Not In My Name protest in London: Is Modi afraid he will lose his fans abroad?

On the same day Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted condemning killing in the name of cow protection, a man in Ranchi was lynched in its name. It is important to know that Modi's words are a political statement, not a social welfare scheme for Muslims.

The kind of statements Not In My Name protesters were avoiding during their demonstrations by not inviting political parties to them.

The London protesters also received some flak for the poor crowd show. It may be the Not In My Name protest that pushed Modi into breaking his silence on the issue, but one cannot overlook the fact that what was different about the protest was its reach abroad.

It was not massive, but it would have come in Modi's way of forging friendships with the "Indian diaspora" or even foreign governments.

The fact that the protest was in full swing not only in several Indian cities but also in four cities abroad — London, Boston, Toronto and Karachi — would have affected the image of India built by Modi and his speeches, which are mostly centred on development.

The London Not In My Name protest showed how people have been protesting against Modi's tainted past and also the ongoing human rights violations in India.

Most citizens at the protest in London wanted to use the platform to disseminate knowledge about India's politics in own their country.

Held at SOAS, the protesters mostly saw the participation of students and professors, including few outsiders. Because the movement was stirred through Facebook, and the varsity sent a special email to all its students to attend the protest.

A few more than 100 people attended the protest. They sloganeered against the Indian government for letting mob lynching and other violations targeting the minorities perpetuate.

Nayanika Mathur, an anthropologist at SOAS found out about the protest through Facebook. Asked about Modi's visits to different foreign nations and about his development agenda, Nayanika said: "I think it's well-staged. But the substantial matter is missing and it is hiding the real issues burning India at the moment."

"It is surprising and disturbing to know, how much in the UK the knowledge about Indian politics is absent, as to the violence that is unleashed on some people on a daily basis in an institutionalised way. One of the reasons I am going to this protest is to give some visibility to the institutionalised violence in India."

In the British media, there isn't enough coverage of it, Nayanika points out. "There was a recent BBC story and The Guardian does stories sporadically. But I still find it interesting that my students don't know much, my colleagues at my university don't know much about what's happening in India. It is a very disturbing state of affairs."

Dara Brodey, a student, said she got an email from SOAS that piqued her interest: "I know some of the people who organised it," she said. Brodey said she doesn't know much about the issue. "

But I remember going to India during the Dadri incident (when Mohammad Akhlaq was lynched by cow vigilantes). "So I have a sense of it. The situation is scary" she said.

Rashmi Varma, 52, who is also an academic, contrary to Nayanika's claims, said that people in UK have a very good sense of the situation in India, particularly in SOAS. "Especially the progressive groups."

"There are different perspectives and approaches. But people know about the communal tensions and growth of religious fundamentalism," she said.

Most of Modi's fans from the middle-class society feel connected to the PM because of his development goals. But if these foreign protesters, with opposing ideas, grow in number every few years, Modi's image could gradually take a hit.

For Modi, "speaking to the Indian diaspora" is crucial as they are a major source of funding for his party and act as loyal nationalists spreading Indianness abroad.

If his bond with the diaspora weakens, the PM has a lot to lose, so it is important to fear such a move by the public. Many protesters reiterated one argument: Why is Modi not tweeting or saying anything about the mob lynching for he tweets about everything under the sun.

It is an argument which Modi has now silenced with a quick two-liner. His words may have come from a fear, but his rivals have only won this so far. So let's not obsess over the protests instead of the lynching.

(The author of this piece wishes to be anonymous.)