London, Aug.11 (ANI): Tension continues to prevail in English cities and towns in the wake of the riots that have occurred since last Saturday, but Indian dominated Southall has been largely peaceful.
Indians residing in Southall, often referred as Little India in London, took to policing their own streets on Wednesday (August 10) after successfully defending their shops and restaurants from groups of miscreants since the time the riots broke out in London.
However, minor incidents of violence have been reported with some cases of vandalism.
"Day before yesterday, at 1 o'clock about 20 black youths came and started lifting the shutter, they opened the shutter and got inside and started smashing the glass. By that time we arrived, we had a fight and scuffle with them and then they ran away. Yesterday we repaired it and now we have put security locks on there," said affected jewellery shop owner, Brijinder Singh.
Since Saturday, violent riots have broken out in several cities of England, with irate demonstrators setting buildings on fire and looting shops with brazen impunity.
The riots began in Tottenham town of north London, after a peaceful march to protest the death of 19-year-old Mark Duggan in a police shootout turned violent.
What began as a spark transformed into a blaze of violence, spreading to surrounding regions and even to cities and towns outside the capital, London.
Youths fought running battles with police in the northern cities of Manchester and Liverpool as well as in the Midlands overnight Tuesday.
Even though the situation in Southall has been relatively peaceful, fear and panic however seeped in among the people.
Commuters hurried home early, shops shut and many shopkeepers boarded their windows, preparing nervously for more of the violence that had erupted in neighbourhoods across London and spread to other cities.
Shop owner at Southall, Roy Tandon said all shops got closed by two in the afternoon.
"A little bit yes because the police did say that there might be trouble around here...people were saying there might be problems around here. So we did close little early," said Tandon.
Shopkeepers and residents including Indians in London and other cities were reported to be organizing vigilante groups to protect their property.
Lawmaker from Southall, Virendra Sharma lauded the Asians as they gathered in groups to guard outside temples and mosques in case of new rounds of rioting.
"In my constituency there was a panic and a fear because there was a rumour that criminals, hooligans, looters may come to Southall yesterday around about six o'clock in the evening. So, that's where the local community was very concerned and there was a large group of Asians youth assembled outside the temples, mosque and the Gurudwaras (Sikh Temple), churches, to make sure that there is a support to the local police and support to the local community. Generally it was peaceful in my community," said Sharma.
Sharma termed the rioters to be motivated by greed and said the Asian community was not particularly targeted in the attacks.
"I think that it's not the Asian community targeted, it was the businesses targeted. Wherever they found that this is business supporting to their needs, as I said yesterday, they are targeting shops, if they want telephones they are target telephone shop, if they need clothes, they target the clothing shops. So I feel it was not the Asian shops targeted, it was the business targeted," he added.
Gangs have ransacked stores, carting off clothes, shoes and electronic goods, torched cars, shops and homes causing tens of millions of pounds of damage.
Police said they had arrested a total of 770 people, one as young as 11, in London since the unrest began.
Indians now hope peace to prevail soon with British government taking control of the situation.
"What's going on is very, very sad. We are all worried about what's going on in this country. We all are living very peacefully, in harmony and with cooperation to each other. So I want and I wish the government and police should take very strict action to stop this nonsense," said Atmaram Tandon, travel agency owner.
Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday said "a fightback is under way" to restore law and order to Britain's streets despite rioting, looting and arson by gangs of youths spreading from London to other cities.
The unrest poses a new challenge to Cameron as Britain's economy struggles to grow while his government slashes public spending and raises taxes to cut a yawning budget deficit - moves that some commentators say have aggravated the plight of young people in inner cities.
It also shows the world an ugly side of London less than a year before it hosts the 2012 Olympic Games. By Cynthia Chandran(ANI)
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