UK-INDIA RELATIONS

The number of Indians on UK payrolls more than doubled, to about 870,000, between the start of the pandemic and the end of 2023. [...] The Memorandum of Understanding on the mutual recognition of academic qualifications between India and UK has meant simplification of the application process, further enhancing the appeal of the UK. [...] The Overseas Friends of the BJP (OFBJP) was formally launched in the US in 1991 and in the UK the following year. [...] They also indicate that social organisations in tune with the ideological message of Hindu nationalism are the preferred agents of the government of India in dealing with the social, cultural, and political exchanges between the UK and India. [...] The investigation into the Nijjar killing and the prosecution of the accused in the Punnun case in New York will increase pressure from within the Sikh diaspora for action against the government of India and its agents, but the governments of the US, the UK – and to a lesser extent, Canada -– are unlikely to sacrifice their trading interests.