Gallery Protests, Sikhs, Kashmiris, Kurds, Sewol, Sotheby’s & Black Lives Matter – 2015

Gallery Protests, Sikhs, Kashmiris, Kurds, Sewol, Sotheby’s & Black Lives Matter: Saturday 15th August 2015 was probably the day I photographed more events than any other day, covering a total of 8 protests as well as taking a few pictures of London as I travelled around.

Gallery Protests, Sikhs, Kashmiris, Kurds, Sewol, Sotheby's & Black Lives Matter
Handing out fliers at Tate Modern wearing a sunflower T-shirt supporting the National Gallery strikers

It was the 61st day of the PCS strike against privatisation at the National Gallery, and at Tate Modern staff were handing out leaflets calling for staff who had already been outsourced to get the same pay and conditions as directly employed workers.

Gallery Protests, Sikhs, Kashmiris, Kurds, Sewol, Sotheby's & Black Lives Matter

It was Indian Independence Day, and outside India House I photographed Sikhs calling for the release of political prisoners and Kashmiris calling for freedom.

In Trafalgar Square Iranian Kurds remembered those killed in the fight for self-determination and a monthly silent protest remembered the Korean children killed when the Sewol ferry sank.

Gallery Protests, Sikhs, Kashmiris, Kurds, Sewol, Sotheby's & Black Lives Matter

In Mayfair, United Voices of the World were protesting in the streets around Sotheby’s, calling for proper sick pay, paid holidays and pensions and demainding the reinstatement of two union members sacked for protesting.

Gallery Protests, Sikhs, Kashmiris, Kurds, Sewol, Sotheby's & Black Lives Matter

Finally I went to Grosvenor Square for a protest close to the US embassy against the collective and systemic unlawful arrests and killings/attacks of black people in America.

You can read and see more pictures from all of these events – and a few pictures of London on My London Diary. Here I’ll post very short introductions to the events with a picture and a link.


National Gallery 61st day of Strike – Trafalgar Square

Cindy Udwin, PCS rep at the gallery, sacked for her union activities. The strikers were determined to get her re-instated – and eventually did

A short rally ended the daily picket on the 61st day of the PCS strike against privatisation at the National Gallery, with speeches and messages of support.

National Gallery 61st day of Strike.


Equalitate at Tate Modern

Vicky of Equalitate holds up their flyer calling for equal pay and conditions

Privatised visitor assistants at Tate Modern & Tate Britain get £3 an hour less than directly employed colleagues, are on zero hours contracts and do not get the same employment rights.

Equalitate at Tate Modern


Sikhs call for release of political prisoners – Indian High Commission

On Indian Independence Day, Sikh protesters from Dal Khalsa supported the call by hunger striker Bapu Surat Singh for the release of Sikh political prisoners and for the ‘2020’ campaign for a referendum for an independent Sikh state, Khalistan.

Sikhs call for release of political prisoners


Kashimiris Indian Independence Day call for freedom – Indian High Commission

Kashmiris protested at the Indian High Commission on Independence Day, observed as ‘black day’ in Indian military occupied Kashmir. They want freedom for their country, now a disputed territory with areas occupied by India, Pakistan and China.

Kashimiris Independence Day call for freedom


Kurdish PJAK remembers its martyrs – Trafalgar Square

Iranian Kurds from the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) remembered its fighters killed in the fight against Iran and ISIS for self-determination.

Kurdish PJAK remembers its martyrs


16th ‘Stay Put’ Sewol silent protest – Trafalgar Square

The monthly silent protest remembered the victims of the ferry tragedy, mainly school children who obeyed the order to ‘Stay Put’ on the lower decks as the ship went down.

16th ‘Stay Put’ Sewol silent protest


United Voices – Reinstate the Sotheby’s 2 – Mayfair

A police office tells Sandy Nicoll to get up and off the road with no success

The United Voices of the World marched noisily around the block at Sotheby’s demanding reinstatement of Barbara and Percy, cleaners sacked for protesting for proper sick pay, paid holidays and pensions. Several police attempts to clear the road and stop them failed.

