Dear Keith,Jon and Liz
I understand that there is a debate called by Liberal Democrat MP David Ward regarding Kashmir on 11th September 2014 in the House of Commons.
As you are the three MPs who represent the three Leicester Constituencies that has a significant number of British Indian residents, I would request you to note that the timings of the debate coming straight after Al- Qaida’s announcement on setting up Branches in India, especially in Kashmir, and that the state of Jammu & Kashmir goes to polls in few weeks’ time, is unfortunate to say the least.
Only few days ago, there was a conference held in the House of Commons on Kashmiri Pandits who have been driven out of Kashmir. This conference, we are being told, was mainly organised and chaired by Mr Marcus Jones, Conservative Member of Parliament for Nuneaton. I am not sure whether or not any of you were able to attend this conference but we would welcome any views you might have on the plight of Kashmiri Pandits who had to migrate from Kashmir due to the militancy. They have Human Rights too.
A number of British Indian organisations have contacted us expressing concerns on this Kashmir debate development in the House of Commons at this time because they fear that it could be used as an India/Indian bashing opportunity. The experiences of the caste amendment debate in which there was lot of Hindu/Hindu faith bashing is still raw and that Caste amendment was formally supported by your Party. Hence the requests outlined below.
1) If possible, please speak in the Kashmir debate and let your constituents know your and your party’s stand on this subject
2) Please Contact your Labour MP colleagues and where necessary request them to understand the facts and urge them avoid getting into an unnecessary India Bashing exercise.
For your information, In the interest of transparency, any response you send us will be circulated to other organisations. We will of course follow the House of Commons debate on Kashmir on 11th September 2014 and circulate the views and comments expressed by MPs to other organisations.
Finally, I am sure you are aware of the Indian Government’s position i.e Kashmir is an integral part of India.
If there is any help or support you need in terms of information from us that may help you in the debate, please do let us know.
With best wishes
Mukesh Naker
British Hindu Voice
143 Cavendish Rd, Leicester, Leicestershire LE2 7PJ
Email – BritishHinduVoice@gmail.com
Source: British Hindu Voice