UK police make 47 arrests Leicester; Hindus and Muslims make joint appeal for harmony
London, Sep 20: Leaders of the Hindu and Muslim communities in the eastern England city of Leicester presented a united front on Tuesday as they appealed for harmony in the wake of violent clashes following an India-Pakistan cricket match, which has led to 47 arrests.
Pradyumna Das, President of the city's ISKCON Temple, read out a statement joined by community leaders outside a mosque in the city to express sadness over the violence which escalated over the weekend.
The community leaders demanded that the inciters of hatred leave Leicester alone and called for an immediate cessation of provocation and violence, both in thought and behaviour.
Our message to anyone that sows disharmony between us is clear: we will not let you succeed. We ask all to respect the sanctity of religious places, both mosques and mandirs alike whether provocation with loud music, flag bearing, derogatory chants or physical attacks against the fabric of worship. This is not acceptable nor upheld by our faiths, the statement said.
We are a strong family, we will work together to resolve whatever concern may arise we do not need to call up any assistance from outside our city. Leicester has no place for any foreign extremist ideology that causes division, he said, highlighting that Hindus and Muslims have lived harmoniously in the city for over half a century.
It came as police patrols continued in the city as the Indian High Commission in London issued a strongly worded statement condemning the violence against the Indian community and called for protection for those affected.
Leicestershire Police said a 20-year-old man has been sentenced to 10 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon during clashes in the city. Amos Noronha, from the local area, appeared at Leicester Magistrates' Court after his arrest during Saturday's incident and was quickly charged due to overwhelming evidence .
The sentence is reflective of the fact that this was a serious offence and he has ended up with time in prison, said Rob Nixon, Temporary Chief Constable at Leicestershire Police.
We will not stand for this unrest in our city. There is an extensive policing operation ongoing, acting on information and reports of gatherings and offering community reassurance. Be reassured: we are working to keep you safe and to arrest and bring to justice those that are causing harm in our communities, he said.
It follows a weekend of what the police termed as serious disorder and significant aggression as Hindu and Muslim groups clashed in the wake of the India-Pakistan Asia Cup cricket match in Dubai at the end of last month.
A policing operation to deter further disorder continued in east Leicester...In total, 47 people have been arrested for offences in relation to the unrest in the east of the city. Some of those arrested were from out of the city, including some people from Birmingham, Leicestershire Police said.
The force said it had to be supported by resources from a number of neighbouring police forces, including the mounted police unit, as the clashes escalated over the weekend. Dispersal and stop and search powers have been used repeatedly to restore calm. There were social media videos circulating showing a temple flag being ripped out and glass bottles being hurled.
The Indian High Commission said in its statement on Monday: We strongly condemn the violence perpetrated against the Indian community in Leicester and vandalisation of premises and symbols of Hindu religion.
We have strongly taken up this matter with the UK authorities and have sought immediate action against those involved in these attacks. We call on the authorities to provide protection to the affected people.
Diaspora group Insight UK has claimed that much of the violence was the result of misinformation and fake news circulating on social media. Leicester city mayor Peter Soulsby agreed, saying very, very, very distorting events were being shared on social media and blamed outsiders for coming into the city to stoke violence.
We condemn damages to Hindu temples which are a place of worship and should not be disrespected, Hindu Council UK said in a statement.
We call upon the Hindu community to work with the authorities to bring calm and peace as Leicester is renowned for its cultural diversity, unity and community cohesion, the UK-wide community organisation said, adding that it is working on developing strategies to bring about stronger inter-community relations in the city.
Leicester, in the East Midlands region of England, is known as the city with a large chunk of population of South Asian descent. The city's Belgrave Road is famous as the Golden Mile, packed with Indian-origin jewellery, food and other businesses, and also a statue of Mahatma Gandhi.
The city's former Indian-origin member of Parliament, the first of South Asian heritage, took to social media to appeal for calm.
To me Leicester is the greatest city in the world. Nowhere else so many different people of different languages, cultures and ethnicities live together in harmony, said Goan-origin Keith Vaz, who was MP for Leicester East from 1987 to 2019.
We celebrate Diwali, Eid and Baisakhi as one big happy family. I am saddened to see recent events...a small minority of people are seeking to destroy the spirit of Leicester, he said.
