Members of the British Indian community, many who were present at the Diwali reception hosted by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street recently (pictured above), have expressed their outrage over the “insensitive” and “offensive” decision to serve meat and alcohol at the auspicious occasion.
The year’s major Hindu festival is associated with prayers and spiritual insights as the community marks the triumphant return of Lord Ram to the kingdom of Ayodhya after years of exile, symbolising the victory of good over evil and light over darkness. However, this holy aspect of the festival was overshadowed at the first Downing Street Diwali celebration of a Labour Party led government in 14 years and has been dubbed a major faux pas and misstep by insiders.
“It is simply insensitive and even offensive to organise a Diwali reception but then serve non-vegetarian food and alcohol,” said one community leader on condition of anonymity.
Many guests who attended the event requested anonymity for fear of being alienated or frozen out by Downing Street, but expressed their shock and dismay at the lack of consultation before decisions around the Hindu festival were made.
MORE LIKE THIS…
“I have been attending the Downing Street Diwali for 10 years now, right from the time when Labour’s Gordon Brown was Prime Minister followed by Tory PMs David Cameron, Theresa May and most recently Rishi Sunak. It has always had a warm spiritual undertone, which unfortunately was tainted this time with all the lamb and chicken going around,” lamented one invitee, who praised the “beautiful lighting and decorations” but felt let down by the lack of proper consultation over the food and drinks served at a time of the year when many Hindus tend to fast and others are pure vegetarian.
Another guest questioned if Downing Street would have been as “insensitive” during a Muslim festival.
A government source told iGlobal that this unfortunately reflected a trend unfolding since Labour’s landslide win in the July general election.
“When it came to reaching out for British Indian votes during the campaign, there was a lot more consultation. But it now feels like, the election is won and it’s back to a tick-box approach to the Indian community,” the source said.
“The government really needs to do better and ideally have a competent and dedicated team to manage relations with India and its diaspora. Their current game is amateur,” the source added.
MORE LIKE THIS…
There are fears that such a so-called “tick-box approach” towards the diaspora will inevitably spill over into other areas of the bilateral partnership, including the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations, which remain stalled in the 14th round since elections in both countries. Negotiators on the Indian side have indicated their willingness to resume talks but there seems to be a lag on the UK side.
Now, with yet another Diwali deadline come and gone, Starmer would benefit from being in listening mode when it comes to the British Indian diaspora.
