By M Ghazali Khan
As with all previous visits by Hindutva (Hindu supremacist) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ministers to the UK, the families of British Muslim victims of the 2002 Gujarat Genocide have once again been left disappointed.
Supporters of Hindutva in the UK welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit with enthusiasm. However, in stark contrast, the human rights organisation South Asia Solidarity Group (SASG) and several other institutions voiced serious concerns over British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s silence on widespread human rights violations in India.
On the social media platform X, SASG asked: ‘Will #Starmer raise #Adani‘s war on climate or confront #Modi‘s latest drive of Demolitions, Disenfranchisement, Deportations of Muslims, Bengalis & the poor? Will Modi speak up for Indian migrant workers in the UK labelled ‘strangers’? Or will both bond over roles in #GazaGenocide?’
During the visit, Modi and Starmer signed a $6 billion free trade agreement—a deal that took three years to finalise. The agreement also includes a new joint initiative to curb illegal immigration, to be jointly implemented by India and the UK.
Modi’s supporters gathered near his hotel in London to give him a warm welcome. However, just like during his previous visits, the families of Saeed Dawood, Shakeel Dawood, and Mohammed Aswat—British Muslims who were killed during the 2002 anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat—were once again met with disappointment. To this day, the remains of these victims have not been returned to their families.
When asked whether Prime Minister Starmer would raise this humanitarian issue with Modi, a spokesperson for the Foreign Office declined to comment.
Approximately 1,000 to 2,000 people were killed in Gujarat in 2002 when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of the state. A leaked report of the British High Commission on these riots had said that it had gone as far as saying that these riots had the, ‘hallmarks of ethnic cleansing and that reconciliation between Hindus and Muslims is impossible while the chief minister remains in power.’
Meanwhile, six organisations—London Mining Network, Cultural Network, Culture Unstrained, Money Rebellion, Indian Labour Solidarity, and South Asia Solidarity Group—issued a joint statement condemning the British government’s silence on the environmental destruction linked to coal mining activities by Indian billionaire industrialist and Modi ally Gautam Adani.
The joint letter issued by the London Mining Network said: ‘As Narendra Modi visits the UK to sign a landmark trade deal, London Mining Network condemns the UK government’s refusal to uphold binding environmental standards, particularly regarding coal, and its ties with Modi’s close ally Gautam Adani—the world’s largest private coal producer—both of which are responsible for escalating violence against Indigenous Adivasi people in the Bastar region of central India.’
The letter alleged:
‘This FTA exemplifies colonial-era exploitation, where the Global North profits from the extraction and pollution of the Global South. The UK must be held accountable for:
- Failing to enforce climate obligations in trade deals, allowing corporations like Adani to expand fossil fuel projects.
- Legitimising Modi’s regime, which suppresses dissent and prioritises corporate interests over Indigenous rights and environmental justice.
- Greenwashing Adani’s coal empire through cultural partnerships and providing financial services, obscuring his role in displacing communities and accelerating climate breakdown.’
It demanded the UK Government:
‘To reject trade agreements that sacrifice climate justice for corporate profits. End financial and political support for Adani’s coal projects,” and “Divest public institutions, like the Science Museum, from fossil fuel propaganda.’