Climate groups, the Indian diaspora organization South Asia Solidarity Group, and pro-Palestinian organizations protested the opening of a new gallery sponsored by the Indian conglomerate Gautam Adani’s Green Energy at the London Science Museum.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the museum authority faced criticism for accepting sponsorship from Modi’s best friend and ally, Adani, for the gallery, leading to a demonstration where over 150 individuals occupied the museum.
The protesters said that the museum authority allowed Adani, the world’s largest private coal miner and exporter of arms to Israel, to greenwash his activities by sponsoring the Energy Revolution exhibit. The Adani-sponsored gallery, named Adani Green Energy Gallery aims to showcase how renewable energy can combat climate change.
Protesters unfurled a large banner depicting Adivasi women opposing Adani’s operations in India. They said that Adani was forcibly displacing Adivasi communities from their ancestral lands. They also said Adani was profiting from the war in Gaza through its partnership with Israeli weapon manufacturers Elbit Systems and that he was complicit in the Gaza genocide. They pointed out that Elbit Systems manufactures 85% of the Hermes 900 drones that the Israel forces used in Gaza.
Mukti Shah, from South Asia Solidarity Group, said: “Modi’s best friend, ally and bankroller Adani manufactures drones and guns which are used in the genocide against Palestinians and to kill and maim Kashmiris and people protesting in India. Adani is displacing indigenous Adivasi communities in India from their lands on a huge scale. Adani bankrolls Narendra Modi’s violent Hindu-supremacist government in India which is committing ethnic cleansing against minorities. It is shocking and shameful that the Science Museum is helping to greenwash this murderous corporation by accepting its sponsorship.”
Some protesters wore masks depicting Modi, Adani, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Science Museum director Ian Blatchford, to symbolically indicate the close relationships between them and their joint role in perpetuating climate destruction, fascism, and genocide.
Gautam Adani is the founder and chairman of the Adani Group, one of the largest business conglomerates in India. Adani’s success has skyrocketed, thanks to help from Indian Prime Minister Modi. They’ve been connected since Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat. Accusations of cronyism have trailed Adani as he acquired assets such as ports, airport contracts, and coal mines throughout India, rapidly ascending to become one of the largest and most influential businessmen in the country.—KMS
