Hindu-Muslim Civil Unrest in Leicester: “Hindutva” and the Creation of a False Narrative

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Hindu-Muslim Civil Unrest in Leicester: “Hindutva” and the Creation of a False Narrative

31st October 2022 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

From 4th-20th September 2022, there was significant civil unrest between ethnic minority groups in Leicester, including vandalism of property, assaults, stabbings and attacks on places of worship. Most notably, on the weekend of 17th September, marches comprised of Hindu and Muslim adherents occurred in the city, accompanied by chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Allah u Akhbar’. Some Hindu and Muslim protestors wore balaclavas and others were arrested for possession of weapons. At present there have been 55 arrests/voluntary police interviews.

Following the protests, Charlotte Littlewood, a Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, investigated the underlying tensions. Spending time in Leicester conducting interviews with both Muslim and Hindu residents, compiling social media evidence, video evidence, police reports and statements. She observed a community cohesion breakdown pertaining to loud festivals, antisocial behaviour and a conflict between Muslim youth and Hindu youth stemming from territorial attitudes towards one another. The report that has resulted is the first in-depth collation of evidence and analyses of what led to the unrest.

Contrary to press reports at the time, the investigations did not find Hindutva extremist organisations operating in Leicester, but instead discovered a micro-community cohesion issue falsely presented as an issue of organised Hindutva extremism and terrorism. It finds that false allegations of RSS terrorists and Hindutva extremist organisations active in the UK has put the wider Hindu community at risk from hate, vandalism and assault. Some members of the Hindu community in Leicester imposed a voluntary curfew, some relocated to stay with family or friends until they felt safe to return, while still others were unable to return to work owing to fears for their personal safety.

To discuss this report, The Henry Jackson Society is pleased to invite you to hear from the author of the report, Charlotte Littlewood; head of Vichaar Manchan UK, Ravi Lakhani, a Leicester resident who continues to work with the Leicester community as it looks towards how it can heal and move forwards; and Fiyaz Mughal, Founder of Faith Matters and Tell Mama UK, on his expert experience in community relation building.

 

 

Ravi Lakhani is the National Co-ordinator for Vichaar Manthan UK, a platform dedicated to addressing the challenges facing British society through a sustainable and liberal lens. Having done a BSc in Medicine, Ravi now works as a Senior Analyst in Private Equity. He is currently pursuing his Masters in Finance at London Business School.

 

 

Fiyaz Mughal began his career working with the Citizens Advice Bureau in London. He went on to work as a lecturer at two different colleges, City & Islington College and Oxford College of Further Education. Then, he represented residents as an elected City Councillor at Oxford City Council & Haringey Council.

From 2004-2006, Fiyaz served as the project director for Diverse Trust, a group seeking to create meaningful connections between Muslim and Jewish Youth. Fiyaz also served as the Chief Executive officer for Enfield Citizens Advice Bureau before moving on to found Faith Matters in 2005 and Tell MAMA in 2012. While working in both Faith Matters and Tell MAMA, Fiyaz sought to develop social cohesion and worked on anti-extremism projects. For his work in supporting integration, social cohesion, countering extremism and tackling hate crime work, he was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

 

 

Charlotte Littlewood is a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society. She is a PhD candidate in Arab and Islamic studies with the University of Exeter University. Her research focuses on minority within Muslim minority conflict in the UK, in particular the persecution of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the extent to which the UK is able to support this community.

Charlotte started her career as a Prevent practitioner on behalf of the UK government, going on to be a Counter-Extremism Coordinator for an East London Borough. From this Charlotte went on to found her own community interest company with the aim of countering extremism and promoting equality. She developed and took projects that focused on women’s rights and tackling domestic violence to the West Bank, Palestine. Alongside this she consulted for Muslims Against Antisemitism, working towards greater tolerance and cohesion between communities in the UK.

Charlotte has a LLB in Law and MA in Security and Strategy.

 

 

James Spencer is Director of Communications at The Henry Jackson Society.

 

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EVENT SUMMARY

 

 

The Henry Jackson Society was pleased to welcome Ravi Lakhani and Fiyaz Mughal OBE to Charlotte Littlewood’s report launch on the civil unrest between the Muslim and Hindu community in Leicester and the false claims of Hindutva or RSS terrorists, propagated by the media. James Spencer began by introducing the speakers. Charlotte Littlewood then started the discussion by stating that when she visited Leicester, the community cohesion breakdown and religious prejudice between Hindu and Muslim young men were evident. She then stated that this had been narrated as Hindutva extremism & RSS terrorism from the subcontinent, which had created a wider threat to the Hindu community across the country. Ravi Lakhani then addressed the issue of Muslim patrols and the experience of attacks in Leicester, whilst stating that we must examine what is going on in our liberal society that we are giving illiberal people a platform. Fiyaz Mughal OBE highlighted that the issue has been fermented into an international issue by local actors and that any independent reviewer must give a sense of safety to these communities. Finally, the speakers answered questions on Islamophobia within the Hindu community, what justice looks like for this community, and what is being done regarding influencers who portrayed this false narrative.

 

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Details

Date:
31st October 2022
Time:
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Venue

Millbank Tower, 21-24 Millbank, London, England, SW1P 4QP
21-24 Millbank
Westminster, SW1P 4QP United Kingdom
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Other

SPEAKER
Ravi Lakhani, Charlotte Littlewood, Fiyaz Mughal OBE

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