United Voices – Reinstate the Sotheby’s 2


BlackoutLDN solidarity with Black US victims – Grosvenor Square

Bro Jeffrey Muhammad of the Nation of Islam speaking about police targeting attacks on the Black community in the UK

Two young women, Kayza Rose & Denise Fox, had organised a peaceful protest under the statue of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, close to the US embassy, in solidarity with events across the US against the collective and systemic unlawful arrests and killings/attacks of black people in America.

BlackoutLDN solidarity with Black US victims


London Views

The City from the Millennium Bridge

A few pictures I made as I travelled between the day’s protests.

London Views


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Students, World Service, Kashmir & Dr Sen – 2011

Students, World Service, Kashmir & Dr Sen – 2011: On Wednesday 26th January 2011 the Education Activist Network had called for students to come to a protest in Trafalgar Square against education cuts. But it wasn’t clear what they intended to do and few had bothered to come. In the end most of them decided to go to join the NUJ protest against cuts in the BBC World Service at Bush House which I had also been intending to go to. And since it was India’s Republic Day there were also a couple of protests outside the Indian High Commission a few yards down the road from there.


Student Day of Action – Trafalgar Square

Students, World Service, Kashmir & Dr Sen - 2011

The event organisers, the Education Activist Network who describe themselves as “group of educationalists, lecturers, and students who campaign against cuts in adult, further and higher education” had called on students to walk out of their schools and colleges and come to a protest in Trafalgar Square, but there appeared to have been little planning about what would then happen.

Students, World Service, Kashmir & Dr Sen - 2011

Fewer than a hundred had turned up and there were a couple of literature stalls collecting petition signatures and selling the Socialist Worker etc there appeared to be just one man with a megaphone. Several others came up and made short speeches against the cuts and a Heritage Warden and myself took some photographs but nobody knew what to do next.

Students, World Service, Kashmir & Dr Sen - 2011

A few people stood around holding Socialist Worker placards with the message F**K FEES – Save EMA – Free Education and others. After some discussion most decided to march to Aldwych where the NUJ were holding a protest I had planned to photograph against cuts in the BBC World Service’.

Student Day of Action


Save the BBC World Service – Bush House, Aldwych

Students, World Service, Kashmir & Dr Sen - 2011

Bush House was built overlooking Kingsway as a major new trade centre for American industrialist Irving T. Bush, who approved its designs in 1919 but this imposing Portland Stone Grade II listed “most expensive building in the world” was only finally completed in 1935. A few years later in 1941 it became used by the BBC and became the headquarters of the BBC World Service. The BBC’s lease expired around a year after this protest and they did not renew it, with the building being taken over in 2015 by King’s College.

The BBC World Service has a well-deserved reputation as the best in the world and is an important part of the UK’s ‘soft power’. NUT General Secretary jeremy Dear who spoke at the protest put it well: “The diversity of staff and their presence in so many key locations around the world contributes to making the BBC World Service the leading voice in international broadcasting. At its best the World Service can challenge corruption, expose human rights abuses and promote democratic values. By cutting the service the government will cut British influence in the rest of the world, and cuts will also be deeply damaging for objective quality news services around the globe.

Government cuts in the grant from the UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office for the World Service announced in October 2010 and the transfer of the service in 2014 completely to the license fees led the BBC in January 2011 to announce swingeing cuts, axing Portuguese for Africa, Caribbean English, Macedonian, Serbian and Albanian services, the end of all shortwave radio services and more. These cuts were estimated by the BBC to result in a loss of more than 30 million listeners across the world, including in India, China and Russia.

The cuts were also expected to result in 480 BBC employees losing their jobs in 2011 and a further 170 by the time the service became entirely licence fee funded in 2014. Many of the NUJ members taking part in the protest would be among those made redundant.

Save the BBC World Service.


Free Kashmir & Khalistan – Indian High Commission, Aldwych

Kashmiris and Sikhs held a protest together outside the Indian High Commision on Republic Day, the 61st anniversary of the Indian Constitution, calling for the freedom that their nations have been denied by Indian military repression.

