The meeting was presided by the Chairman of the APPG MP Bob Blackman of Harrow East. A number of parliamentarians from both houses and from different political parties attended the meeting. These included:
A number of parliamentary aides also attended the meeting along with British Hindu community organisation representatives including Ms Janhavi Dadarkar, Mr Nitin Palan, Mr. Nilesh Solanki, Mr. Santosh Patil among others. The meeting was facilitated by Mr. Vinod Tikoo who coordinates the secretariat of the APPG British Hindus on behalf of ABHI UK.
There was a round table discussion between the members on the topics relevant to the British Hindu community and consensus that more should be done to bridge the gap between the community and the parliament to address issues relevant to the community.
A number of key topics were discussed including the plight of Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh and it was agreed to issue a letter to the government to look into the issue on priority. There was also discussion on other important topics like the Anti Hindu hatred and the Caste legislation. The MP’s were apprised of the Action 4 Harmony initiative to bring the voice of the community together through the APPG BH. It was agreed to run the APPG BH update meeting on a quarterly basis and also to issue a monthly newsletter to the members.
ABHI UK is a policy & advocacy organization representing the interests of the British Hindus & Indians (BHI community) in the UK and worldwide. BHI community are proudly British, who take immense pride in their faith, ethnic origin and belief system which is based on the foundations of universal brotherhood and respect for all fellow human beings irrespective of their creed, ethnicity or religious belief. We are also proud citizens of this country whose contribution to British nation is an example by itself.
With the rise of polarisation in the political discourse, it has become ever more relevant to represent the true interests of the community in the socio-political arena and to provide a mechanism to structurally counter the rise in anti-Indian/Hindu propaganda in this country. ABHI will aim to dispel any biased and misleading information & campaigns with factual briefings on topical information effecting the community on an intermittent basis and aims to be the de-facto vehicle for the community to drive key mission critical socio-political agenda right from inception to policy making & through to the implementation phase.
Influencers, policy makers, academicians, journalists and politicians have a responsibility to be fair and reasonable and therefore, it is only right and proper that they kept better informed on matters effecting the BHI community.
ABHI is made up of national coordinators, regional co-ordinating teams who will engage with local organisations/authorities, the BHI community, policy makers, influencers, academicians, journalists and politicians in order to bridge this gap.