Tag: Diaspora

UK’s first Jagannath Temple to be built in London, backed by Odisha diaspora

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London: A UK-based charity working on a project to build Britain’s first temple dedicated to Lord Jagannatha in London has welcomed a pledge of GBP 25 million from an Odisha-origin entrepreneur and hopes to get the first phase of construction completed by the end of next year.
Shree Jagannatha Society (SJS) UK, registered with the Charity Commission in England, said that global Indian investor Biswanath Patnaik made the pledge at the first Shree Jagannatha Convention held in London on Sunday.
Patnaik, the founder of FinNest Group of companies, joins the company’s managing director, Arjun Kar, who is the UK-based principal donor of the project.

“Speaking at this occasion, Shri Kar announced that Shri Biswanath Patnaik has pledged a sum of GBP 25 million towards the construction of a magnificent temple for Lord Jagannatha in London, which will be facilitated by FinNest Group of Companies, of which he is the Managing Director,” the charity said in a statement.
The FinNest Group is an early-stage private equity investment firm that invests worldwide in renewables, electric vehicles (EVs), hydrogen locomotives, innovative technology and fintech. Kar also revealed at the event that the group has committed GBP 7 million towards the purchase of nearly 15 acres of land for the new temple to be known as Shree Jagannatha Mandir London.
“A suitable land has been identified and is currently in the final stages of purchase, and a pre-planning application has been submitted to the local government council to secure permission for the Mandir’s construction,” the charity said.
In his message to the convention, which coincided with celebrations of Akshaya Trithiya over the weekend, Patnaik pledged his financial support for the construction of the temple and exhorted devotees to “work together with faith in Lord Jagannatha to make the dream of a Mandir a reality at the earliest”.
The convention, attended by Deputy Indian High Commissioner to the UK Sujit Ghosh and India’s Minister (Culture) Amish Tripathi, celebrated the UK tour of Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, the maharaja of Puri, along with Maharani Leelabati Pattamahadei.

“The most significant aspect of the tradition of Lord Jagannatha is its all-encompassing universality. He is invoked and worshipped by virtually all the diverse religious sampradayas each in their own way. Lord Jagannatha is also worshipped by Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs,” said Gajapati Maharaja.
As the Aadya Sevak, or first and foremost servitor of Lord Jagannatha, and the Chairman of the Shri Jagannatha Temple Managing Committee at Sri Mandir in Purushottama Kshetra, he also expressed his support for the temple project. In his keynote address entitled Traditions of Lord Jagannatha and the Significance of Purushottama Kshetra’, he noted that the tradition of Lord Jagannatha represents “great harmony” for the planet.
Dr Sahadev Swain, Chairperson of SJS UK, expressed the hope that the new Shree Jagannatha Mandir London will become an epicentre of Jagannatha culture in Europe and a prominent pilgrimage site, attracting thousands of devotees and tourists from around the world.
The charity’s Indian-origin Trustees Bhakta Panda, Aditya Singh, Santosh Pattnayak, Chetan Shatapathy, Sukanta Sahu, Amita Mishra, Nidhi Kar, and Anjan Mishra famously performed a victory prayer for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and handed him gold-plated deities from India during his leadership campaign trail in London last year.
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#UKs #Jagannath #Temple #built #London #backed #Odisha #diaspora
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 25, 2023
Canadian diaspora concerned over suspension of mobile internet in Punjab

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Chandigarh: Diaspora in Canada is concerned over the recent development in Punjab regarding the suspension of SMS and mobile internet services, except the voice call, in the interest of public safety as the police launched action against ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief and Khalistan ideologue Amritpal Singh and his aides.
“I am receiving calls from my residents and am deeply concerned about reports coming out of Punjab, India regarding SMS and internet blackouts,” tweeted Sonia Sidhu, Member of Parliament for Brampton South, on Sunday.
“I hope the situation is resolved soon & Canadians travelling to the region are able to connect with their families and friends in Canada.”
Joining the issue, Iqwinder S. Gaheer, MP for Mississauga-Malton, tweeted: “I am troubled by what I am hearing from constituents and the reports coming out of Punjab, India: authorities have enacted the mass suspension of internet services and are preventing gatherings of more than 4.”
“Civil rights and liberties should be maintained in a democracy.”
Calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal government to immediately contact their Indian counterparts to express concern regarding the suspension of civil liberties and the safety of Canadians abroad, Jagmeet Singh, Leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party, tweeted: “I am deeply concerned by reports that India has suspended civil liberties and imposed an internet blackout throughout the state of Punjab.”
Replying to him, one user wrote: “What a hypocrite you are! You’re concerned about suspended civil liberties and an internet blackout in Punjab but you say nothing about it happening in Canada.”
Another user think Jagmeet Singh is being disrespectful. “Draconian measures were when truckers’ protests were crushed in Canada. Jagmeet Singh ji you supported the crushing of a democratic, peaceful movement by @JustinTrudeau now you want him to go feral over the suspension of mobile texts (home internet working fine) in Punjab!”