“We are from one family. We settled here in this city together, we fought the racists together, we built it up together. The recent violence is not who we are as a city.”
— Darshna Soni (@darshnasoni) September 20, 2022
Joint statement on Hindu / Muslim tensions in Leicester pic.twitter.com/PPZLkusMeX
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'Made in India' must become symbol of excellence, global competitiveness: PM
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called upon states to encourage manufacturing, boost 'ease of doing business' and strengthen the services sector to make India a global services giant.
Addressing the 5th National Conference of Chief Secretaries here, Modi emphasised the need for quality in governance, service delivery and manufacturing, and said the label 'Made in India' must become a symbol of excellence and global competitiveness.
He said India has the potential to become the world's food basket and the country must move towards high-value agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries to become a major food exporter.
"Called upon states to encourage manufacturing, boost 'Ease of Doing Business' and strengthen the services sector. Let us aim to make India a Global Services Giant," Modi said in a series of posts on X.
The theme of the three-day conference, which began on December 26, was 'Human Capital for Viksit Bharat'.
Modi observed that this conference marks another decisive step in strengthening the spirit of cooperative federalism and deepening Centre-State partnership to achieve the vision of a 'Viksit Bharat'.
Highlighting India's demographic advantage, he said nearly 70 per cent of the population is in the working-age group, creating a unique historical opportunity which, when combined with economic progress, can significantly accelerate the journey towards a 'Viksit Bharat', according to an official statement.
Modi said India has boarded the "Reform Express", driven primarily by the strength of its young population, and empowering this demographic remains the government's key priority.
He noted that the conference is being held at a time when the country is witnessing next-generation reforms and steadily moving towards becoming a major global economic power.
Underlining the need to strengthen 'atmanirbharta' (self-reliance), he said India must pursue self-reliance with zero defect in products and minimal environmental impact, making the label 'Made in India' synonymous with quality and strengthening the commitment to "zero effect, zero defect".
The PM urged the Centre and states to jointly identify 100 products for domestic manufacturing to reduce import dependence and strengthen economic resilience in line with the vision of 'Viksit Bharat'.
In higher education, too, he said, there is a need for academia and industry to work together to create high-quality talent.
He highlighted that India has a rich heritage and history with the potential to be among the top global tourist destinations.
Modi urged the states to prepare a roadmap for creating at least one global-level tourist destination and nourishing an entire tourist ecosystem.
He said it is important to align the national sports calendar with the global sports calendar.
"India is working to host the 2036 Olympics. India needs to prepare infrastructure and sports ecosystem at par with global standards," he said.
The prime minister said the next 10 years must be invested in the states, only then will India get the desired results in such sports events.
Every state must give this top priority and create infrastructure to attract global companies, he said.
In the services sector, Modi said, there should be greater emphasis on other areas like healthcare, education, transport, tourism, professional services and artificial intelligence, etc. to make India a global services giant.
He said India will soon be launching the National Manufacturing Mission (NMM).
States should work in tandem with the discussions and decisions emerging from the conferences of both chief secretaries and DGPs to strengthen governance and implementation.
The PM said similar conferences could be replicated at the departmental level to promote a national perspective among officers and improve governance outcomes in pursuit of a 'Viksit Bharat'.
In conclusion, he said every state must create a 10-year actionable plan based on the discussions of this conference with one, two, five and 10-year target timelines wherein technology can be utilised for regular monitoring.
The conference featured a series of special sessions that enabled focused deliberations on cross-cutting and emerging priorities.
It marks another important milestone in strengthening the Centre-State partnership through structured and sustained dialogue on national development priorities, according to the statement.
The PM's principal secretaries P K Mishra and Shaktikanta Das, Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan, members of the NITI Aayog, chief secretaries of all states and Union territories, and domain experts attended the meeting.
Anchored in the prime minister's vision of cooperative federalism, this conference serves as the forum where the Centre and states collaborate, designing a unified roadmap to maximise India's human capital potential and accelerate inclusive, future-ready growth.
It has been organised annually over the past four years.
The first conference was held in Dharamshala in June 2022, followed by subsequent conferences in New Delhi in January 2023, December 2023 and December 2024.
