London:

Satyam Surana, an Indian student, who came to the limelight when he picked up the tricolour from the road, defying the attack at the Indian High Commission in the United Kingdom by extremist elements last year, is now alleging hate and smear campaigns against him during the student union elections at the London School of Economics this year.

Satyam has alleged that, just 12 hours before the voting, a very ‘well-planned’ campaign was launched against him, somehow linking him with the Bharatiya Janata Party and calling him a ‘fascist’ to boycott him and his campaign.

The Pune-born student has also practiced at the Bombay High Court for some months and is pursuing an LLM at the London School of Economics with his course ending later this year.

Elaborating on the whole set of incidents, he said that the LSE elections were declared in February and early March and he filed the nomination for the post of general secretary.

“From March 14-15, we noticed that my posters were being ripped off, torn. We complained to the authorities. After we replaced our posters, on March 16, we saw that some posters were defaced. There were crosses on my face, it was written ‘anyone but Satyam’. I was cancelled out,” Satyam told the news agency ANI.

“On March 17 afternoon, there were messages in all groups of LSE. Indian groups, law school groups. The messages claimed, ‘This Satyam Surana is a BJP supporter, he is a fascist person, an Islamophobe, transphobe’. The messages were so seditious and contentious of the Indian government and the current establishment,” he added.

Satyam alleged that the radical elements also screenshotted his posts on social media handle X, where he had merely praised the BJP government, but his posts were used with a malicious agenda to call him a “fascist.”

He also said that his manifesto had no political points, but merely contained the genuine issues on campus. Even though he initially got overwhelming support, this hate campaign derailed his chances.

“With my entire team, I went through the entire campus. We were reaching out across departments and explaining our policies. I had a very well-written and well-drafted manifesto, which was not at all political. It said how things need improvement at LSE, how there is a need for a grievance redressal portal, having subsidised food on campus. We were getting support and people were saying that they would vote for me,” Satyam said.

“But, out of the three people, it was only me who was targeted randomly. When these messages started coming, my entire team was shocked, we were in a dilemma, and the entire moral conscience of the team was shattered,” he added.

Recalling the episode from the Indian High Commission last year, Satyam said, “Somewhere around early October, I was in the news because I picked up the national flag outside the Indian High Commission among the Khalistani protestors. I was blessed to receive media coverage. I was interviewed by national media channels.”

He further said that he was targeted for calling Khalistanis as ‘terrorists’ in one of his posts.

“See, this is my country. I will always be an advocate for my country. How is Indian politics relevant to the student union elections in the UK? My views and endorsements of my government are entirely my opinion,” Satyam added.

People are now Anti-India because they are Anti-Modi

They attempted to harass me. I was cancelled, I was slurred.

Why?
– Because I supported PM Modi.
– Because I supported BJP.
– Because I spoke up for the truth when the Ram Mandir was built.
– Because I supported the… pic.twitter.com/OArzoof3aN

— Satyam Surana (@SatyamSurana) March 25, 2024

The Indian student said that his photograph with Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis — which was clicked when he was invited by Mr Fadnavis during his India visit — was used by the extremist elements to claim that he is linked to the BJP.

He further pointed out that since the whole smear campaign against him was targeting the ‘right-wing’, Satyam believes that the campaign was planned by ‘left-wing’ groups.

“I was called a Neo-Nazi supporter, Right Wing, out of campus. See, when the message heading was circulated as the right wing out of campus, it is very clear that the campaign was dictated and planned by the left wing,” he said.

On being asked if the hate campaign against him was started by an Indian person or a foreigner, Satyam said that the first message he received was from an Indian and most of those involved in this campaign were Indians only.

He added that this was not a random or personal campaign, but a “well-planned hate and toolkit campaign” involving people who are politically motivated against the incumbent BJP government in India.

Satyam even claims that those who targeted him are part of that group that can’t digest the success of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and hence spread such false and malicious propaganda.

“The people of the international community are not aware of what is going on in India. Every international person is looking up to India and looking up to the current Prime Minister as a stalwart legendary politician. Our Prime Minister has the highest approval rating in the entire world, we have shown what we can do during COVID-19, and we are emerging as the third-largest economy. But, sadly these groups who can’t digest this fact are spreading not misinformation, but disinformation,” Satyam said.

However, Satyam was not able to go past the finish line despite gathering support in the initial phase of the campaign. He believes that the way his campaign was targeted and hampered it hurt his goodwill.

He further said that this campaign did have a huge impact on him and his life at the campus, even after the elections were over. But, he also acknowledged that he did get support from many people who stood by him in this hour.

Satyam stated that the point in the episode that hurts him the most is the fact that the majority of people who carried out the hate campaign against him were actually Indians only.

“The only thing that hurts is that these were our fellow Indian students who circulated these messages and questioned the sovereignty of India…how shameless can people be to forward these messages? I can’t believe Indian students forwarding the messages and hampering the sovereignty and integrity of our country,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

London:

Satyam Surana, an Indian student, who came to the limelight when he picked up the tricolour from the road, defying the attack at the Indian High Commission in the United Kingdom by extremist elements last year, is now alleging hate and smear campaigns against him during the student union elections at the London School of Economics this year.

