Members of Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) came together to reject controversial Indian laws on the night of Friday, January 15.  

To mark the 92nd birth anniversary of the towering U.S. civil rights movement leader Martin Luther King Jr., they burned copies of the contentious Indian farming law, Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) right outside the Indian visa and passport office in Surrey.  

Since King advocated defying unjust laws while fighting against racial segregation, the IAPI members resolved to denounce infamous laws passed by the right-wing Hindu nationalist Indian government on the occasion.  

While farmers are already agitating in India against a recently passed farming ordinance that threatens their livelihood, the CAA discriminates against Muslim refugees coming from the neighbouring countries.

The UAPA is being frequently used to suppress any voice of dissent, especially coming from minorities and left-wing critics of the government. Indian authorities are reportedly using the UAPA to intimidate those raising voices against the disputed farming laws.  

In Surrey, IAPI members chanted slogans against the Indian government at an event kept small due to COVID-19 restrictions. They also and glued the copies of these three laws with an X through them at the entrance door of the building.