful struggle into a law and order problem.

This official British response shows the impact of the farmers protest, that the government also admitted that the matter was discussed by the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs -Dominic Raab during his recent visit to India.

“Given that members of the Indian diaspora had joined protests in the U.K. over the farm Bills, this was now an issue in British politics as well.”

Dominic Raab, British Foreign Secretary, during his recent visit to India

On Indian soil, the British Foreign Secretary is reported to have said, “India has a vibrant heritage of peaceful protests and vigorous debate”, which the UK has “watched…with interest.”

Dominic Raab added,  “given that members of the Indian diaspora had joined protests in the U.K. over the farm Bills, this was now an issue in British politics as well.”

Interestingly, India’s Ministry of External Affairs chose not to react to the statement of the visiting British Foreign Secretary, as it did when the Canadian Prime Minister endorsed the farmers’ peaceful protests.