The first public rally by Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) in Surrey on Sunday evening received a welcoming response.
Organized in solidarity with #NotInMyName campaign against ongoing violence against minorities in India by Hindutva extremists, the rally was attended by activists from diverse backgrounds.
The event was held near the Surrey City Hall. The participants also raised slogans and marched to the nearby Sky Train Station with their placards to draw attention of the passersby to the issue which has sparked a mass movement across India.
Not a single elected official was present despite being invited. None of the two Indo Canadian Surrey MPs and five MLAs who were sent messages showed up. Among the local Surrey MLAs there are at least four Indo Canadians.
Even those who organized prayers for the eight Amarnath pilgrims who died in the recent attack blamed on militants in Kashmir in Surrey were absent.
Among the speakers were South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD) leader Chinmoy Banerjee, the Editor of People’s Voice Kimball Cariou, Aam Aadmi Party supporter Goldy Deol, Sikh Nation activist Sunil Kumar, veterran columnist Rajinder Pandher, Buddhist and Ambedkarite activist Param Kainth, progress poet Amrit Diwana, Fraser Valley Peace Council leader Nazir Rizvi, a visiting UK Professor Fahima Mehmood Patel, a young activist Sameena and Indian Rationalist activist Avtar Gill.
The speakers were unanimous in their criticism of the growing Hindutva extremism in India and the silence of the Canadian and US governments over this. It was also decided that a big demonstration will be held on August 27 in support of day of action being organized in India against public lynching of Dalits and Muslims by the sangh activists.
Those in attendance included the members of Committee of Progressive Pakistani Canadians who came to show their solidarity.