Kashmir was an ancient kingdom, becoming a Muslim monarchy in 1439, later a part of the Sikh empire but again becoming a monarchy under British guidance in the 19th century. But Kashmir – as well as the Sikhs – were unfairly mistreated in the negotiations for Indian independence and the 1947 partition.

Although Kashmir has am 80% Muslim population its then Maharajah ceded the kingdom to India as a way to protect his privilege and rule against an invasion by Pakistan. In return Kashmir was granted some limited autonomy by the Indian Constitution (revoked in 2019.)

Kashmiris campaigning for freedom from Indian rule have been savagely repressed and the country has a huge occupying force of Indian troops and police, with widespread human rights abuses, many continuing to be imprisoned, tortured and murdered.

Both India and Pakistan have been found by UN bodies and other investigations to be guilty of widespread human rights abuses in the areas of Kashmir they administer. The UN in 1948 called for the people of Kashmir to be allowed to determine their future by a free and fair vote, but this has never been possible due to the opposition of both India and Pakistan. A small part of the country is also occupied by China, doubtless also abusing human rights.

Protesting with the Kashmiris were Sikhs, also neglected at Partition which divided the Punjab between India and Pakistan. Widespread agitation for their own independent state of Khalistan was accelerated by the 1984 attack by the Indian Army on the Golden temple at Amritsar, and the widespread anti-Sikh riots and killing which after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards which followed. As in Kashmir, Sikhs in India have suffered widespread and continuing human rights abuses.

Free Kashmir & Khalistan


Release Binayak Sen Now – Indian High Commission

Dr Binayak Sen is a highly regarded Indian doctor, internationally recognised for his work with indigenous and marginalised people with a lifetime of service of the rural poor.

He helped establish a hospital serving poor mine workers in Chhattisgarh and founded a health and human rights organisation that supports community health workers in 20 villages, and was an officer of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).

Dr Sen criticised the state Government’s atrocities against indigenous people who were fighting the handover of their lands for mining, and their establishment of an armed militia, the Salwa Judum, to fight against the Naxalite (Maoist) rebels in the area.

In 2007 he was arrested and charged with having links with the Naxalities and was held in prison until granted bail two years later in May 2009. But in December 2010, Dr Sen was found guilty of sedition and conspiracy and sentenced to life imprisonment. At the time of the protest his appeal was continuing. He was granted bail in April 2011 and the case against him has not been pursued.

Release Binayak Sen Now


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Kashmiris and Cows – 2019

Kashmiris and Cows: On Saturday 10th August 2019 I photographed three events, two of them by Kashmiris after the article of the Indian Constitution which guaranteed some autonomy for their state was revoked. Completely unrelated was a small protest by vegans against diary farming.


Kashmiris protest at India House and Trafalgar Square

Kashmiris and Cows

When the partition of India took place at independence from Britain in 1947, the state of Kashmir was an anomaly. Although this was a majority Muslim state it was not included in Pakistan as the then ruler decided it should become a part of India.

Kashmiris and Cows

Kashmir has three regions, Jammu and Kashmir the largest, became a part of India, the Northern areas are under Pakistani administration and a smaller region on the east is controlled by China. The whole area has been disputed by India, Pakistan and China since 1947.

Kashmiris and Cows

The special status of Jammu and Kashmir was recognised by Article 370 of the Indian constitution. This gave it “the power to have a separate constitution, a state flag, and autonomy of internal administration.

Kashmiris and Cows

Many Kashmiris objected to becoming a part of India and campaigned for independence with a brief rebellion leading to war between India and Pakistan in 1948-9. Various other conflicts came in later years and in 1989 an armed insurgency began, at first calling for independence but soon taken over by groups calling for merger with Pakistan.

The uprising has been suppressed over the years by a huge Indian military presence in Kashmir with an occupying force of around 800,000 military and paramilitary personnel and extreme levels of human rights abuses, including torture, deliberate blinding and killings.

In August 2019, under the government of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Presidential Orders were made revoking Article 370, making Jammu and Kashmir a part of India on exactly the same basis as the rest of the country. They also split Jammu and Kashmir into two different areas, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Like many, the Kashmiris say Modi is a Hindu fascist and his action has united the country against India.

