• Friday, March 29, 2024

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San Francisco: Indian-Americans show support for India at consulate which was attacked

Indian diaspora members express solidarity waving India and American national flags in front of the Indian consulate in San Francisco, US, which was vandalised by pro-Khalistan supporters on March 20, 2023. (Picture: Twitter screengrab/@ani)

By: Shubham Ghosh

Members of the Indian-American community staged a peace rally in support of India in front of its consulate general in San Francisco in California, US, which was vandalised by Khalistan supporters earlier this week.

On Monday (20), the protesters broke open makeshift security barriers raised by the city police and installed two so-called Khalistani flags inside the consulate premises while raising pro-Khalistan slogans. Two consulate personnel who removed the flags were chased by the pro-Khalistan protesters who hit the building’s closed doors and smashed window glasses.

On Friday, several Indian Americans from and around San Francisco reached the consulate and waived the Tricolour to express solidarity with India. They also sang and danced while staging a peaceful protest.

They condemned the destructive activities of separatist Sikhs, who were also present  in small numbers.

Local police were present there in sizable numbers to prevent any untoward incident.

Some of the separatist Sikhs chanted pro-Khalistan slogans, but they were outnumbered by a large gathering of Indian Americans who chanted “Vande Mataram” and waved the Indian national flag along with that of the US.

India on Monday lodged a strong protest with the US Charge d’Affaires in Delhi over the incident of vandalism at the Indian consulate general in San Francisco by some pro-Khalistan elements during a protest.

India’s ministry of external affairs said the US government was asked to take appropriate measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. About 4.2 million Indian American/Indian origin people reside in the US.

Persons of Indian origin (3.18 million) constitute the third largest Asian ethnic group in the US.

Earlier this week, Indian diaspora members in London also displayed solidarity with the country at the Indian high commission in the British capital which also faced a similar attack from pro-Khalistan sympathisers on Sunday (19) who also brought down the Indian national flag.

These incidents happened after the police in the northern state of Punjab launched a manhunt for Khalistan separatist Amritpal Singh on March 18.

(With PTI inputs)

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