London
On Sunday, 30 July, a drizzly London morning, the 50th annual Rath Yatra was about to begin. On a huge chariot sitting majestically were Lord Jagannath, Baldev, and Subhadra. Organised by Hare Krishna devotees, thousands of people joined the procession as it began from the iconic Hyde Park and snaked its way through London’s famous streets. People were dancing ecstatically and chanting “Jai Jagannath, Jai Baldev, Jai Subhadra”. The founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Shri AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, introduced the Sankirtan movement in the West.
Over 500 years ago, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu prophesied that the Sankirtan movement would reach every town and village in the world. Today, in many parts of the world, the Sankirtan movement is well-established and expanding at a great pace. The Rath Yatra will soon be taking place in several other UK cities as well. The word “Juggernaut” comes from the word “Jagannath”. When the English first came to the city of Puri and saw the huge chariot, they asked what it was and were told it was the Lord Jagannath. Ever since, a huge vehicle has been called a Juggernaut.
Just off Oxford Street is a nice Hare Krishna temple and Govinda’s vegetarian restaurant—a Sankirtan party chanting, “Hare Krishna, Hare Rama” takes place every day. A few days before the Rath Yatra event, the prestigious Proms music festival took place at the famous Albert Hall. The Proms is one of the world’s biggest and well-known classical music festivals. This year, for the first time, an evening was dedicated to the legendary Lata Mangeshkar. The auditorium, which can seat 5,272 people, was sold out. Singer Palak Muchhal was accompanied by the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. When Muchhal sang “Mere watan ke logo” the over-5,000 audience stood up in respect.
Thanks to India’s elite educational institutions, and the leaders who had the vision to establish them, the country is able to provide a skilled workforce both to developed and developing countries. This in turn will lead to the transplanting of Indian culture, traditions, and heritage to the host countries. Over the last 25 years, there has been a massive Indian migration to the United Kingdom. More often than, not your physician or surgeon will be an Indian, and the person behind the counter at a petrol station or a departmental store will probably be Indian. Across almost all walks of life, you will encounter Indians in the UK. Indian vegetarian cuisine is very popular as millions of Britons are shunning meat due to environmental and ecological reasons as well as for health and ethical reasons. King Charles too, does not eat meat several days a week. Like yoga, vegetarianism is seen as India’s gift to the world. There are almost 6 million vegetarians and vegans in the UK alone.
Yoga remains massively popular and nearly every neighbourhood has yoga classes. There is also a great revival of Sanskrit education. Established in 1975, St James Schools have taught Sanskrit as part of their curriculum and are now globally considered a centre of excellence for teaching Sanskrit.
Indian dance forms, including Bharatnatyam and Kathak, are also very popular, along with Hindu festivals like Diwali. The famous BAPS Temple in London is a showcase of the ancient art of temple building and Hindu spirituality. Many Indian gurus with tens of thousands of followers also make trips to the UK this time of the year. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Swami Chidanand Saraswati, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Sant Tarlochan Das Ji, and many others have visited the country. The first Hindu Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and many Ministers of Indian origin are currently playing a significant role in the running of this country. Meanwhile, Tata Consultancy Services is the biggest employer in the United Kingdom, and in its latest venture, Tata is investing £4 billion to set up a new electric vehicle battery plant to create thousands of jobs.
The richest family in the country are the Hindujas, who reside in a huge mansion right next to the Buckingham Palace. Who would have imagined such a scenario just 75 years after India’s Independence?
Indians are also the most law-abiding, with the smallest percentage of people in prisons. They are high achievers and high earners; 74 percent of Indian households own their homes. This figure is larger than the number of white homeowners.
All this is possible due to the support of the English, Scottish, Welsh, and the Irish. They have helped Indians in the UK thrive and reach for the skies. The post-colonial generations of British people are open-minded, tolerant, welcoming, and are willing to help new arrivals. The British media, on the other hand, is and always has been anti-India and anti-Modi, accusing the Prime Minister of playing the “majoritarian Hindu agenda”. In countering this false narrative, it is important not to alienate the people of Britain who have nothing to do with the biased media. The stars are aligned for India and the Indian diaspora to write a new history.
www.nitinmehta.co.uk