A large and noisy protest took place on the pavement in front of the Indian High Commission, after which the protesters marched to continue their protest in Trafalgar Square.

More in My London Diary at Kashmiris protest at India House and Kashmiris protest in Trafalgar Square.


Vegans Protest Diary Farming – Trafalgar Square

Protesters stood in a small block wearing cow masks in Trafalgar Square calling for an end to diary farming which they claim is inherently cruel, with milk being stolen from cows and male calves being slaughtered soon after birth.

Vegan protesters call cows ‘mothers‘ and calves ‘babies‘, and they say that we ‘steal‘ the milk that the cows produce for their calves, failing to tell people that dairy cows have been bred to produce far more milk than their calves can consume, perhaps 7-10 times as much. And we only have cows in our fields because farmers breed them to produce milk for us to drink. We need to get away from emotional arguments and concentrate on the facts.

Traditional farming treated animals with care and respect – they were (and are) important assets. Some modern intensive practices are certainly cruel and should be condemned, both here and in other countries which mainly have even less strict animal welfare regulations. We could have a dairy industry which treated animals better and many of us would be prepared to pay more for the milk it produced.

There are good reasons to eat less meat and less diary products, but protests like this trivialise the issue. Good reasons why some people become vegans, but also good reasons why we should farm some animals to produce milk and meat. It would be a disaster for the environment if we all became vegan.

Vegans Protest Diary Farming


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DPAC – Stop & Scrap Universal Credit – 2018

DPAC – Stop & Scrap Universal Credit: A couple of days ago the media were carrying news of a report by the Resolution Foundation on the working of the Universal Credit benefit first introduced in 2013. This found that seven in 10 (71%) families on UC were worse off in real terms now than they would have been under the previous benefits, and that out of work people with disabilities were those likely to have lost most.

DPAC - Stop & Scrap Universal Credit

Six years ago, DPAC were already pointing this out and on Wednesday 18th April 2018 campaigners from DPAC (Disabled People Against Cuts), MHRN (Mental Health Resistance Network), Black Triangle, Winvisible and others began a nationwide day of action against Universal Credit in London with a rally in Old Palace Yard and a protest inside Parliament.

DPAC - Stop & Scrap Universal Credit

Security meant I was unable to cover their protest inside the Houses of Parliament but I met those who had been protesting inside when they came out to join those protesting outside and held a rally in Old Palace Yard.

DPAC - Stop & Scrap Universal Credit

As that rally ended the campaigners marched into Parliament Square where they blocked the roadway for around half an hour before ending their protest.

DPAC - Stop & Scrap Universal Credit

DPAC and others say that Universal Credit has so many flaws it must be scrapped, calling it “an economic and political disaster bringing further distress and impoverishment to those forced to endure it“.

Back in 2018 they pointed out it has been particularly disastrous for disabled people. The removal of Severe and Enhanced Disability Premiums means single disabled people lose around £2,000 per year and a disabled couple over £4,000.

There have been some changes in Universal Credit since 2018, but these have mainly been administrative and have not affected the basic unfairness towards the disabled. The Resolution Foundation report suggests that a single person with a long-term disability which prevents them from working would now be £2,800 per year worse off than under the old benefits system.

Their report suggests overall cost of Universal Credit in 2028 will be about £86bn a year, while under the previous system it would have been £100bn, a saving of £14bn, which is being made to the cost of those disabled and others out of work – the poorest groups in our society. In contrast those working and also claiming UC will be a little better off than under to previous benefits system.

As always police found dealing with disabled protesters difficult. It doesn’t look good to be harassing them in the way they would normally act to protesters, and they have a great problem in making arrests of people in wheel chairs or on mobility vehicles. Apparently the Met have only one vehicle which can safely carry either – and only in limited numbers, perahps one at a time.

More about the protet and more pictures on My London Diary at Stop & Scrap Universal Credit say DPAC.


