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By:

Correspondent

21 August 2024 at 10:20:16 am

Hostile Havens

The murder of 24-year-old Kirandeep Kaur in west London is, first and foremost, a personal tragedy. A young Sikh woman from Punjab, who had moved to Britain in search of opportunity, was killed only weeks after giving birth. But her death has unfolded against a darker backdrop. Britain is witnessing an unsettling rise in anti-Sikh hostility, fuelled by the toxic convergence of identity politics, social media outrage and far-right mobilisation. A survey by the Sikh Network found that 40...

Hostile Havens

The murder of 24-year-old Kirandeep Kaur in west London is, first and foremost, a personal tragedy. A young Sikh woman from Punjab, who had moved to Britain in search of opportunity, was killed only weeks after giving birth. But her death has unfolded against a darker backdrop. Britain is witnessing an unsettling rise in anti-Sikh hostility, fuelled by the toxic convergence of identity politics, social media outrage and far-right mobilisation. A survey by the Sikh Network found that 40 percent of Sikhs questioned had either experienced or witnessed anti-Sikh incidents since mid-May, while nearly 90 percent believed hostility towards the community had increased. Britain has long prided itself on being a successful multicultural society. That confidence now looks increasingly fragile. The immediate trigger was the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak, allegedly by a Sikh man. Sikh organisations did precisely what responsible community bodies should do. They condemned the killing unequivocally and rejected any attempt to justify the crime. Yet reason was soon overtaken by rage. Far-right agitators seized upon the case, organising demonstrations outside police stations, marching through mixed neighbourhoods, and directing hostility towards Sikh families who had nothing to do with the crime. Nazi salutes and cries of “white power” were ugly reminders that the target had shifted from an individual suspect to an entire community. For Sikhs in Britain, this should prompt an uncomfortable reckoning. For decades, sections of the diaspora have believed that Western democracies offered not merely refuge but also political patronage for causes that found little acceptance in India. Britain and Canada became fertile ground for pro-Khalistan activism, often justified under the broad protections of free speech. Governments tolerated it, sometimes because it suited domestic electoral calculations, sometimes because it cost little politically. Kirandeep Kaur’s murder and the wave of far-right mobilisation is a reminder that Western democracies are guided not by sentiment but by political convenience. When their public moods turn, minorities invariably pay the price. Diaspora communities, however prosperous, remain minorities whose security ultimately depends on the health of the societies in which they live. British authorities must pursue hate crimes with the same vigour they apply to every other form of extremism. Equal citizenship demands nothing less. Yet the Sikh diaspora, too, would do well to reassess its political priorities. Romanticising separatist politics from thousands of kilometres away has brought little benefit to Sikhs either in India or abroad. It has instead provided easy ammunition to extremists of every persuasion instead. Britain and Canada may be liberal democracies in name, but they are not custodians of Sikh interests. Their governments will always act according to their own domestic calculations. Diaspora communities like the Sikhs risk discovering, in moments of crisis, that they have confused convenience with conviction. That is a costly illusion.

Dangerous Departures

Updated: Oct 30, 2024

Dangerous Departures

In yet another shocking incident adding to Mumbai’s infamous tryst with stampedes, chaos erupted at Mumbai’s Bandra Terminus following a weekend stampede that left at least ten persons injured, two critically so. A crowd surged toward the Gorakhpur-bound train with nearly 1,500 people vying for seats in 22 unreserved compartments, leading to the stampede. Several others narrowly avoided tragedy, with some even pushed onto the tracks. This is not a unique episode but rather a recurring theme in Mumbai’s bedevilled crowd management, one that has haunted the city’s public spaces, particularly as festive seasons magnify the crowds.


Mumbai is no stranger to stampedes. A horrifying incident in 2017 at Elphinstone Road Station left 23 people dead and nearly 50 injured. The cause was a familiar one: an overwhelming crowd confined to a narrow footbridge during peak rush hour. The tragedy sparked an outcry, with promises from authorities to upgrade infrastructure and enhance safety protocols. Yet seven years on, crowd-related incidents continue to be a constant danger. Today’s incident reveals a similar lapse—a lack of foresight in managing the thousands who gather on platforms ahead of Diwali, eager to return to family. That the Gorakhpur Express was unreserved and heavily crowded was predictable.


The issue lies beyond simply crowd density; it is emblematic of deeper systemic negligence. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), responsible for local public safety, along with the Railways Ministry, bear responsibility for ensuring order at such high-risk hubs. Although the BMC acknowledged the “festive rush,” it appears little was done to pre-empt it. Swift action could have been taken to either disperse the crowd or reroute passengers. Instead, chaos prevailed.


Political reaction has been swift but uninspiring. Aaditya Thackeray, son of Uddhav Thackeray, launched a scathing attack on the Union Railways Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, branding the incident a result of the minister’s “incapable” leadership. This hardly addresses the immediate need: a substantive plan to manage crowds and prevent similar incidents.


Mumbai’s transport infrastructure remains sorely outdated. Platforms are undersized, signalling systems frequently falter, and crowd control mechanisms are grossly inadequate. Despite repeated accidents, there has been little investment in comprehensive crowd management systems or the deployment of personnel trained in emergency response. While railway footbridges were widened after the Elphinstone tragedy, Bandra’s incident demonstrates that such incremental changes are insufficient. Mumbai, which sees a swelling populace during festivals, demands a robust strategy to address its vulnerabilities. This should include technology-driven crowd monitoring, clear communication channels to inform passengers of platform conditions, and additional security and medical staff on high-demand days. It is essential that crowd management training for personnel becomes a priority rather than a reaction to tragedies.

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