Paranoid Pro-Indian voices attack and villify grassroot

NLP candidates with smears of ‘terrorism’–

“It is dangerous to be right when those in power are wrong!” Voltaire

As the NLP election campaign on self-determination for all, is reaching out to communities across London; we are seeing the emergence of reaction and panic attacks on us as individuals and the fundamental causes we represent.

We suspect this is the start of a cycle of villification, against our unique, unprecedented campaign. It is clear that, a dedicated, core campaign on justice, human rights and self-determination for disrecognised, stateless nations, is going to incense the relevant oppressive states and the supporters of those states.

For example, on an opposition web-site, myself and Upkar Singh as representing the causes of the Sikhs and wider communities (Kashmiri, Manipur, Naga, Tamil) across the Indian state; are being accused of having links to the Pakistan intelligence service (the ISI) and being funded by them. We are being challenged and condemned for taking the cause of Sikh, Kashmiri, Naga, Tamil independence to the European Parliament, and posing a threat to the Indian state.

Such is the panic and reaction, at the prospect of two ordinary, grassroot individuals in London, 5,000 miles away from New Dheli (India’s capital), taking up the cause of India’s subjugated nations in the European Parliament. It is an open secret that pro-Indian groups and Indian secret intelligence have an active presence in the UK, monitoring and compiling dossiers on Kashmiri, Sikh, Tamil and other activists.

The exact same pattern applies to each of the causes and communities represented in this dedicated SELF-DETERMINATION FOR ALL campaign – Kurdish, Matabele, North Borneo and South Azerbaijan.

The ruling elite of the 70-year old Indian state (carved out of the British Indian empire in 1947), consistently condemn in bombastic and aggressive terms anyone proposing or pressing for a referendum in Kashmir, raising the subject of self-determination in Panjaab, pressing for devolution of powers and autonomy to the regions such as West Bengal, pressing for Tamil language and Tamil self-governance in Tamilnadu. These dominant, aggressive forces of INDIANISATION, Indian state supremacy and singularisation of language, religion, society in the name of ‘Hindu, Hindi, Hindustan!’; are intolerant of any dissent and any grassroot aspirations for change, devolution, autonomy, independence. They are aggressive in both their language and their actions. They clamp down on the diverse peoples and nations locked within the undemocratic Indian ‘union’ state. India has already declared to the UN, long ago, that the principle of self-determination does not apply to them.

Anyone speaking for a fundamental change in the power relationship, reducing and removing the overwhelming power of India’s centralising state, and increasing and maximising the power of the regional peoples and real nations that make up the map of India; are routinely and uniformly labelled as ‘terrorists’, ‘separatists’, ‘extremists’.

In a true, civilised democracy like Britain, we are able to positively engage in dialogue and debate about devolution, autonomy and independence for Wales, Scotland, England and even Cornwall! We do not lambast the Scots as extremists, separatists and terrorists, funded by Germany or Russia. We do not arrest or torture their advocates and leaders, and charge them with anti-state offences. We can agree or disagree with Scottish independence. We can communicate and dialogue on this, in a non-aggressive, non-villifying manner. We speak and debate about the need for parliaments for all the regions and nations of the British state. We can take opposing and dissenting positions on these fundamental subjects, in the security and comfort of a free, open and democratic political environment.

Tragically, Indian politics dominated by the rich and criminal elites, is far, far away from this kind of authentic democracy. India claims to be the ‘worlds largest democracy’ simply because over 1.5 billion civilians have the ostensible right to vote. What, these poor, semi-literate, fear-driven civilians don’t have; is the freedom to voice dissent, openly debate their causes and directly assert their international right to self-determination. Torture, arrest, disappearances, incarceration is the norm. Police repression and state supremacy is the overriding reality.

Across our 8-candidate election team, the NLP has grassroot activists from Tamil, Kurdish, North Borneo, Sikh, South Azerbaijan, English, Matabelan causes. We expect the usual rabid reactionary responses in respect of each of these, as we proceed over the remaining 3-weeks towards 22nd May 2014. As those in this kind of arduous struggles can tell you; direct and indirect smearing, hate labels and villification is an added feature to the david versus goliath struggle. To quote Voltaire: “It is dangerous to be right when those in power are wrong!”

May the worst fears of these intolerant voices, be realised. That the communities of London elect a dedicated voice in the European Parliament for the causes of Tamil Ealam, Khalistan, Kurdistan, North Borneo, South Azerbaijan, Matabele and England!