A 22-year-old wheelchair-bound Indian-origin woman, suffering from cerebral-palsy, plans to skydive from more than 14,000 feet to raise funds to fight against ‘racism and fascism’ in the U.K.
Rupy Kaur, a disability activist who was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, will undertake the feat on December 6 in Lake District, a picturesque region in northwest of England. She comes from a family of fighters of justice.
“Just because you are disabled it does not mean you cannot participate in extreme sports. Obviously, you’ve got to think about the pros and cons but it should not hold you back,” Ms. Kaur said. .
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Stating that she is proud of her Indian origin, Ms. Kaur, a psychology graduate of Manchester University said money raised from the act would go towards two of Britain’s best-known groups campaigning against ‘fascism and racism’ - Searchlight and Hope Not Hate.
Her move comes amid recent violent demonstrations by racist and anti-immigration groups in towns and cities with large non-white populations in Britain.
Ms. Kaur is particularly critical of the anti-immigration British National Party (BNP) which is in the midst of a major controversy over a decision by BBC television to invite its leader to participate in a popular current affairs panel discussion show Question Time this week.
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Ms. Kaur said, “When I first heard of the BNP, I thought nobody would be that stupid as to vote for them. There have been many wars and nobody would want to incite hatred, would they. The sad fact is there are people who support them.”
“BNP has more than 50 elected representatives in local authorities all over Britain and two in the European Parliament.”
BNP leader Nick Griffin on Monday claimed that his Question Time invitation marks the BNP’s arrival “in the British political system” and argued that some Sikhs and Hindus now supported the far-right party.