Ankit Love

Ankit Love
Leader of the One Love Party
Assumed office
12 October 2015
Preceding office established
Head of the House of Dogra (claimant)
Assumed office
March 2015
Preceded by Hari Singh
Personal details
Born Ankit Love
(1983-08-07) 7 August 1983
New Delhi, India
Nationality Jammu and Kashmir[1]
United Kingdom
Political party One Love Party
Parents Bhim Singh
Jaya Mala
Alma mater ACS Cobham (IB Diploma)
California Institute of the Arts (attended)
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (certificate)
Occupation recording artist, director, producer, activist
Website http://ankitlove.com
http://jammukashmir.org.uk

Ankit Love (born August 7, 1983) is a Kashmiri-British recording artist, director, producer, political and environmental activist.[2][3] He founded the One Love Party, a techno-progressive British political party in October 2015.[4][5][6] He was the One Love Party's candidate for the 2016 Mayor of London election,[7] but came last with less than 1% of the vote.[8] He describes his party as revolutionary, that wishes to ban fossil fuel combustion vehicles to fight air pollution and legalise cannabis.[9][10] He wishes to reunite India and Pakistan to end the potential of nuclear war between the two.[11][12][13]

He claims to be the Emperor (Maharaja) of Jammu and Kashmir,[14][15][16] where there is an ongoing armed conflict between India and Pakistan. He is the son of Bhim Singh, former general secretary of the All India Congress Committee, founder and leader of the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party.[2][17] His mother Jaya Mala is an activist and senior advocate of the Supreme Court of India.[18][19][20]

Love's sci-fi music video "Beethoven Burst", starring Latvian actress Rain Elwood, in 2012 was the most-watched music video of the week on MTV in the United States.[21][22] His feature documentary film "Runners" was part of the Doc Corner and screened at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.[23][24]

He is the co-founder of BRIC magazine that was launched in 2013.[25][26][27] He was the editor-in-chief of MistMag a fashion and science publication.[28] A 2013 video he directed for MistMag has received over five million views.[29] He was co-founder of a women's wear brand by fashion designer Nicole Coste.[16][30][31] In 2014, Love had planned a crowd funded mission to Mars by 2022 named Unicorn White C.I.C.[30][32]

Political career

One Love Party founding

In the lead up to his nomination for the 2016 Mayor of London elections, Ankit Love was living in a 16 bed hostel dorm in Hackney, London.[33][34][35] He founded the One Love Party in a dorm room with Cambridge University graduate Finn Grant in October 2015.[4] He lived in the Shoreditch hostel for over two months to save a rental deposit. He later found a room with no windows for £600 a month under railway arches in London.[34] Before that he had lived in Belgravia and worked for luxury publication BRIC Magazine.[36][37] He borrowed the £10,000 needed as deposit to stand for the Mayor of London elections.[14][38]

London mayoral campaign

When the London mayoral nominations were announced on April 1, 2016 Ankit Love was the least known of the 12 candidates.[39] In an interview with reporter Amita Joshi, he stated "we're not politicians, we're revolutionaries," and alluded to having ties with Respect Party candidate George Galloway.[39] His father Bhim Singh and George Galloway were members of the Iraq sponsored Co-ordination Committee Against Economic Sanctions.[40]

Love wished to ban all fossil fuel combustion vehicles from London citing that nearly 9,500 people die yearly in the city from air pollution.[9][33][41] During the mayoral election, he joined protesters outside Downing Street calling for David Cameron to resign after the Panama leaks.[42][43] On the air pollution issue, Love had called on British military personnel to “oust the failed regime and replace the Prime Minister with him as the senior Minister of the Crown, so he can dictate the needed legislation.”[15] His call was labeled as a "coup" on twitter by a senior editor at Londonist.[44][45] His political party defended the demand stating it was to maintain "law & order" arguing that in April 2015 Supreme Court judges ruled "the government should be left in no doubt as to the need for immediate action to address this issue."[46] His party further cited that air pollution costs the economy £54 billion annually[47] and 200,000 people are forecast to die from it in Britain by 2021, eclipsing British WWII civilian casualties. Based on this information he believes the Government needs to urgently apply the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.[9] A few days before on a Reddit AMA, Love had quoted section 1 of the law, "contamination of land, water or air with biological, chemical or radio-active matter," that requires a Minister of the Crown to make emergency legislation to end the threat.[48][49] Referring to air pollution as CAWMDs (Chemical Air Wastes of Mass Destruction), Love's plan incorporates the "Bank of England (quantitative easing) and the British Army" to bring industrial emissions in the UK to zero as soon as possible.[9][33] In his plan all energy produced would be from clean sources such as solar, wind, tidal and hydrogen.[48] He has claimed that his clean energy proposal would make the United Kingdom energy independent and free from Middle Eastern oil and gas imports.[33]

