Former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. file | Photo Credit: AP
Former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, in a Interview with veteran journalist Karan Thapar of The Wire On a BBC documentary about the 2002 Gujarat riots, said that the British government conducted its own investigation because many citizens of Gujarati Muslim origin were concerned about their loved ones in India and were “reporting” this effect to the then Tony Blair government “.
“The simple fact is that in Britain, including my constituency, there were millions of people from the Indian state of Gujarat, mainly Muslims. There was a lot of concern and there were people I knew whose families were directly affected by these inter-communal riots and they were representing us. (It) was one of the reasons why the then High Commissioner ordered this inquiry,” Mr Straw said as to the reason prompting the unusual investigation.
The former diplomat said he had talks with Indian officials, including the then foreign minister Jaswant Singh, regarding the riots.
He said, ‘I talked to the Vajpayee government, especially to my opposite number foreign minister (Jaswant Singh), with whom I had very good relations. I’m pretty sure I did. I must also say that I had very good contact and cooperation with the Vajpayee government throughout 2002 regarding the attack on the Lok Sabha in mid-December 2001, which led to a very high tension on the Line of Control, he said during an interview to a question said in response.
The 29-minute interview with Mr Straw comes days after the BBC aired a documentary titled India: The Modi Question, which revealed that the British authorities had ordered an inquiry into the riots as they realized the magnitude of the violence. This drew a strong response from Arindam Bagchi, the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, who described the reported “probe” as “neo-colonial”. Mr Straw pointed out that the ripples of the Gujarat riots were felt in Britain and as a result, the then British High Commissioner (Sir Rob Young) ordered an inquiry.
During his weekly press briefing on Thursday, Mr Bagchi questioned the legitimacy and authority of the British authorities probing the riots, an internal law and order problem of India. “Just because Jack Straw says it, how does that give it so much legitimacy? I hear words like inquiry and investigation. There’s a reason we used the word colonial mindset. We don’t use words casually. What Inquiry? They were diplomats here. Inquiry… are they ruling the country?” He asked.
Responding to the comments, Mr Straw said Mr Bagchi was “well aware of the history of Britain’s role in India”. He described India’s colonial administration as “racist” and “quite awful”, but added that Britain’s past involvement with India had created a “long-lasting bond” that changed “the nature of India” and “the nature of Britain”. gave.
“The constituency I represent, in the textile sector of Lancashire – fifty years ago perhaps about 5% of the population was non-white and today it is 40% and rising. We are linked to India forever,” Mr. Straw said.
“It was nothing about post-colonial. It had everything to do with our constituents,” he said, justifying the probe.