Community fights for elderly Indian Sikh woman facing deportation from UK
London, Nov 26: The case of an elderly Indian Sikh woman, which first came to light back in 2019, has continued to attract widespread community support in the West Midlands region of England as her supporters fight against her deportation.
Gurmit Kaur, 78, came to the UK in 2009 and Smethwick has been home to her ever since, reads an online petition attracting over 65,000 signatures since it was launched in July 2020.
More recently, "We Are All Gurmit Kaur" has been running across social media as the local community continues to rally around the widow.
"Gurmit Kaur has no family to turn to in the UK and no family to return to in Punjab, so the local Sikh community of Smethwick have adopted her," reads the petition on Change.Org.
"Gurmit applied to stay but has been refused even though she has no family to return to in Punjab, India. Gurmit is a very kind woman, even though she has nothing she is still generous and will always give what she can, when she can. Most of her days are spent volunteering at the local gurdwara," it reads.
The UK Home Office maintains that Kaur was still in contact with people in her home village in Punjab and would be able to re-adjust to life there.
Salman Mirza, an immigration advisor for the Brushstroke Community Project who started the petition and is among those helping Kaur through the visa appeals process, told the BBC that her ordeal has been like torture for her.
"She has a derelict house in the village, with no roof and would have to find heating, food, and resources in a village she hasn't been to in 11 years. It's like water torture, it's like a slow death, she's never had the right to work and provide for herself," he said.
A Home Office spokesperson said that while it cannot comment on individual cases, "all applications are carefully considered on their individual merits and on the basis of the evidence provided".
Kaur first travelled to the UK in 2009 to attend a wedding and was initially living with her son.
After becoming estranged from her family, she went on to rely on the kindness of strangers. She has widespread support within her local community where she regularly volunteers at local charities.
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Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif to decide fate of social media platforms during Muharram
Islamabad (PTI): Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would decide the fate of social media platforms such as YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok during the Muharram festival as the Punjab government sought a ban on them, citing the need to control “hate material”.
Shiite Muslims hold large gatherings during the festival to observe the martyrdom of the grandson of the prophet of Islam.
The Muslims generally observe his martyrdom as a symbol of resistance to tyranny, and the Shiite Muslims take out rallies during the first ten days of Muharram which culminate into huge processions on the 9th and 10th of the month.
The Sunni Muslims have a historic theological rivalry with the Shiites, and extremist Sunni groups brand them as heretics and target them through bombings, with Pakistan witnessing numerous such attacks in the past.
To disrupt communication among the militants, governments in Pakistan traditionally undertake elaborate security measures during Muharram, including suspension of internet, cell phone and social media services to avoid acts of terrorism.
The Punjab government had asked the federal government to suspend access to social media from July 6 to 11 to control the spread of misinformation and hate material to prevent sectarian violence.
This week, the provincial home department, through a letter to the Interior Ministry, recommended suspending “Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, X, TikTok, etc. across the province”.
The Ministry of Interior after a meeting held on Friday deferred a decision on the Punjab government’s request, according to an overnight statement.
It stated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would make the final decision on the matter, adding that the requests of the provinces had “neither been rejected nor accepted”.
The statement did not reveal which provinces other than Punjab had made such requests but indicated that Punjab was not the only one to have sought this.
Muharram is expected to begin on Sunday or Monday on the condition of the sighting of the moon.
Separately, a body of clerics tasked to sight the moon is meeting this evening to decide the beginning of Muharram.
