36 British MPs came in support of the farmers’ movement
British Sikhs belonging to Punjab are concerned about their families .Labor Party MPs write to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab
London, 05 December: In support of the new agrarian laws in India, 36 UK MPs have written to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to pressurize India, in support of the 9-day long farmers’ movement. The MPs led by Britain’s Labor Party MP Tanmanjit Singh Dhesi called an urgent meeting and called to discuss ‘deteriorating situation in Punjab and their relationship with the Center’.
The letter referred to the new agricultural laws as’ death warrants’ for farmers, stating that farmers’ protests in India are of particular concern to Sikhs in Britain as family members of Punjabis living here and their ancestral lands are in Punjab. The MPs have asked the Foreign Secretary to hold talks with Indian counterparts about the impact of the laws on British Sikhs and Punjabis long involved in land and farming in India. Also, talks with Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla through Commonwealth, Foreign, and Development offices.
British MP Tanmanjit Singh Dhesi said that last month many MPs had written to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and the Indian High Commission in London about 3 new Indian agricultural laws. Despite the Corona epidemic, these laws brought by the Government of India have led to protests across the country for failing to protect farmers from exploitation and ensuring a fair price for their produce. However, this law is overshadowing other Indian states as well. Yet many British Sikhs and Punjabis have taken up the matter with their MPs as they are directly affected by family members and their ancestral lands in Punjab.
The letter cited a survey by the Sikh Council UK, stating that nearly three-quarters of Punjab’s 30 million or 30 million population is engaged in agribusiness. Therefore, new laws have emerged as a major problem for Punjab. The Punjabi farming community is recognized as the backbone in the economic structure of the state. Hence the farmers here are seen as a powerful influence in state and national level politics.
Besides the British Sikh Labor MP Tan Dhesi in the letter, the 35 MPs to sign were Punjabi-origin Labor MPs Virender Sharma, Nadia Whitom and Seema Malhotra, former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn MP, Indian-origin MP Velary Vaz and Liberal Democrats MP Munira Wilson Are included. Apart from this, two Conservative MPs and three SNP MPs have also signed the letter.(HC).
