Operation Sindoor, India’s retaliation against terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam last month which left 26 people dead on 22 April.
A total of 24 of them were Indian tourists, one tourist from Nepal and a local man who was working as a pony handler.
Survivors of the 22 April attack in Indian-administered Kashmir said the militants had singled out Hindu men. Pakistan denied involvement.
Now a geopolitical expert has claimed that the India-Pakistan tensions can spill onto British streets.
“Britain has big Indian and Pakistani diaspora populations. They’re watching the violence between their countries closely, as you would in their position,” wrote James Snell, a former senior advisor for special initiatives at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, in the Daily Telegraph.
Snell cited the example of violence flaring in Leicester in summer 2022 between Britain’s south Asian Hindus and Muslims.
“It was sparked, at least in part, by a cricket match; but the spark could have been anything. Footage of a scrap after the cricket travelled widely via WhatsApp and social media, and very soon rumours flew around the British Muslim world that people just like them were being hunted down and attacked by “Hindutva” Indian nationalists.
“Hindus and Muslims in Leicester each took to the streets to show their face; some fighting broke out. After that, episodes of violence ebbed and flowed; many were beaten up and at least one person was stabbed. Eventually everything simmered back down again – but only after quite an investment in police presence and resources. It will happen again,” Snell wrote.
A total of 47 people were arrested, including some who were sentenced for possession of weapons.
The BBC reported: “The fight has spilled online, too. Claims of attacks on people because of their religion have gone viral – though many are unverified and, in one case, confirmed by police not to have happened.”
Officers urged people not to share unverified claims on social media. Leicester Magistrates’ Court heard one man sentenced for carrying a knife had been influenced by social media.”
Following the escalation of India-Pakistan war, Pakistanis in London scheduled a protest outside India’s Embassy in London. The protest took place in the evening outside the Indian Embassy in central London, located near King’s College.
Pakistanis in London have scheduled a protest outside India’s Embassy in London, following last night’s missile attack.
The protest is due to take place today at 5.30pm outside the Indian Embassy in central London, located near King’s College.
A post on social media read: “Join hands, raise your voice for Pakistan. Overseas Pakistanis stand against Indian war agenda.”
Snell went on to say: “A significant amount of Britain’s overstretched security apparatus is already dedicated to maintaining civic peace at any price between our innumerable diaspora populations.”
In 2021, approximately 1.9 million people of Indian origin and 1.7 million people of Pakistani origin resided in Britain. Since then, further migration has occurred, potentially adding to those numbers. Both communities have a long history in Britain, with strong cultural and familial ties.
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