As well as this protest there was also a large protest in Parliament Square by Kashmiris and Indians from many sections of the community including Tamils, Sikhs, Ravidass, Dalits, Muslims and others against the visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and smaller groups supporting him and his ultra-right Hindu supremacist policies.
Indians protest President Modi’s visit
Hindus support Modi
Save Girl, Educate Girl

And in late afternoon I went to join Environmental group Biofuelwatch holding their ‘Time to Twig’ Masked Ball Forest Flashmob outside the Marylebone hotel where the largest international biomass conference was taking place.
‘Time to Twig’ Masked Ball


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Kashmir Indian Independence Day Protests

Kashmir Indian Independence Day Protests: A large protest outside the Indian High commission by Kashimiris blocked Aldwych on Thursday 15th August 2019, Indian Independence Day, against arrests and human rights abuses in Kashmir. Later people protested in Trafalgar Square.

Kashmir Indian Independence Day

Various groups came to condemn Indian Prime Minister Modi’s revocation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and call for freedom for Kashmir which has been occupied for many years by over 700,000 Indian troops. They want the rights of the Kashmiri people respected and UN resolutions implemented.

Kashmir Indian Independence Day

India celebrates Independence Day annually on 15th August, the anniversary of the day when that country gained independence from the United Kingdom on 15 August 1947, though it was only in January 1950 that it removed the British King as head of state (which is celebrated on Indian Republic Day on 26th January.)

Kashmir Indian Independence Day

15th August 1947 was also when India was partitioned into India and Pakistan, an event with violent riots and many deaths, with around 15 million people being displaced from their homes due to religious violence.

Kashmir Indian Independence Day

In 1947 Kashmir was a ‘princely state’ ruled by a maharajah and a part of Britain’s Indian Empire. Over three-quarters of its population were Muslims and it was expected to become part of the new Pakistan, but after Pakistan began to use guerrilla soldiers to try to force the decision the ruler turned to the British Governor-General for military assistance. Mountbatten only gave this on condition that Kashmir would become a part of the new state of India.

Kashmir Indian Independence Day

Indian soldiers came and cleared out the Pakistani irregular soldiers from most of the state. But despite UN intervention there has been no real resolution, with two further wars over Kashmir and a continuing huge and repressive military occupation with huge levels of arrests and human rights abuses.

India now controls around half of the former princely state and Pakistan around a third with the rest being under Chinese control since the 1950s. China had never accepted agreements made in the late 19th century about the eastern region of Kashmir.

Under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution Kashmir was given special status with limited autonomy and UN resolutions called for a referendum to decide the future of the state.

The protesters included groups from both the Indian and Pakistan administered areas of Kashmir. As I arrived there were some scuffles and fake blood was thrown at the side of the embassy, but the crowd was too dense for me to get to the scene, with police also refusing to let me get there.

After several hours of protest on Aldwych the crowds began to thin, with many moving away to a further protest in Trafalgar Square which I also covered.

This ‘Stand with Kashmir’ protest had been organised by supporters of independence for Kashmir and heated arguments began when one speaker called for all Pakistan flags to be removed. Several police officers came in to separate the two groups of protesters and allow both protests to continue.

Those who supported Kashmir as a Pakistani state, or a state with a close relation to Pakistan moved towards the top of the steps and continued in a largely separate rally, waving Pakistan flags and with some speeches, including from Sahibzada A Jahangir, spokesman to the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

The main rally continued further down the steps, with a larger crowd mainly in the main body of the square.

More pictures from both the Indian High Commission and Trafalgar Square on My London Diary:
Kashmir Indian Independence Day Protest
Stand with Kashmir


International Day in support of victims of Torture

International Day in support of victims of Torture: The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment came into force internationally on 26 June 1987, and in 1998 the UN declared the 26 June of every year to be the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

Over the years I’ve photographed a number of vigils and protests marking the day in London by various groups concerned with human rights, mostly organised by the London Guantánamo Campaign but often joined by others.


No to Torture Vigil – Trafalgar Square, London. Tue 26 June 2012

Supporters of the The London Guantánamo Campaign and other human rights activists held up placards saying “NO to torture” in over 30 languages. Other protesters against various human rights violations joined in the protest, including campaigners calling for an end of the Iranian executions of the Baloch people, those against the extraditions of Babar Ahmer, Talha Ahsan and others to the US and the Free Mumia campaign.

