As RSS chief Bhagwat’s UK plans are kept under wraps, protestors symbolically gather near Parliament

When Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat arrived in Britain on September 3 on the last leg of an international tour that had started in the US on August 25 and also taken him to Canada, no exact schedule had been made public.

Despite not having any confirmation of his movements, protesters gathered outside Parliament Square in London on Sunday, the day before Bhagwat’s visit was expected to conclude.

With the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben serving as a symbolic backdrop, the demonstrators aimed to send two messages: that they rejected the Hindu majoritarianism of the RSS and were rebuking the UK for its official silence on the visit.

Participants from an array of campaign organisations, diaspora groups, students and academics assembled through the afternoon, Palestine flags mixed in with placards reading, “Never Forget Gujarat Genocide, 2002”, “Diaspora united against fascism” and “Inquilab Zindabad” – long live the revolution. Another sign addressed UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham: “Will you ban RSS?”

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