Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to the United Kingdom (UK) revived a series of old photos claiming to show people protesting his visit to the region.
The prime minister, who was in the UK earlier in the week for bilateral talks and the multilateral Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), received a warm reception from a sizeable section of the Indian diaspora. The Friends of Indian Society International (FISI) and Indian Ladies UK (ILU) were among the groups that welcomed the prime minister.
On the other hand, protests and demonstrations were held by students, activists, pro-Khalistan protesters from the Sikh Federation UK and independent-Kashmir separatists. Protests over alleged rapes in Kathua and Unnao also followed the prime minister to London. These protests were held by groups such as South Asia Solidarity and Caste Watch UK.
Some of the protests at Parliament Square turned violent on Wednesday, April 18 after the tricolour was torn down from one of the official flagpoles set up for all 53 Commonwealth countries. The Indian flag was replaced and Britain apologised to India over the incident.
Several netizens including actor Prakash Raj shared old protests photos. BOOM has traced these images through a reverse image search to old articles. Click here to view an archived version of his tweet.
IMAGE 1
New York, 2015
The image, which shows a Sikh protester carrying an American flag, appears on a website in a story dating back to September, 2015. Sikhs belonging to the Shiromani Akali Dal staged protests against Narendra Modi during his visit to New York, according to the article. Protests were staged outside the United Nations headquarters. (source)
IMAGE 2
California, September, 2015
According to reports, protests were held by the Indian American community in California to raise awareness about atrocities against minorities, Dalits, the LGBTQ equality and environmental justice. (source, source)
IMAGE 3
New Delhi, 2013
Left-wing student groups held protests outside a college in New Delhi in 2013. (Pic source)
IMAGE 4
California, September, 2015
Contrasting placards which read 'Techies Support Digital India', 'Gujarati Hindus Against Modi, No Violence In Our Names' and '#ModiFail' are once again from the prime minister's visit to the U.S in September 2015, when he met with Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. (source)
IMAGE 5
Vancouver, 2015
Protests outside the Ross Street Gurdwara and also the Laxminarayan temple in Surrey saw people from different communities raising issues ranging from secularism to the 2002 Gujarat riots, Hindustan Times reported. (source)
(Click here, and here to see other old images being shared as fresh protest pictures)