His other policies for London included building a million new social homes by 2020, applying breakthroughs in prefabricated construction technology by Chinese company Broad Group.[45][50] These homes would be built on the 5,700 acres of land owned by TfL.[9][10][51] He was against the construction of the Garden Bridge and instead wanted to build six new bridges in East London as proposed by architect Terry Farrell.[9][52] He would like to build a bicycle superhighway designed by Norman Foster from Stratford International to Liverpool Street station suspended above railway lines that is estimated to cost £220m.[9][53]

Love also wanted London to adopt the Sentinel Space Telescope mission, driverless electric cars for public transport, maintenance drones for street repairs and legalise cannabis.[9][48][54] He wants to accelerate the adoption of rooftop photovoltaic power stations in London.[3]

In a Hindustan Times interview covering his campaign, Love expressed grievance against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for cutting his father's Z security cover and evicting him from VP House.[2][55][56] Ankit Love's father Bhim Singh then on April 29, gave a statement in support of Love's mayoral campaign to Pakistan Christian Post.[57] On May 3, 2016 Love's father held a press conference at the Chelmsford Club, New Delhi appealing to "London voters to pick Ankit Love as Mayor for peaceful Union of SE Asian States." In his statement Prof. Bhim Singh believed that Ankit Love's concept of a confederation of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh would be the best solution to the ongoing Kashmir conflict. The proposed union would include a single currency, freedom of movement, joint defence and foreign policy.[58][59]

On May 2, Love held a protest at Parliament Square against the government on the air pollution issue.[60][38]

