In a bizarre yet expected move, King Charles has stripped two British Indian communities of their honours after they spoke out against the atrocities against Hindus and also opposed the terrorist organisation Sikhs for Justice.
Tory peer Rami Rangers and Hindu Council UK managing trustee Anil Bhanot were stripped of their honours. Ranger, who is a multi-millionaire, was stripped of his CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) by King Charles. Bhanot, who was also stripped of his OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire), is a practising accountant who runs a community arts centre in Leicester. The announcement was made in the London Gazette.
The order said that they would have to return their insignia to Buckingham Palace and could no longer make any reference to having an honour. The forfeiture committee considers cases put before it when the holder of an honour may be deemed to have brought the honours system into disrepute. The recommendations for forfeiture were submitted through UK Prime Minister Keir Starrer to the King.
What have they been accused of
Both Bhanot and Ranger have denounced this move and called it a direct attack on free speech. Bhanot has been accused of Islamophobia. His tweets in which he had written about violence against Hindus in Bangladesh in 2021 were cited. A website called 5 Pillars had complained about these tweets to the Institute of Chartered Accountants and to the Charity Commission and both had cleared him on free speech grounds. Bhanot, however, does not know who put forth the complaint before the forfeiture committee.
He told the media that he felt empathy for the Hindus who were being targeted. The BBC was not covering this, and he felt the need to say something. He further added that he was calling for a dialogue and legislative measures. He feels that his representation was not looked into and added that free speech is something of the past in the United Kingdom.
Ranger, on the other hand, wants to have a judicial review of the decision. He also said that he would take the issue to the European Court of Human Rights. He made a comment in which he defended Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the BBC made a documentary called ‘India: The Modi Question.’ Following his comments, the US-based terror group, Sikhs for Justice, complained about the same, and this was taken by the forfeiture committee.
UK’s duplicity on Khalistan movement
There have been multiple incidents involving Khalistan terrorists in the United Kingdom. Hindus have been attacked in Britain. The High Commission has been attacked by Khalistanis. While Bharat has raised this issue on several occasions, the UK has always passed it off as so-called free speech.
With Kerr Starmer and his Labour Party in power, the Khalistan elements will thrive as the party is known for its close linkages to this movement, which is seeking a separate Khalistan nation carved out of Punjab by using terror tactics.
The Labour Party has traditionally leaned towards such separatist movements. Not just Khalistan, the party has also backed the separatists in Jammu and Kashmir. The party during its annual conference under former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had passed a resolution in favour of international intervention in Kashmir.
The party has very often been called as anti-Indian. There was a furore when the party released a leaflet in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seen shaking hands with former Prime Minister of the UK Boris. Johnson at the G-20 Summit. The leaflet read, ‘Do not risk a Tory MP who is not on your side’.
Starmer being at the helm does not bode well for Bharat. His government will not heed Bharat’s requests to act against the Khalistanis. The Khalistanis and also the ISI elements have had a free run in the United Kingdom for a long. It may be recalled that the Khalistanis had attacked the Indian High Commission in London, and all removed the Indian national flag atop it. These elements were protesting against the arrest of Amritpal Singh and his associates in Punjab. In addition to this there have been several referendums in the UK which have gone unchecked despite it posing a huge security risk.
Islam dominates
It is a well-known fact that Islamists are ruling the roost in the UK. There are at least 9 Muslim Mayors. The fact that this feat has been achieved by just 4 million Muslims in a country that has 66 million people only shows how remarkable their reach is.
In the UK, there are over 50 Sharia Councils and 3,000 Mosques. In addition to this, there are 130 Sharia courts.
Further, 78 per cent of the Muslim women who do not work live on state support and free accommodation. Sixty-three per cent of Muslims do not work and receive state support and free housing, according to data put out by Lawrence Fox, a leader of The Reclaim Party. He further says that state-supported Muslim families with an average of 6 to 8 children receive free accommodation. Now, every school in the UK is required to teach lessons about Islam.
In March, some British MPs were forced to hire personal bodyguards following threats by Islamist groups over the country’s support for Israel in the Gaza war. The then Prime Minister Rishi Sunk had said that legitimate protests have been hijacked by extremists to promote and glorify terrorism. Elected representatives have been threatened and violently targeted, he had said.
There are allegations that under Mayor Sadiq Khan, who is set to be knighted, crime in London has only increased. A Sky News report had said that ‘India’s business elite feel they have to look over their shoulder while visiting areas such as Mayfair in London due to the risk of being mugged. The theft of high-value timepieces sold on the black market has become a criminal enterprise in the UK capital in recent years, with one former watch dealer telling Sky News it is ‘more lucrative than drugs.’