International Day in support of victims of Torture

More on My London Diary at No to Torture Vigil.


Say No To Torture – Trafalgar Square, London. Wed 26 Jun 2013

International Day in support of victims of Torture

The London Guantanamo Campaign which has been active in calling for the closure of Guantanamo and other prisons including Bagram in Afghanistan since 2006 again held a vigil in Trafalgar Square.

International Day in support of victims of Torture

Some wearing orange Guanatanamo-style jump suits and black hoods, they stood in a lin in front of the National Gallery, calling for the release of London resident Shaker Aamer and the other detainees held and tortured without trail. Shaker, along with most of the other prisoners was on the 141st day of a hunger strike, being subjected to regular beatings, being brutally forcibly fed and held in solitary confinement – which also constitues torture under the UN definitions.

International Day in support of victims of Torture

Among those taking part in the vigil was veteran peace campaigner Bruce Kent. The ‘Say No To Torture’ protest overlapped with another human rights protest over Balochistan, a ‘nation without a state.’ Balochs live mainly in Pakistan and have been subject to arrests and other human rights violations including torture by the Pakistan authorities for campaigning for independence.

More on My London Diary at Say No To Torture.


Torture Solidarity Vigil – Trafalgar Square, London. Thu 26 Jun 2014

In 2014, Kashmiris wore black hoods and headbands with messages ‘Mutilated’, ‘Raped’, ‘Tortured’, ‘Executed’ and waved Kashmiri flags to protest at the widespread human rights abuses by the 7,000 custodial killings and torture of prisoners by the Indian state Indian state in Kashmir- 1 in 5 Kashmiris is a torture victim.

Also in Trafalgar Square was a vigil by the The London Guantanamo Campaign with people holding posters and blindfolded or gagged, calling for the release of prisoners from the US prison camp and an end to impunity for torturers.

The UK has failed to take proper action over allegations of prisoner abuse by the British military in Iraq and Afghanistan and has continued to be involved in the “rendition” and torture of British and foreign nationals abroad. Our government prevents violations becoming public knowledge, relying on secret courts and partial and biased investigations.

More on My London Diary at Torture Solidarity Vigil.


UN Day for Victims of Torture – Trafalgar Square, London. Fri 26 Jun 2015

The London Guantánamo Campaign and others were back again in Trafalgar Square in a solidarity vigil in recognition of the suffering and rights of victims and survivors of torture, calling on those in positions of power able to put an end to the use of torture.

Obama had promised in 2010 to end the shame of Guantanamo, but the detentions and torture continued throughout his presidency, though there were some releases.

More on My London Diary at UN Day for Victims of Torture.


Here are links to further protests I covered in recent years on 26 June against torture, in Trafalgar Square in 2016, at the US Embassy in Nine Elms in 2018 and by Balochs in Trafalgar Square in 2019. In 2017 I had a day off work for medical tests, and in 2020 there was no vigil because of the lockdown.


Republic Day: 26 January 2011

Republic Day has been celebrated in India on the 26th January since 1950, and marks the day in 1950 when the Constitution of India came into effect. India had gained independence on 15 August 1947, but that left the country as a British dominion, still under British Law and with King George VI as head of state. It took until November 1949 for the new constitution to be agreed, and the January 26 was chosen for its introduction as the Indian National Congress had declared it as Independence Day in 1929.

Along with Independence Day it is a day when there are often protests outside India House in London and on 26th January 2011, ten years ago today, there were at least two taking place. One called for the release of leading paediatrician and public health specialist Binayak Sen, a member of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties who has gained international recognition for his work in Chhattisgarh, India, where he “helped establish a hospital serving poor mine workers in the region, founded a health and human rights organization that supports community health workers in 20 villages.”

Dr Sen also criticised the Chhattisgarh state government’s atrocities against indigenous people fighting the handover of their lands for mining and their establishment of an armed militia, the Salwa Judum, to fight against the Naxalite (Maoist) rebels in the area, and was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment by a Chhattisgarh court for sedition and helping the Naxalites. His case and appeal attracted support from around the world including from 22 Nobel laureates who sent a letter to the Indian President and Prime Minister and Chhattisgarh state authorities asking for him to be allowed to travel to the US to receive the Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights. Later in 2011 he was granted bail by the Indian Supreme Court.

