Review Launched Into Hindu–Muslim Unrest in Leicester

Police officers on duty in the United Kingdom, on Sept. 17, 2017. Peter Nicholls/Reuters

The government has commissioned an independent review into the violence between the Hindu and Muslim communities in Leicester last year.

Leicester, known for its ethnic diversity, saw serious incidents of disorder following India’s victory over Pakistan in an Asia Cup cricket match on Aug. 28, 2022.

Groups of men from the Hindu and Muslim communities, mostly masked or hooded, were seen in tense confrontations and stand-offs on the city’s streets, leading to dozens of arrests.

The unrest also spread to Birmingham, also a city with large South Asian populations.

In a statement on Friday, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said, “In September 2022, community tensions led to a spate of vandalism, assaults, and attacks on places of worship and other properties in Leicester, in some cases highlighting divisions between different groups across the city and beyond.”

The government said that a review has been commissioned to establish the causes of the unrest.

A panel of experts, led by Lord Ian Austin, will provide recommendations to improve relations between the Muslim and Hindu communities.

‘Shocking and Upsetting’

Communities Secretary Michael Gove said: “Leicester has a proud history of community cohesion, which makes last year’s disorder all the more shocking and upsetting. This review will build a thorough understanding of the specific events that took place and what can be learned from them.

“I have spoken to both the home secretary and the mayor of Leicester to underline the importance of protecting all parts of the community in Leicester and we will not tolerate attempts to foster division or violence among people or between religious groups.”

Leicester City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said he welcomed the decision, adding, “I would want Leicester and other cities to be able to learn from its findings and to understand what needs to be done to ensure that our community cohesion is never again threatened in this way.”

India–Pakistan Tensions

During the unrest, both the Indian and Pakistani governments condemned the violence, but their statements presented very different versions of events.

The Indian government said the Indian community and its Hindu religion had been under attack in Leicester, and condemned “the violence perpetrated against the Indian community in Leicester and vandalisation of premises and symbols of Hindu religion.”

Pakistan claimed the Muslim community in Leicester had been suffering from Islamophobia.

The Pakistan High Commission in London said: “We strongly condemn the campaign of violence and intimidation that has been unleashed against the Muslims of the area. This is not the first time such Islamophobic incidents have been reported in Leicester.”

Social Media Influencers

In its analysis of the unrest, the Henry Jackson Society (HJS), a London-based national security think tank, claimed that radical social media influencers pushed false claims that Hindu nationalist groups were behind attacks in Leicester, sparking a backlash against the Hindu community.

The “Hindu-Muslim Civil Unrest in Leicester” report, published in November, said that this was a micro-community cohesion issue with Muslim and Hindu youth holding prejudicial attitudes towards one other.

But in the immediate aftermath of the protests, mainstream media outlets focused their attention on the alleged role of Hindutva, or Hindu nationalism, in stoking the unrest.

HJS research fellow Charlotte Littlewood told The Epoch Times that false information was shared on social media platforms to spread rumours about the activities of Hindutva even though evidence of a Hindu nationalist presence in the UK is tenuous.

Some of the claims included accusations Hindu nationalists attacked a mosque, a man tried to kidnap a schoolgirl, and that three men had harassed a 14-year-old girl.

All three claims were rebutted by Leicester police.

The HJS report states that the successful spread of these claims led to a security threat posed to the Hindu community and attacks on their places of worship.

Owen Evans and PA Media contributed to this report.