“If u are so concerned about Punjab then come to India, Punjab. It’s easy to pass judgement sitting in another corner and where you actually don’t know what’s happening,” another user wrote.
“Human rights are the basis of any democracy,” said charity United Sikhs. “The Indian state is setting up its own records for violating #HumanRights in every possible way to oppress the Sikhs in India. Why is there a mass atrocity of human rights violation against Sikhs in India? What are the grounds for Amritpal’s arrest?”
Meanwhile, the massive police search operation continued on the second day on Sunday to arrest Sikh radical Amritpal Singh, head of ‘Waris Punjab De’.
Jalandhar Police Commissioner Kuldeep Singh Chahal told the media that Amritpal Singh was declared a ‘fugitive’.
The police search operations are now mainly focused in Jalandhar district from where he managed to given the police a slip when it tried to intercept his vehicle to arrest him.
Amritpal’s father Tarsem Singh told the media the police should have arrested him before he left the house. “We don’t have any information about his whereabouts. They carried out a search at our residence for 3-4 hours but did not find anything illegal.”
He called the police action “unjustified” and said his son was weaning the youth off drugs. “Why the police were not acting against criminals and those involved in drugs,” he asked.
Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Chahal said Amritpal’s six gunmen were nabbed. “A manhunt for Amritpal Singh is on and we are hopeful that he will be arrested soon. A total of 78 people have been arrested so far and further searches and raids are underway,” he added.
“During the state-wide operation, nine weapons, including one .315 bore rifle, seven rifles of 12 bore, one revolver and 373 live cartridges of different caliber have been recovered so far,” the police said in a statement on Twitter on Saturday evening.
“Waris Punjab De elements are involved in four criminal cases relating to spreading disharmony among classes, attempt to murder, attack on police persons and creating obstructions in the lawful discharge of duties of public servants. FIR stands registered for the attack on Ajnala Police Station,” it added.
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#Canadian #diaspora #concerned #suspension #mobile #internet #Punjab
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 19, 2023
Diaspora groups in UK protest against BBC over controversial documentary

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London: Hundreds representing different Indian diaspora organisations gathered outside the BBC headquarters in central London on Sunday to protest against what they branded as “fake news” behind the broadcaster’s controversial series on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The “Chalo BBC” protests were coordinated across BBC studios in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Newcastle and brought together groups such as Indian Diaspora UK (IDUK), Friends of India Society International (FISI) UK, Insight UK and Hindu Forum of Britain (HFB), among others.
The protesters waved placards reading “Boycott BBC”, “British Bias Corporation” and “Stop the Hinduphobic Narrative”, and chanted slogans such as “Shame on BBC” and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”.
“The documentary on Prime Minister Modi was very biased given that he was completely cleared by the Indian judiciary, and yet the BBC decides to become judge and jury,” said Jayu Shah from FISI UK, among the protesters in London.
“The BBC needs to be investigated internationally and the directors of the board of the BBC should be investigated for failing in their duty as a public broadcaster,” he said.
Another protester said she had come with her wheelchair-bound mother because they felt strongly against the “false and anti-India propaganda” they felt was being spread by the British broadcaster.
The two-part BBC documentary, which claims it investigated certain aspects relating to the 2002 Gujarat riots when Prime Minister Modi was the CM of that state, has been trashed by the Ministry of External Affairs as a “propaganda piece” that lacked objectivity and reflected a “colonial mindset”.
The BBC has defended the programme as “rigorously researched according to the highest editorial standards”.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has defended Prime Minister Modi over the BBC documentary, asserting that he “didn’t agree with the characterisation” of his Indian counterpart.
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#Diaspora #groups #protest #BBC #controversial #documentary
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 29, 2023