Fearing a backlash among voters of Indian origin, the UK Labour Party backtracked from its stance on the Kashmir dispute, and now insists it is a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan in which Labour will not interfere.
The clarification has been made in a letter sent by the Labour Party chairman, Ian Lavery, in which he admits an emergency motion on Kashmir passed by the party at its annual conference had caused offence to some British Indians and India itself.
In September Labour Party took a principled stance over the India decision to revoke special status of Kashmir and siege of the occupied Kashmir. The party passed a motion in its annual conference saying that there was a humanitarian crisis in the disputed territory and that the people of Kashmir should be given the right of self-determination. It also called for international monitors to be allowed into the region.
The motion has led some Indian groups in the UK to call on their community to vote Conservative. More than 100 Indian groups wrote to Jeremy Corbyn in protest and pro Indian MP Keith Vaz demanded the withdrawal of the motion. Last week, a UK support group for the BJP, India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party, said it was campaigning for the Conservative party in 48 marginal seats. It also emerged that WhatsApp messages were circulating among British Hindus urging them to vote against Labour, accusing it of being”anti-India”.
However, majority of the ethnic MPs including Sikhs have lauded the party for taking a bold step by criticizing gross the Human rights violations by the Indians forces in Kashmir. Labour Party Leader Jermey Corbyn enjoys the support of the British Muslims for raising his voice against injustice and oppression across the world
However, In order to win over the India voters for the upcoming general election on 12 December 2019, party chair Lavery promises “the Labour Party will not take a pro-Indian or pro-Pakistan stance on Kashmir”. In his letter he wrote: “We are adamant that the deeply felt and genuinely held differences on the issue of Kashmir must not be allowed to divide communities against each other here in the UK.
In a major shift of policy Ian Lavery said, “Kashmir is a bilateral matter for India and Pakistan to resolve together by means of a peaceful solution, which protects the human rights of the Kashmiri people and respects their right to have a say in their own future.”
The former UK national security adviser Mark Lyall Grant has predicted rising extremism in the UK unless the issue is settled. Lyall Grant told a meeting at the security think tank Chatham House that India’s decision to revoke Kashmir’s special status was likely to lead to greater extremism in the region.
He said greater extremism in Kashmir would have a direct impact on the UK, adding that 60-70% of British Pakistanis had origins in the Mirpur district in Kashmir. “Therefore there is a risk of radicalisation in this country of British Kashmiris. We all know that diasporas tend to be more radical than communities left behind and I do not see why this should be any different.” Mark Lyall Grant added.