We are extremely concerned over the use of Baba Ramdev’s visit to the UK to promote a Hindu communal agenda, and specifically to build support for Narendra Modi’s election campaign. Modi is responsible for the genocidal killings of more than 2,000 members of the minority Muslim community in Gujarat in 2002, including three British citizens, whose families are still waiting for justice. Over the last month, in the run-up to elections, Modi’s party the BJP and his right-hand man Amit Shah have been trying to recreate these horrific events in Uttar Pradesh, fomenting riots which have seen the worst communal violence in over a decade, leaving large numbers of people dead or missing and tens of thousands of people homeless and destitute. In the midst of these events, Baba Ramdev has proclaimed himself a key supporter of Modi in his campaign to become Prime Minister. This makes it highly inappropriate and disturbing that a small number of British MPs elected politicians, including Minister for Energy and Climate Change Baroness Sandip Verma, and Labour MPs Keith Vaz and Seema Malhotra, should be taking part today in what is clearly a partisan and provocative communal event designed to divide Indian and South Asian communities in Britain. We call on them to withdraw from this event and we call on Hindu organisations in Britain to distance themselves from Baba Ramdev’s support for the ‘Butcher of Gujarat’ and to join us in building unity among Indian and South Asian ommunities in Britain.

South Asia Solidarity Group

CasteWatch UK

Southall Black Sisters

Indian Workers Association (Birmingham)