32 members of the British Parliament led by Slough MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi has written a letter to the British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office -Dominic Raab expressing deep concern on the developments in the Punjab and on farmers rights in India and its wider political ramifications.

Seeking an urgent meeting with the British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to discuss the deteriorating situation in the Punjab and its relationship with the Centre and to share details that could be shared by him with his Indian counterpart about the impact on British Sikhs and Punjabis, with longstanding links to land and farming in India and to acquire details of an update of any communications the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has had with the Indian Government.

As the rage over the repression on Punjabi farmers spreads throughout the globe, as many as 32 members of the British Parliament have written a letter to their Foreign Secretary and to the Indian High Commission in London expressing grave concern over the “impact of three new Indian laws on exploiting farmers and those dependent on farming in India.”

“The introduction of these new laws by the Indian government (Centre) has, despite the Coronavirus, triggered widespread farmers’ protests across the country for failing to protect farmers from exploitation and to ensure fair prices for their produce.”

Farmers from the Punjab and across India are peacefully protesting against #FarmersBill2020.

Following our October meet, further discussions and given strong sense of injustice felt by many constituents, cross-party letter from British MPs has been sent to the Foreign Secretary. pic.twitter.com/l8aZWiekor

— Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP (@TanDhesi) December 4, 2020

The protest note led by the first turban-wearing Sikh British Member Parliament Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi says, “This is an issue of particular concern to Sikhs in the UK and those linked to the Punjab, although it also heavily impacts on other Indian states. Many British Sikhs and Punjabis have taken this matter up with their MPs, as they are directly affected with family members and ancestral land in the Punjab. Being famous as “India’s bread-basket”, many Punjabis rely on farming for their existence. About three-quarters of the state’s 30 million-strong population is involved in agriculture. Therefore, these new laws present the Punjabis with a huge problem, with some describing it as a “death warrant”.

The joint letter signed by 32 Members of Parliament including by Tan Dhesi, Debbie Abrahams, Apsana Begum, Sir Peter Bottomley, Sarah Champion, Jeremy Corbyn, Jon Cruddas, John Cryer, Geraint Davies, Martin Docherty-Hughes, Allan Dorans, Andrew Gwynne, Afzal Khan, Ian Lavery, Emma Lewell-Buck, Clive Lewis, Tony Lloyd, Khalid Mahmood, Seema Malhotra, Steve McCabe, John McDonnell, Pat McFadden, Grahame Morris, Caroline Nokes, Kate Osborne, Virendra Sharma, John Spellar, Zarah Sultana, Sam Tarry, Alison Thewliss, Stephen Timms, Valerie Vaz, Claudia Webbe, Nadia Whittome, Munira Wilson, Mohammad Yasin, touches the roots of the Sikhs in the UK and mentions that a large cross-section of British Sikhs has close ties with the agricultural lands in Punjab and other parts of India.