The British Tukde Tukde Gang

On 17^th March I wrote an open letter to those responsible for creating the APPG Gujarati stating in very clear terms, ‘I can say with some certainty that the vast majority of Gujaratis in the UK would not wish their good name to be abused in such a fashion as to create an entity in their name. Afterall, in effect it does not stem from them, nor does it represent them in any matter whatsoever’.

In the weeks that have gone by, the Gujarati and Indian community has also responded with a resounding, NO. I have been bombarded with communication from community leaders, as well as the grassroots, every single one of them said the same thing, they did not want this APPG. They also considered it afront to our community that a white Labour politician would be so condescending as to think that in the 21^st Century they could resurrect their imperial past to tell us immigrants what was good for us. It seems the mentality of supremacists is the same, whether you are on the left, the right, or the centre.

At the time of writing, the following leading Hindu/Indian organisations (listed alphabetically) have declared their opposition to the APPG Gujarati:

One can safely deduce that the vast majority of Indians and Gujaratis in the UK have rejected this unsavoury creation designed to promote the interests of a few individuals, rather than the community.

It seems we now have our own British ‘Tukde Tukde Gang’. Composed of Labour MPs and rogue elements from within our own community. Their aim it seems is not to unite us, nor to protect our interest or to even consider our views. They come across as an anti-India gang that is determined to divide us based on regions of India, or by caste or by anything else they can muster. During colonial times the divide and rule principle was used very effectively against all Indians. It worked well not because the British were clever, it worked well because the British bought out some morally and ethically corrupt Indians. History shows us time and again, we can only be divided and abused, if our very own sell us down the road. So, who are these people?

Sanjay Jagatia who has been declared the Secretariat of the APPG Gujarati. On what basis he is qualified for this position is of course for another time, but Jagatia claims on his Facebook page that he is a ‘Fundraising Advisor. Chair-Hindu Think Tank. Secretariat-All Party Parliamentary Group for Gujaratis’. The list is endless in terms of organisations he appears to have been a member of or worked for. Though as far as I can make out, not one leading Indian or Hindu organisation today have him on their books. It’s a mystery as to how he became the secretariat.

I suggest Gareth and his puppets listen to what our community has to say:

The Hindu Forum of Britain stated in their letter, ‘It has come to our attention that an APPG Gujarati is being created and to be launched shortly. From our assessment it has become clear that the vast majority of Hindu/Gujarati/Indian organisations have not been consulted. Had this basic first step taken place then it would have become abundantly clear that the said APPG Gujarati commanded no confidence and is rejected by Gujaratis and the Indian diaspora in general’.

Dhiraj D Shah (President HSS UK) in his letter detailed no less than five points as to why the APPG should not be set up. He was ably supported by Dr T P Jotangia (President VHP UK) who stated, ‘we believe that this will be a divisive move by yourselves as we do not need a separate APPG for all the Communities of India here in Britain. We are well served by APPG for Hindus and India’.

In their letter, the National Congress of Gujarati Organisations (NCGO) confirm that they were approached in the early stages. They had written back to Sanjay Jagatia stating they would want to be part of a proper consultation process. The next they heard from him was when the launch of the APPG was announced. The NCGO reminded Sanjay of, ‘In your previous email, you showed enthusiasm to be “working with NCGO UK”. I clearly mentioned about that we want to be part of the consultation and not support for APPG’. In what was an astonishing piece of information, the NCGO had to remind Sanjay that they had heard from their member organisations that NCGO had endorsed the APPG. Which of course was totally false. So, the question arises, who at the APPG Gujarati was responsible for misrepresenting the position of the NCGO? If it did happen, then it is clear there was only one purpose, to hoodwink organisations into compliance through false representation. If true, that’s a grave and very dishonest way of working. The NCGO as I understand it are still waiting for a formal response.

The Hindu Council UK also released its belated response that, ‘Hindu Council UK expresses its grave concern about the idea of creating a Gujarati APPG in the UK Parliament. We strongly feel that it unnecessarily divides the community and undermines the unity of the British Indian/Hindu community’.

Dr Harsha Jani of Param Shakti Peeth of UK, ‘PSP has serious reservations with respect to the formation of the APPG for British Gujaratis. Our membership consisting largely of UK Gujaratis views this ill-advised, divisive step as an exercise in fracturing our communities’.

There was an astounding intervention on behalf of CB Patel, via an open letter to Gareth Thomas to remind him of the many historical partnerships. He was told very clearly, ‘Regarding the whole issue, you have been already approached by Trupti Patel, President HFB, Sanjay Odedara, General Secretory NCGO, Pravin Amin, President NAPS and several other organisations. CB is amused with your lukewarm response. You should have immediately stopped and withdrawn yourself. This venture is not in the favour of India, the UK, the community, and the labour party as well as yourself’.

There is another sinister development that might have played a part in this fiasco. Rahul Gandhi came to the UK a few weeks back and made many controversial statements. I am led to believe that he also had private meetings with Labour politicians. Could it be that the Indian tukde tukde gang has now created its own British parliamentarian tukde tukde gang? Interestingly the APPG Gujarati was also set up within the very same time frame of his visit, is that just a mere coincidence? Or is there more to this than meets the eye? You may recall, Rahul Gandhi and the Congress Party have made attempts to establish that India is not a nation, but a Union of States. Is the APPG Gujarati the masterplan of clandestine forces that wish to divide Indians not just in India, but also here in the UK? And is the plan to use it to undermine and influence elections in India and defeat PM Modi?

Let us be clear, every Indian and Gujarati organisation must ensure that none of its committee members or trustees attend the launch of the APPG Gujarati next week. Those who do, their only purpose should be to publicly reject the APPG. And those who do attend and support the APPG, we will know for sure that they are not for the community or for India.

To the voters of Harrow West (and nationally), remember this, your MP has not only ignored your community, but he has also shown total disdain towards anything we have to say. On what basis can we as a community support an MP or a party that has so consistently been anti-India, anti-Hindu, anti-Modi and now, even indulges so disgracefully in dividing the Indian diaspora in the UK for its own gain?