Khalistanis take down India's national flag from its High Commission in London

India lodged a strong protest with the United Kingdom after some pro-Khalistani Sikh activists vandalized its High Commission in London on Sunday.

As the pro-Khalistani Sikh activists took down India’s national flag from the building that housed the country’s diplomatic mission in the capital of the United Kingdom, the British, Deputy High Commissioner in New Delhi, Christina Scott, was summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) late in the evening on Sunday.

The senior officials of the MEA conveyed to Scott New Delhi’s strong protest over the vandalism of the High Commission of India in London by the “separatist and extremist elements” earlier on the day.

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The MEA officials demanded an explanation from the British Deputy High Commissioner for complete absence of the security agencies of the UK near the diplomatic mission of India in London. The absence of the security personnel allowed the “separatist and extremist elements” to enter the High Commission premises. She was reminded in this regard of the basic obligations of the UK Government under the 1961 Vienna Convention on diplomatic Relations, the MEA spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi, said.

A number of protesters – mostly British Sikhs – assembled on the road in front of the High Commission of India on Sunday. They waved the flags of Khalistan, raised slogans slamming the Government of India and condemning the moves against pro-Khalistani elements in Punjab in India. They also took down the India’s national flag from the building that housed New Delhi’s diplomatic mission at Aldwych in central London.

“India finds unacceptable the indifference of the UK Government to the security of Indian diplomatic premises and personnel in the UK,” the senior MEA officials conveyed to the British Deputy High Commissioner in New Delhi.

New Delhi asked the British Government to take immediate steps to identify, arrest and prosecute each one of those involved in the incident on Sunday, and put in place stringent measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.

The High Commission of India in London came under attacks from pro-Khalistani Sikh activists in the past too. They had joined the pro-Pakistani protesters to vandalize the “India House” to protest against the August 5, 2019 move by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to strip Jammu and Kashmir of its special status and to split the state into two Union Territories. Similar violent protests by the Khalistanis were also seen in front of the High Commission of India in London during the August 2020 – December 2021 agitation by the farmers against the controversial agricultural laws introduced by the Modi Government.