Satyam has alleged that, just 12 hours before the voting, a very ‘well-planned’ campaign was launched against him, somehow linking him with the Bharatiya Janata Party and calling him a ‘fascist’ to boycott him and his campaign.

The Pune-born student has also practiced at the Bombay High Court for some months and is pursuing an LLM at the London School of Economics with his course ending later this year.

Elaborating on the whole set of incidents, he said that the LSE elections were declared in February and early March and he filed the nomination for the post of general secretary.

“From March 14-15, we noticed that my posters were being ripped off, torn. We complained to the authorities. After we replaced our posters, on March 16, we saw that some posters were defaced. There were crosses on my face, it was written ‘anyone but Satyam’. I was cancelled out,” Satyam told the news agency ANI.

“On March 17 afternoon, there were messages in all groups of LSE. Indian groups, law school groups. The messages claimed, ‘This Satyam Surana is a BJP supporter, he is a fascist person, an Islamophobe, transphobe’. The messages were so seditious and contentious of the Indian government and the current establishment,” he added.

Satyam alleged that the radical elements also screenshotted his posts on social media handle X, where he had merely praised the BJP government, but his posts were used with a malicious agenda to call him a “fascist.”

He also said that his manifesto had no political points, but merely contained the genuine issues on campus. Even though he initially got overwhelming support, this hate campaign derailed his chances.

“With my entire team, I went through the entire campus. We were reaching out across departments and explaining our policies. I had a very well-written and well-drafted manifesto, which was not at all political. It said how things need improvement at LSE, how there is a need for a grievance redressal portal, having subsidised food on campus. We were getting support and people were saying that they would vote for me,” Satyam said.

“But, out of the three people, it was only me who was targeted randomly. When these messages started coming, my entire team was shocked, we were in a dilemma, and the entire moral conscience of the team was shattered,” he added.

Recalling the episode from the Indian High Commission last year, Satyam said, “Somewhere around early October, I was in the news because I picked up the national flag outside the Indian High Commission among the Khalistani protestors. I was blessed to receive media coverage. I was interviewed by national media channels.”

He further said that he was targeted for calling Khalistanis as ‘terrorists’ in one of his posts.

“See, this is my country. I will always be an advocate for my country. How is Indian politics relevant to the student union elections in the UK? My views and endorsements of my government are entirely my opinion,” Satyam added.

People are now Anti-India because they are Anti-Modi

They attempted to harass me. I was cancelled, I was slurred.

Why?
– Because I supported PM Modi.
– Because I supported BJP.
– Because I spoke up for the truth when the Ram Mandir was built.
– Because I supported the… pic.twitter.com/OArzoof3aN

— Satyam Surana (@SatyamSurana) March 25, 2024

The Indian student said that his photograph with Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis — which was clicked when he was invited by Mr Fadnavis during his India visit — was used by the extremist elements to claim that he is linked to the BJP.

He further pointed out that since the whole smear campaign against him was targeting the ‘right-wing’, Satyam believes that the campaign was planned by ‘left-wing’ groups.

“I was called a Neo-Nazi supporter, Right Wing, out of campus. See, when the message heading was circulated as the right wing out of campus, it is very clear that the campaign was dictated and planned by the left wing,” he said.

On being asked if the hate campaign against him was started by an Indian person or a foreigner, Satyam said that the first message he received was from an Indian and most of those involved in this campaign were Indians only.

He added that this was not a random or personal campaign, but a “well-planned hate and toolkit campaign” involving people who are politically motivated against the incumbent BJP government in India.

Satyam even claims that those who targeted him are part of that group that can’t digest the success of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and hence spread such false and malicious propaganda.

“The people of the international community are not aware of what is going on in India. Every international person is looking up to India and looking up to the current Prime Minister as a stalwart legendary politician. Our Prime Minister has the highest approval rating in the entire world, we have shown what we can do during COVID-19, and we are emerging as the third-largest economy. But, sadly these groups who can’t digest this fact are spreading not misinformation, but disinformation,” Satyam said.

However, Satyam was not able to go past the finish line despite gathering support in the initial phase of the campaign. He believes that the way his campaign was targeted and hampered it hurt his goodwill.

He further said that this campaign did have a huge impact on him and his life at the campus, even after the elections were over. But, he also acknowledged that he did get support from many people who stood by him in this hour.

Satyam stated that the point in the episode that hurts him the most is the fact that the majority of people who carried out the hate campaign against him were actually Indians only.

“The only thing that hurts is that these were our fellow Indian students who circulated these messages and questioned the sovereignty of India…how shameless can people be to forward these messages? I can’t believe Indian students forwarding the messages and hampering the sovereignty and integrity of our country,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

London/New Delhi:

An Indian student who picked up the national flag that had fallen on the ground during a protest by Khalistanis in London has slammed what he called the tendency of some Indians abroad to be anti-India “just to appear cool”.

