The UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has chosen to wade into the Kashmir issue, India’s sovereign territory, as though it were part of her portfolio. But while she plays diplomat, Britain itself is cracking apart. Grooming gangs still haunt communities, Islamist extremism festers in plain sight, and British citizens are being targeted for displaying the Union Jack. So here’s the question: why is the Home Secretary preaching to India about Kashmir while Britain is in flames?
Grooming Gangs: Britain’s Shame That Won’t Go Away
Let’s not mince words. Grooming gangs are the single most devastating social scandal in modern Britain. In Rotherham alone, the “Operation Stovewood” inquiry uncovered over 1,500 victims of systemic sexual exploitation and identified hundreds of perpetrators. Nearly two-thirds of those convicted were of Pakistani heritage . That is not an opinion. It is on record.
And Rotherham is not an isolated case. Rochdale, Oxford, Newcastle, and Derby all tell the same story: vulnerable, working-class girls preyed upon for years while authorities turned a blind eye. Why? Because those in power were paralysed by the fear of being called racist.
Yet when the Home Office finally conducted its 2020 review, it concluded that “group-based offenders are most commonly white” and that the data was “too limited” to draw hard conclusions. It even admitted that ethnicity was often not recorded at all in police files . Survivors described the findings as a betrayal, a whitewash, and a continuation of the very denial that allowed abuse to thrive.
Instead of confronting this festering wound, the Home Secretary is busy delivering sermons on Kashmir. Shouldn’t her energy be directed at fixing a system that allowed thousands of British girls to be sacrificed on the altar of political correctness?
Islamist Extremism: The Problem That Never Went Away
Another fire burns across Britain, Islamist radicalization. The Prevent programme, which was designed to stem extremist recruitment, has been widely criticized as toothless. Police and intelligence agencies warn of a surge in online radical content, much of it targeting young men and even teenagers. Arrests of minors on terror charges are climbing.
Former counter-terror chiefs have bluntly said that Britain risks “losing a generation” if these networks are not dismantled. Radical preachers continue to spread poison. Cells continue to rebuild quietly in Britain’s cities.
The Home Secretary’s job is to stop this. To ensure that Britain never again sees attacks like 7/7 or the slaughter of Lee Rigby on the streets of Woolwich. But instead of showing urgency on this front, she is lecturing India about how to manage its own borders.
If Britain cannot even protect its own children from extremists on its soil, what credibility does it have to comment on Kashmir, one of the most complex security issues in the world?
Free Speech and Patriotism: When Waving the Union Jack Becomes a Crime
Britain now finds itself in the bizarre position where ordinary citizens waving the Union Jack can find themselves confronted by police. Videos and reports have shown people harassed, warned, or even arrested for “causing offence” by displaying their own flag.
Meanwhile, Islamist demonstrations openly calling for divisive agendas are waved through in the name of free expression. Patriotism is policed. Radicalism is tolerated. This upside-down logic leaves ordinary Britons asking a simple question: whose side is the government on?
The Home Secretary should be the first to defend the right of citizens to celebrate their national identity. Instead, her silence makes it look like she is comfortable with a double standard, one that erodes public trust in law enforcement and leaves communities divided.
Shabana Mahmood’s Anti-India Posture: Loud, Proud, and Troubling
UK Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood has repeatedly framed Kashmir as “India-occupied” territory, calling India’s revocation of Article 370 “deeply provocative” and “an absolute betrayal of the people of Kashmir.” In a 2020 letter to her constituents, she wrote that the Indian government’s removal of Kashmir’s special status was “provocative and risks further destabilising the region,” and insisted that any decision on Kashmir should be made by the Kashmiri people not by New Delhi.
What’s striking is that these aren’t isolated remarks: Mahmood has aligned herself with protest movements, signed motions supporting Kashmiri self-determination, and repeatedly made her views central to her political identity. If a Home Secretary is going to lecture India on Kashmir, the public has a right to ask: is she speaking as a diplomat, a domestic security minister or as an activist with an agenda?
The then Labor MP Shabana Mahmood wrote a letter, in 2015 to Narendra Modi, which was supported by over 30 Lords & MPs putting forward demands for J&k. In 2017, she wanted ‘Global Intervention n Kashmir Issue‘.
“Deeply concerned about the Indian Government’s decision to abolish #Article370, removing #Jammu and #Kashmir’s existing level of autonomy. The escalation we have seen by the Indian Government in recent days is truly shocking and it simply must stop. Human Rights Must be Upheld.” She wrote on Aug 5th, 2019
The Wrong Job Description
Here’s the blunt truth: the Home Secretary is not Britain’s Foreign Secretary. Her job is not to opine on Kashmir or make diplomatic pronouncements. Her brief is clear- policing, counter-terrorism, immigration, and internal security.
By focusing on Kashmir, Shabana Mahmood is stepping into a domain that isn’t hers, while neglecting the crises tearing Britain apart. For a minister already accused of being out of touch, this reeks of distraction, a way to look “statesmanlike” abroad while failing at home.
What We Would Like to Hear From Her
- On Grooming Gangs
Will Shabana Mahmood finally admit that decades of political cowardice allowed mass abuse to go unchecked? Will she commit to full, transparent data collection on perpetrators, including ethnicity and religious background, so the public knows the scale of the problem? - On Islamist Extremism
What concrete reforms is she making to the Prevent strategy? Does she even believe Britain is equipped to deal with online radicalization? And why are ex-officials warning that a new extremist wave is brewing while the Home Secretary appears distracted? - On Free Speech and Patriotism
Does she believe it is right that people can be harassed for waving the Union Jack while extremists march freely? If not, what is she doing to change this warped policing culture? - On Her Priorities
Does she seriously think foreign policy posturing is more urgent than child protection, counter-terrorism, and safeguarding national identity? If not, will she commit to focusing her time and authority on Britain’s internal chaos instead of lecturing India?
The Home Secretary’s first duty is simple: protect British citizens. And right now, she is failing. Grooming gangs still haunt survivors. Islamist extremists are rebuilding networks. Patriotism is treated as a crime while radicalism is excused. These are Britain’s real emergencies. And yet, the Home Secretary finds time to pontificate on Kashmir.
A minister who cannot clean her own house has no right to lecture India. Britain deserves better.
