LONDON: British Indian organisations are incensed at opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn’s response to a letter they sent him to highlight their dismay at his party’s Kashmir motion, which they said was dividing communities in Britain and destroying diplomatic relations with India.

The motion, passed at the party’s annual conference, states the people of Kashmir should be given the right of self-determination and calls for international observers to enter the region.

Corbyn, in a response sent on Friday, inflamed the situation further by — rather than distancing himself from the motion — actually embracing it.

Whilst admitting “some of the language used could be misinterpreted”, he wrote in his reply: “The Labour Party is gravely concerned at the ongoing human rights crisis in Kashmir, as well as the media and communications lockdown. There is an urgent need for India and Pakistan to work together on a bilateral basis, with the support of the international community, to reach a peaceful political solution which protects the human rights of the Kashmiri people and respects their right to have a say in their own future.”

“Many in the community will be incensed,” said Alpesh Patel, who chaired a meeting with the 50 of organisations on Wednesday. “We were not expecting him to revoke or amend it as he cannot unilaterally do that. But we were expecting him to distance himself from the motion and say he doesn’t support it. But his letter says he stands by the motion and will continue interfering in India. I appreciate Corbyn is totally handcuffed from ever saying ‘Pakistani sponsored terrorism in Kashmir is the cause of human rights deprivation when Indians are killed’. He is gagged by a minority in his party. We shall reply in due course.”

Vinod Tikoo, founder member of the Kashmiri Pandits Cultural Society UK, one of the 117 organisations which signed the letter to Corbyn, said: “More than 500,000 Hindu minorities from Kashmir have been ethically exterminated out of Kashmir by jihadis and have a strong community in the UK. They haven’t been consulted. It seems Jeremy is only concerned about the vote bank of a particular community who have infiltrated Labour and are spreading antisemitism and anti-India values.”

Trupti Patel, president of the Hindu Forum Britain, another signatory, said Corbyn was a “fake multicultural leader” who supported vote bank policies.

A Twitter handle ‘Respect British Indians’ tweeted Corbyn’s reply and wrote Corbyn “continues to disrespect British Indians, democratic India.”

