My journey with Hindus for Human Rights UK is deeply personal. Witnessing the rise of supremacy in India over the past decade and its profound impact on both Indian and global politics, I felt compelled to act. Thus, Hindus for Human Rights UK was founded 11 months ago, to combat the rising tide of Hindu supremacy in Britain.
There are over a million Hindus in Britain, and there is evidence that the advocacy groups claiming to represent us as Hindus are connected to fascist organisations. These groups may have contributed to the “unrest” of Leicester in August-September 2022. They, and their Indian counterparts, have also been linked to serious cases of international repression. And, alarmingly, these groups made their mark on the British general election that has just passed, amassing more than 20 endorsements of their so-called “Hindu Manifesto” from parliamentary candidates across the political spectrum.
Amidst the rise of the global far-right and hate politics, it is crucial that we ensure there are progressive, inclusive representations of our Hindu way of life. Here is why.
Hindu supremacists are part of the British political landscape
A report by Byline Times reveals a disturbing network of Hindu right-wing organisations in the UK, including the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), the overseas wing of the RSS – the ideological parent of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Other groups like the Hindu Council UK and the charity Sewa International, which was implicated in funding violent communal attacks in Gujarat in 2002, also play significant roles in promoting Hindu supremacist ideologies here.
The 2002 Gujarat pogrom was among the worst instances of communal violence in India’s recent history. More than 1200 people – mostly Muslims – were killed (numbers vary by source), including British citizens such as Sakil Dawood, Saeed Dawood, and Mohammed Aswat. Instead of making any attempt to halt this violence, Gujarat’s chief minister at the time, Narendra Modi, “instructed his administration to do nothing” as Hindus went on a violent spree.
Valiant whistleblower Sanjiv Bhatt was imprisoned; BJP leader Haren Pandya was assassinated before an inquiry at which he was due to testify. Controversy re-emerged in January 2023 when the BBC released a two-part documentary series containing a strong circumstantial case for Modi’s complicity in 2002, as well as revealing memos showing the British government’s criticism of Modi’s conduct. The Indian government banned the documentary and the BBC’s offices in Delhi and Mumbai were raided by tax authorities.
Organised Hindutva presence in the UK
This family of organisations played a role in the events of Leicester 2022, where “violent confrontations between groups of Hindu and Muslim men” broke out. A recent, in-depth report concluded that tensions in the UK have been “inflamed” by these outside voices.
In Leicester 2022, the involvement of these organisations culminated in violent confrontations between Hindu and Muslim groups. An in-depth investigation explored how the escalation of tensions had been ‘inflamed’ by outside voices, notably those promoting Hindu nationalism. This violence shocked many, exposing the deep-rooted impact of years of misinformation and bigotry spread by thousands of Hindu supremacists via social media and other channels.
British media outlets could not find a Hindu voice that would speak against this violence – they could only find the original, US-based Hindus for Human Rights, underscoring the need for a UK-based equivalent.
A summary of the report states:
“While the initial response of many in the city was to point the finger of blame at a cricket match between India and Pakistan, the potential involvement of Hindutva [Hindu nationalism/supremacy] was clear from early on. This was no more apparent than when 200-plus Hindu men marched through a Muslim-majority area of east Leicester wearing masks, hoodies, and balaclavas, chanting “Jai Shri Ram” (meaning “Hail Lord Ram”) a phrase synonymous with Hindu nationalist violence in India.”
Leicester saw a flare-up of Hindutva activity on April 17, 2024, the Hindu celebration day of Ram Navami, when a crowd gathered on a street carrying saffron flags and chanting incendiary phrases that evoke violence against Muslims and Muslim culture in India. A video tweeted by the UK-Indian Muslim Council (UK-IMC) shows what it describes as a “Hindutva mob chant[ing] ‘Ayodhya was just a glimpse, Kashi and Mathura are left. O Lord Krishna, we will come and build the temple right there for you. We are Hindu, and Hindu rashtra [state] is ours’.” This refers to the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, India, which was consecrated personally by Prime Minister Modi earlier this year, having been built on top of the ruins of a mosque that was destroyed by a Hindutva mob in 1992. The chant declares the desire of many on the Hindu far-right to repeat their destructive assault in other areas.