Also protesting outside India House were Kashmiris and Sikhs calling for the freedom for their nations which has been denied by Indian military repression. Kashmir is one of the oldest countries in the world, dating back to the Iron Age and became a Muslim monarchy in 1349, was later a part of the Sikh empire but was established later as a kingdom under British guidance. At partition the ruler ceded the country to India against the wishes of the majority of its inhabitants for military protection after Pakistan invaded the country, which is now in three parts, under military rule by India, Pakistan and a small part China.

The Indian administered area, known as Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh had limited autonomy which was revoked on 5 August 2019 and has a huge occupying force accused by human rights organisations of imposing strict military law in a systematically brutal fashion, with deaths during interrogation of suspects, detention without trail, censorship, arson, beatings, rape, mass murder, and tortures of all kinds.

It was a busy Wednesday, with other protests taking place, including a student day of action against fees and cuts, including the loss of the Education Maintenance Allowance which has allowed many 16-18 year olds to remain in education. Axed in England it is still available in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Unfortunately although there had been publicity about students walking out of schools and college there was very little information available about the protests they might attend, and only perhaps qa hundred made their way to the rally in Trafalgar Square.

After some speeches there was a discussion about what to do next, and most of those present decided to join the NUJ demonstration outside Bush House against the savage cuts announced by the BBC for the World Service broadcasting, with up to 650 job losses, switching off of radio services and the complete loss of services in 5 languages. This was particularly convenient for me as I was also going to join this protest as a member of the NUJ – and it was just a few yards from India House were I was going to photograph other events.

More at:
Release Binayak Sen Now
Free Kashmir & Khalistan
Save the BBC World Service
Student Day of Action


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Kashmiris say ‘India Out!’

By 1947 Britain had boxed itself into an impossible position in India (not least by the earlier actions of Lord Curzon as Viceroy in Bengal in 1905) and it was clear that the only option was for a British withdrawal from the whole area. Clement Atlee who had become UK prime minister since the 1945 election had long been a supporter of Indian independence and the question was not whether this should happen, but how it could be managed in a way that satisfied both Muslim and Hindu communities and avoided catastrophic bloodshed.

It was indeed a hugely complex situation. As well as the British Raj, there were also several hundred princely states in a looser arrangement with British rule. And as well as Muslims and Hindus, there were also some areas where Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains were in the majority. The British Government ruled that the area would become independent at the latest by June 1948, but Lord Mountbatten, newly appointed Viceroy announced his plan on June 3 1947 with independence only just over 2 months away on 15 August 1947.

The plan called for various existing Indian legislatures to vote on whether to be a part of India or Pakistan or be partitioned and set up a boundary commission to establish partition, but failed to deal with the princely states, where the decision of which dominion to join would be a matter for the prince alone.

Protesters in Kashmir have been killed and many deliberately blinded bu Indian forces

Mountbatten was clearly poorly advised and was as he said a soldier not a civilian and he assured those who predicted a bloodbath at partition that the army would be able to control the situation: ” I shall see to it that there is no bloodshed and riot.” In the event around 10 million people were displaced and somewhere between 200,000 and 2 million killed, with violence being encouraged by some of the princely rulers, including in Kashmir.

Kashmir had a Muslim majority but a Hindu prince who was hesistant to join Pakistan and went to Mountbatten for military help when Pakistani forces invaded part of the area; Mountbatten agreed to help on condition it would become a part of India. In 1948 the UN intervened and brokered a ceasefire, declaring that a referendum of Kashmiris be held – which never happened. There were further military conflicts between India and Pakistan in Kashmir in 1965 and 1999.

Since then the Indian controlled area named Jammu and Kashmir has been under military occupation by Indian troops. The severity of control by police and army increased following an armed revolt by Kashmiris calling for independence in 1989. Elections in the area are now widely thought to be rigged in favour of pro-India groups.