Satyam Surana, a student of the London School of Economics, was seen on camera picking up the national flag during a protest by Khalistanis in front of the Indian High Commission in London on Monday.

“It is a matter of worry to see attacks on Indians… India is on its way to becoming a superpower and one of the largest economies. These protests are to distract India from growing,” Mr Surana told NDTV today.

“I saved the dignity of my country. But there are many instances when Indians go outside and become anti-India to be cool. They talk ill about India without any knowledge, just to show they are nice people among those who hate India,” he added.

Mr Surana asked Indians to keep watch on “such elements”.

“It is upon us to keep an eye on these elements. It is important to answer them intellectually, not physically,” he said.

Khalistani protesters were on Monday cordoned off on either side of the street from the Indian High Commission in London. A group of protesters, however, breached the barricades and crossed over to the side of the building with an Indian flag and a bottle of what they called “cow urine”.

Khalistani supporters claimed they were protesting over the killing of terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June.

Mr Satyam’s video where he is seen picking up the national flag from the ground went viral when former Adviser to the UK government Colin Bloom posted a video  on X, formerly Twitter.

The Indian High Commission said it reported the incident to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Metropolitan Police.

It said multiple community organisations, including the organisers, have formally regretted the incident and have urged the authorities to take action against the culprits.

Satyam Suran is seen picking up the Indian flag during the Khalistani protest in front of the Indian High Commission in London on Monday, Octber 2, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Twitter/Colin Bloom

Indian student, Satyam Surana, who tried to protect the Indian flag during the Khalistani protest in front of the Indian High Commission in London on Monday, Octber 2, 2023, said he had never seen the Indian flag being demeaned this way, his conscious persuaded him to protect the tricolour.

Satyam, a student at the London School of Economics, said: “I saw the Indian flag was being demeaned, went behind the police lady who had stepped on the flag intentionally. I picked up the flag and I just moved away then.”

“I had never seen the Indian flag being demeaned this way. My inner self, my mind, my conscience were shocked to see how this could happen. That’s what motivated, persuaded me to go forward and do what I did,” he said.

On Gandhi Jayanthi day, Khalistani protestors were cordoned off on either side of the street from the Indian High Commission in London. However, a group of protestors breached the barricades and crossed over to the side of the HCI with an Indian flag and a bottle of what they called ‘cow urine’.

Khalistan supporters claimed that they were staging the protest over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.Nijjar, a designated terrorist in India, who was killed outside a gurdwara in Canada’s Surrey on June 18. One of the protestors gave an anti-India and anti-Sunak speech standing in front of the HCI London and then threw the Indian flag on the ground.

Satyam was standing near the scene. He leapt forward as soon as the Khalistanis moved and picked up the Indian flag from the street. Some of the Khalistanis got agitated by this act and started cursing him. Metropolitan police officers present at the scene in their bid to neutralise the situation and protect Satyam, safely nudged him out of the place.

Satyam’s video where he is seen picking up the Indian flag from the ground went viral when former Advisor to UK Government Colin Bloom posted a video of the whole incident on his X handle.

Satyam said: “So, there was a protest going on outside the Indian High Commission and when I went to see what was going on, I realised it was a protest by the pro-Khalistan group and these people were giving their slogans and the protest was going on.”

‘Insult to the tricolour’

“I saw some people were going around with the national flag in their leg and there was a heavy amount of demeaning and insult that was intended towards the Indian national flag so that’s why I stayed back and was looking at the entire protest,” he added.

He said that after some time, some people walked towards the Indian High Commission with the flag in their hand and the group started putting the flag on the ground and desecrating it. He then followed his instinct and saved the flag.Satyam further said that though his parents are worried about his safety, they are happy about what he did.

“All of my friends are very proud, super proud. I am telling them that I have just exercised my duty as an Indian citizen and I just did what my conscience has told me. I would never pull a leg back when I get to serve my nation or to protect its dignity,” he said.

The protest by the Khalistan supporters came days after the planned interaction of Indian High Commissioner to Britain Vikram Doraiswami by the Gurudwara Committee in Glasgow was deliberately disrupted by three persons- all from areas outside Scotland.

The Indian High Commission in London issued a statement on September 30and said the interaction was to discuss community and consular issues.”On September 29, 2023, three persons- all from areas outside Scotland-deliberately disrupted a planned interaction organised by the Gurudwara Committee for the community, the High Commissioner and the Consul General of India. The organisers included senior community leaders, ladies and Committee members, and a member of the Scottish Parliament,” the statement said.”

They were threatened and abused by these elements. In an effort to prevent any potential altercation, the HC and CG decided to leave the premises shortly upon their arrival,” it added.

The Indian High Commission said it reported the incident to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Metropolitan Police.It said multiple community organisations, including the organisers, have formally regretted the incident and have urged the authorities to take action against the culprits.