In London, on March 17, over 250 cars travelled from Northolt to Neasden, ending at the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir. This large car rally was intended to proclaim ‘unwavering support’ for Prime Minister Modi and the ruling BJP party ahead of India’s general election. Bob Blackman, Conservative MP for Harrow East who is no stranger to courting the Hindu far-right, is reported to have been in attendance.
On April 28, a crowd described as a “flash mob” took part in a “Run for Modi” in Westminster, London. This event may have been first documented in this tweet and was later picked up by Asian News International. The crowd was openly promoting the BJP right in front of parliament. This event and the Run for Modi in Westminster were arranged by one group, the Overseas Friends of BJP UK.
Hindus for Human Rights UK is addressing this hate politics. We responded to the events of Ram Navami, outlining our outrage as Hindu Brits at the chanting that took place, which does not happen in our name. I expressed my sadness and anger at the Run for Modi in Westminster, calling on the government to address the problem of Hindu supremacy. We also responded in support of our friend Professor Nitasha Kaul after her ordeal earlier this year. In February Professor Kaul, an Overseas Citizen of India, was denied entry to India, held at the airport, and then deported back to the UK after being invited by the state government of Karnataka to “speak on democratic values”.
This all culminated in the “Hindu Manifesto” put forward during the 2024 UK general election. The document was created and promoted by the usual Hindu nationalist lobby organisations: Hindu Council UK, Hindu Forum of Britain, HSS, INSIGHT UK, and many more, totalling 66 organisations. It is designed to silence dissent within our community, including many Hindus who take strong stands against injustice, whether it arises from practices within or without.
The manifesto contains a range of mischaracterisations and bait-and-switch tactics that, if brought into law as per the request of its creators, would make it more difficult to condemn certain forms of discrimination like casteism and misogyny. It would also provide India’s BJP government with cover from scrutiny. We, Hindus for Human Rights UK, put out a statement on X (formerly Twitter) explaining and rejecting the Manifesto, proving that there is now an organised, progressive Hindu voice prepared to speak out against the manipulation of our faith.
Crisis of British Hindu representation
The issue obviously is not that people are assembled or engaged in public action – that freedom should be welcomed. But these public actions openly inciting hate point to the failure of the British government to deal with Hindu nationalism head-on. If our political representatives were having the right kind of public conversations about the BJP’s flagrant, systematic human rights abuses, then we might expect to find more awareness of these issues in British society and to find fewer elements actively promoting them.
Rishi Sunak’s administration had, for example, a choice of how to engage with symbolic dates this year like India’s Republic Day on January 26 or Martyrs’ Day on January 30, which in part commemorates Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination at the hands of an extremist Hindu nationalist (who had been a member of the RSS). Sunak’s government could have marked the occasions by admitting that unity between India’s many religions and communities is at a low point and the Republic of India’s secular democracy is under threat. And, most importantly, the British government could have spoken out about the flurry of hate speech coming from Modi and other senior officials during their election campaign. Their boldness would have been vindicated by the electoral result.
I recently met up with an Indian-origin student doing an MA at King’s College London. I asked her why she thought progressive Hindus around the world might feel lost in response to the far-right politics of India. She hypothesised that “diaspora groups flock to the BJP and partner groups because they’re so sick of being underrepresented or even racially targeted that they’ll support any organisation that is at least speaking up for them”.
Now, if you are a progressive, all-loving Hindu, you don’t need to flock to just ‘any organisation’. Hindus for Human Rights UK is putting forward a crucial, compassionate vision of our culture and faith. We call for an united front against all forms of bigotry. Our vision is of an inclusive Hinduism that ends the caste system and loves and respects all religions, genders, sexualities, and our environment. Let us remember the essence of our beloved tradition: vasudhaiva kutumbakam – the world is one family.
Rajiv Sinha is the Director of Hindus for Human Rights UK.
