Anna supporters march in London

Decades after Mahatma Gandhi hit the streets of London on his cotton dhoti, a group of 200 young men and women marched through central London in support of Anna Hazare on Saturday, wearing the trademark Gandhi caps. HT reports.

Decades after Mahatma Gandhi hit the streets of London on his cotton dhoti, a group of 200 young men and women marched through central London in support of Anna Hazare on Saturday, wearing the trademark Gandhi caps.

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Gathered outside the British Parliament, a rain cloud opened up above them briefly, drenching the Hazare supporters.

“Are you protesting against corruption in Britain?” an onlooker asked a man as the group walked to the Indian High Commission.

The group was mostly made up of relatively recent migrants — many of them were software engineers, academics and students.

“Most of them would never have been to a rally in India but they are marching in London,” said Avinash Dadhrich, a lawyer who has been fasting every day in front of the High Commission.

Three van-loads of Scotland Yard officers in riot gear arrived within minutes of the protesters reaching India House, but the event went on peacefully. The apprehension of police officials was mainly due to the recent London riots that rocked the metropolis.

The marchers ended the day singing the national anthem. “I got the opportunity to come to Britain but millions of Indians don’t have the opportunity,” said Anshuman Mor, an information technology engineer. “We can never be a developed country as long as we have corruption. We should fight this disease.”