The special position of the area was recognised in 1954 by Article 370 of the Indian constitution, with separate laws on  citizenship, the ownership of property and fundamental rights. In particular these prevented non-citizens of the area buying land and property in the state.

On 5th August 2019 the Indian government cancelled the 1954 provisions, bringing Jammu and Kashmir under the same conditions as other Indian states. Kashmiris protested and there was a further security clampdown, with communications to the country being severed and a further influx of Indian soldiers – there are now around 800,000 there.

Kashmiris protest at India House
Kashmiris protest in Trafalgar Square

Kashmiris call for freedom

A YouGov survey back in 2016 found that 43% of UK respondents still felt that the British Empire was a good thing, over twice as many as those who felt it was bad, with a similar figures for those who think we should be proud of colonialism as part of our history or regret it.

I wasn’t one of those asked for my opinion (the chances of that were small, as the sample was only 1733 out of the UK population of around 65.65 million) and would probably have refused to give an answer as there wasn’t a category that expressed my feelings. Clearly the British Empire was a good thing for Britain, as the opulent architecture of our major cities from the 19th and early 20th centuries demonstrates. And while the disastrous effects on other civilisations and many brutal and immoral acts in the building and maintenance of our Empire are clear, there are also more positive instances. And in some countries we took over from earlier invaders or rulers who were even less principled and more harsh and brutal, though for Kashmir this was less clear.

The history of Kashmir is complex but certainly at the start of the ‘Common Era’ (still AD to most of us) it was a considerably more developed and ancient civilisation than anything in Britain. Originally an important centre of Hinduism and Buddhism it largely converted to Islam in the 13th and 14th centuries and around 1580 was conquered and became part of the Mughal empire. Around 1820, it was conquered again by Sikhs, who imposed harsh anti-Muslim laws and exorbitant taxes. The First Anglo-Sikh war waged by the East India Company between 1845 and 1846 resulted in Jammu and Kashmir becoming a princely state under British suzerainty. The persecution of Muslims, now by Hindus, continued under what was a tyrannical feudal system.

Logically, Kashmir, over three-quarters Muslim should have become a part of Pakistan, but after popular protests and a guerrilla campaign supporting this, the country’s ruler appealed to Lord Mountbatten, Governor General of India, for help – and Mountbatten only granted this on condition that Kashmir became a part of India. Pakistan disputed this and the countries went to war over Kashmir, ending with a truce and a UN resolution that the people of the country should have a referendum. This never happened and there were further wars in 1965, 1971 and 1999. Pakistan now controls around a third of the country, India about half and a smaller area is held by China.

The country is still a ‘disputed territory’ and the is a huge presence of Indian military and para-military forces in the area under their control, estimated at around 1 for every 17 Kashmiris. At the 1948 ceasefire Kashmir was promised special status with a substantial autonomy by India, but increasingly this has been abandoned. Recent years have seen greater activity by movements calling for the restoration of autonomy and for freedom and independence.

Maqbool Bhat Shaheed was the pioneer of the Kashmiri Freedom Struggle and in 1968 was captured in Kashmir and sentenced to death following the murder of an Indian CID officer. With others also sentenced he escaped from prison through a tunnel and made his way to the Pakistan administered area – were he was arrested and tortured for several months. In 1971 masterminded the hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane which was forced to land in Lahore, Pakistan. The hijackers demanded the release of over 20 members of the Jammu Kashmir Nationalist Liberation Front (JKNLF) in Indian prisons, asked for political asylum in Pakistan and wanted a guarantee from the Indian government that their relatives in Kashmir would not be persecuted.

Although the hijackers were first welcomed in Pakistan, when it was realised that the JKNLF wanted the Pakistan occupied area of Kashmir also to be liberated they were tried in a special court charged with collaboration with the Indian intelligence services. Released after 2 years he returned to Indian administered Kashmir where he was captured in 1976. Bhat appealed for clemency stating that the original trial had been unfair, but after the murder of an Indian diplomat kidnapped in Birmingham demanding his release, his appeal was dismissed and he was executed on 11th February 1984.

Kashmiris call for freedom

Kashmir Awami Party call for Freedom


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