Ajit Karn
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is anticipated to convey India’s grave concerns regarding the United Kingdom’s deliberate disregard for the rise of Sikh radicalization and anti-India sentiments fueled by Pakistani Muslims in the country.
National security advisor Ajit Doval will meet his UK counterpart Tim Barrow today in London for the annual strategic dialogue against the backdrop of the British State broadcaster BBC attempting to resurrect the 2002 Gujarat riots and target Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the United Kingdom becoming the epicentre of the so-called Khalistan movement and the Pakistan-sponsored movement to keep the Kashmir issue alive.
On his way back from a positive conversation with his American counterpart Jake Sullivan in Washington, NSA Doval will meet with Barrow in London to discuss the state of bilateral relations, the global strategic environment with the Ukraine conflict in the spotlight, and the Indo-Pacific. The two NSAs will likely discuss terrorism emanating from the Af-Pak region and the situation in the Middle East as a whole.
While India and the United Kingdom are working towards signing a free trade agreement this year, the British deep state is proving to be a significant obstacle to bilateral relations, as it resents the fact that a former colony of the British empire has surpassed the UK in terms of economy and global influence. According to the IMF, India is the largest economy with the fastest growth rate, and Britain is the weakest link among the G-7 economies.
The core of Whitehall is in conflict with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and is working in conflicting directions on the Indian subcontinent. Today, India and the United Kingdom disagree on Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, with London acting as a big brother in the Indian subcontinent with a soft spot for Pakistan.
NSA Ajit Doval is anticipated to bring up UK-based violent extremism in the context of Sikh radical groups operating from the island nation, in addition to Pakistani Islamist groups hostile to India on Kashmir and the Citizenship Amendment Act. Despite India’s highest intelligence levels raising the issue of Sikh separatism in Britain, the UK government has done little to stop the funding of so-called Khalistan terrorism via radical gurudwaras in Britain in the name of fabricated atrocities against the community in India. According to the Modi administration, the United Kingdom is attempting to justify violence in the name of free speech and is using radicals as a pressure point against India.
The fact that Britain provides economic offenders such as Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya, and Sanjeev Bhandari with refuge/safe haven is another source of discontent for the Modi government. Even though India and the United Kingdom have an extradition treaty, not a single economic offender has been returned to India due to the courts and the Whitehall passing the buck.
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Despite India and Pakistan achieving independence from Britain’s imperial rule 75 years ago, London still carries the imperial legacy on its shoulders and enjoys political meddling in the Indian subcontinent. It provides refuge to BNP activists opposed to Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh, former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and MQM’s Altaf Hussain in Britain, as well as Sikh separatists opposed to India. It is now common knowledge that Britain and the Pakistani deep state handed Afghanistan over to the Taliban on August 15, 2021 and threw the entire minority population, including women and children, under the bus.
India is also displeased that, under the direction of the UK foreign office, the BBC was permitted to polarise Indians along communal lines by attempting to reopen the 2002 Gujarat Riots despite the Indian Supreme Court’s exoneration of Prime Minister Modi. Clearly, the conversation between NSA Doval and NSA Barrow will be professional and businesslike, with the UK required to make amends if it wishes to conduct business with India.