Love was on the front page of the newspaper JammuKashmir Newspoint on Tuesday May 3, 2016, with his claim as the Maharaja.[61] This had followed Love making his claim as the Emperor of Jammu and Kashmir in an interview with TV journalist Rags Martel for ITV News, broadcast on Friday, April 29.[14] Over the next few days the story was carried by publications in India, including The Huffington Post and The Indian Express.[62][63] "All of A Sudden Kashmir has A King, Living in Exile" was the headline in Kashmir Life.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Jammu and Kashmir Sovereign Investment Authority Ltd. - Officers". Companies House - UK. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  2. 1 2 3 Sonwalkar, Prasun (April 27, 2016). "A Kashmiri Dogra who wants to be mayor of London". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  3. 1 2 "British-Kashmiri among 12 London mayor candidates". The Economic Times. April 28, 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  4. 1 2 'We're not politicians, we're revolutionaries and we're going to win,' says One Love Party London Mayor candidate Ankit Love, GetWestLondon, 7 April 2016, Amita Joshi
  5. ↑ "One Love Party registration". British Electoral Commission. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  6. ↑ "One Love Party - Manifesto". One Love Party. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  7. ↑ "Who you can vote for". London Elects. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  8. ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/may/06/uk-elections-sadiq-khan-ahead-in-london-mayoral-race-live-updates
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Ankit Love Productions - London 2016
  10. 1 2 "Sadiq Khan warns ‘thousands could miss out’ as vote registration deadline for London elections looms - South West Londoner". South West Londoner. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  11. ↑ "About". Sovereign State of Jammu and Kashmir. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  12. ↑ "The Maharaja (Emperor) of Jammu and Kashmir in London. He wishes peace and love to all his people with the dream to reunite India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.". Facebook - Ankit Love. April 20, 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  13. ↑ O'Hanlon, Michael (September 5, 2015). "What If a War Between Pakistan and India Went Nuclear?". Newsweek. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  14. 1 2 3 Martel, Rags (April 29, 2016). "Ankit Love, the One Love Party". ITV News London. Retrieved 2016-04-30 – via Facebook - ITV London.
  15. 1 2 Hancock, Edith (11 April 2016). "Is this the most regal election ever? Exiled emperor Ankit Love is running in the London mayoral elections, and wants to ban cars from the capital". City AM. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  16. 1 2 "London Live TV News - Ankit Love interview". London Live TV. April 26, 2016 – via YouTube - One Love Party.
  17. 1 2 Rashid, Saima (April 30, 2016). "All of a Sudden, Kashmir Has a King, Living in Exile!". Kashmir Life. Retrieved 2016-05-01.
  18. ↑ "Bhim Singh, Mla vs State Of J & K And Ors. on 22 November, 1985". indiankanoon.org. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
  19. ↑ "Bhim terms ongoing elections battle of Mahabharat". Daily Excelsior. November 29, 2014. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
  20. ↑ "Jaya Mala vs Home Secretary, Government Of ... on 29 July, 1982". indiankanoon.org. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
  21. ↑ Dastur-Ariswala, Nicole (April 7, 2013). "Beethoven With A Touch of Disco" (PDF). Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  22. ↑ Lauziniece, Laura (February 21, 2012). "Latviešu Modele - MTV klipa zvaigzne (Latvian Model - star of MTV video) (page 15)". Privātā Dzīve (Santa). Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  23. ↑ "RUNNERS". cinando.com. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  24. ↑ "Marche du Film - Pocket Guide 2012" (PDF). Marche du Film - Festival de Cannes. p. 22.
  25. ↑ Kahrmann, Alice (May 1, 2014). "An Interview with Lydia Vladimirskaya". The Good Web Guide. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  26. ↑ "BRIC Magazine - Issue 0". Hanzi Media Ltd. pp. 9, 97. Retrieved 2016-04-24 – via Issuu.
  27. ↑ "BRIC Launch Event 2013". ANKIT LOVE PRODUCTIONS. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  28. ↑ Templar Lewis, Katherine (October 14, 2013). "Making Science Sexy?". The Journal of Wild Culture. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  29. ↑ "Refreshing and Unexpected", MistMag, September 7, 2013, retrieved 2016-04-25 – via youtube
  30. 1 2 "Ankit Love aims to ‘Spill the Milky Way’ on the way to Mars". Music Crowns Magazine. May 7, 2014. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  31. ↑ "The Emperor". Sovereign State of Jammu and Kashmir. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  32. ↑ Joshi, Amita. "Watch London Mayor candidate let his hair down in pop music video". getwestlondon. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  33. 1 2 3 4 "Ankit Love, the Youngest Candidate to Run For London Mayor". Heart London Magazine. April 8, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  34. 1 2 Vikhrov, Natalie. "Hostel takeover as young are priced out by rising rents". Hackney Citizen. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  35. ↑ "Sharing a room with 16 people. Shoreditch hostel Lost it all for my art, homeless broke and in debt. oscarwilde". Instagram - Ankit Love. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
  36. ↑ "After extended periods of being a homeless guy, finally found work as the Contributing Editor of #BRIC+". Instagram - Ankit Love. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  37. ↑ London Evening Standard (2016-04-06), Ankit Love is standing as the One Love Party's Mayor of London candidate, retrieved 2016-04-25
  38. 1 2 Aranze, Janith (May 1, 2016). "London mayoral candidate to stage air pollution protest | Kingston Courier". Kingston Courier. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  39. 1 2 Joshi, Amita. "'We're revolutionaries and we're going to win' - One Love Party". getwestlondon. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  40. ↑ Bhushan, Bharat (November 2, 2005). "Tap opens on Iraq oil offer - I was told of help to others: Bhim". The Telegraph India. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  41. ↑ Vaughan, Adam (2015-07-15). "Nearly 9,500 people die each year in London because of air pollution – study". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  42. ↑ "Ankit Love - PM you need to quit or apply the Civil... | Facebook". Facebook - Ankit Love's page. April 16, 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  43. ↑ "The British PM you got to resign". Instagram - Ankit Love. April 16, 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
  44. ↑ "A twitter conversation between Ms. Holdworth and the One Love Party". Twitter - Rachel Holdworth. April 23, 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  45. 1 2 Holdworth, Rachel (April 25, 2016). "There’s A Mayoral Candidate Who Reckons He's An Emperor And Pledges To Stage A Military Coup". Londonist. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  46. ↑ Scott, Patrick. "Air pollution will kill 200,000 people in the UK in the next five years". Mirror. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  47. ↑ "Air pollution ‘costs UK economy £54 billion a year’". Air Quality News. April 28, 2015. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  48. 1 2 3 "Reddit AMA with Ankit Love • /r/london". Reddit. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  49. ↑ "Civil Contingencies Act 2004". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  50. ↑ "With me you get a Maharaja as your Mayor". BBC London News – via Twitter - One Love Party UK.
  51. ↑ "Property development". Transport for London. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  52. ↑ "Ankit Love will delay the Garden Bridge indefinitely! We prefer to build new bridges in East London". Twitter - One Love Party. April 23, 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  53. ↑ Wainwright, Oliver (2014-01-02). "Norman Foster unveils plans for elevated 'SkyCycle' bike routes in London". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  54. ↑ Joshi, Amita. "Mayoral elections: 11 things the One Love Party want to change". getwestlondon. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  55. ↑ "JKNPP Leaders protest against persecution". www.scoopnews.in. September 11, 2015. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  56. ↑ "‘Restore security to Bhim Singh’". State Times. June 5, 2015. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  57. ↑ "Ankit Love contesting for London Mayor Election". Pakistan Christian Post. April 29, 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-30.
  58. ↑ "World Peace crusader Prof. Bhim Singh appeals London voters to pick Ankit Love as Mayor for peaceful Union of SE". Twitter - Prof. Bhim Singh. May 3, 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  59. ↑ Ul Hassan, Ishfaq (May 5, 2016). "Prince of peace' Ankit Love tries his luck at London's mayoral poll". Daily News & Analysis. Retrieved 2016-05-05.
  60. ↑ "Our #LondonMayor2016 candidate #AnkitLove lead the youth protest against #airpollution". Twitter - One Love Party. May 3, 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  61. ↑ "Meet Ankit Love 32-year-old 'Maharaja of J&K running for London mayor". JammuKashmir Newspoint. May 3, 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  62. ↑ Bose, Adrij (May 2, 2016). "Meet Ankit Love, The 32-Year-Old 'Maharaja Of Jammu & Kashmir' Running For London Mayor". The Huffington Post - India. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  63. ↑ Sharma, Arun (May 2, 2016). "London mayoral polls: ‘Maharaja’ with message of peace". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2016-05-04.

External links

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