Stern action demanded as scourge of fascist Hindutva spreads terror in UK

Street agitation, irreligious accusations happened in Leicester after India lost cricket match to Pakistan

LONDON:

Failure against Pakistan in a cricket match incensed goons linked to world’s largest paramilitary RSS and its political wing BJP in the UK launched never-seen-before attacks on minority Muslim and other communities over the last weekend. 

The incidents of street-threatening, abuses and irreligious accusations happened in Leicester, a city in England’s East Midlands region. 

Hundreds of RSS and BJP thugs and bandits, wearing face masks and scooter helmets, passed through streets yelling abuses in an open case of hatred, mostly against Muslims. Most of them are immigrants or born to Indian-origin Hindu families.

Just a small minority of Hindu extremists in #Leicester who are causing trouble & taunting the Muslims did u say? They’re out in their hundreds then play victim online afterwards. The police told Muslims it was all under control but clearly NOT! This is the reality on the ground. pic.twitter.com/qk67GFvml4

— Majid Freeman (@Majstar7) September 17, 2022

It was late on Saturday night that the bandits came out in open and started marching against peaceful Muslims living in the city for decades.

British police have acknowledged the “disorder” created after India faced a humiliating defeat at the hands of Pakistani cricket team during the Asia Cup cricket tournament on August 28. Several people say the incident is a clear case of Islamophobia, which can lead to pogrom, and cannot be called as “communal”.

“What the Hindutva goons have done in the UK is replica of what India is doing in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and with Muslims in India,” said Fahim Kayani, a leader of British Muslim community. 

Kayani said: “the open threats and expression of anti-Muslim hatred and then run a rally against Muslim citizens is a warning that Hindutva thugs are preparing for violent Islamophobic events in the UK which can lead to pogrom of Muslims.”

He said to colour these incidents as “communal” is “injustice”. 

“Muslims are not involved, nor a party to these incidents. Muslim community is victim of this broad day light attack and the Hindutva goons have clearly said it in their rally that the Muslims should leave the country,” said Kayani, who leads Tehreek-e-Kashmir UK lobby group.

“This mindset is bred in RSS labs in India from where these goons go to Kashmir to persecute Muslim population and have now spread across the world,” said Kayani, referring to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or the RSS, the fountain head of India’s ruling regime – the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).

Narendra Modi, who is allegedly involved in 2002 genocide of Muslims in Gujarat, his home province, leads the central BJP government since 2014 – which Stanford University anthropologist Thomas Blom has described as “a regime of low-intensity terror”.

The RSS and the BJP, which believe in racial supremacy of Hindus, take inspiration from Mussolini’s fascists and Nazis of Germany.

Kayani said the actions of the Hindutva forces in the UK is an epic example of “what leads to pogrom”.

“These scenes were seen before massacre of Muslims happened in Godhra (Gujarat) in 2002 and same is being repeated in the UK which is a warning to the authorities to wake up and stop appeasing Indian rulers,” he added.

“We have been warning the British authorities of the menace that is Hindutva and now it is happening in broad day light,” said Kayani, adding: “This is a brutal attack on harmony which is part and parcel of British fabric where countless people from across continents, from different races and religions have settled here.”

Urging the British authorities to act fast, the British Muslim leader said: “such attacks are a call for organized grass-roots movement among the Muslim community to work in tandem with British authorities to take this case to logical conclusion.”

“The Hindutva thugs have to be brought to justice so as it serves as deterrent against any possible future intention of the RSS, the BJP and their affiliates in the UK,” said Kayani.

Kayani further said that British Muslim and Hindu leadership should take a strong note of the rising extremism of the RSS that is denting the harmony between the two communities in UK. Both the leaders of two communities should evolve a strategy aimed to promote religious harmony the UK.

Frustrated over inaction of the UK authorities, globally-recognised journalist and activist CJ Werleman said: “British Muslims are under attack from radicalised Hindus but UK police are making excuses for the attackers.”

The UK and India are close allies and share strategic partnership along with the US. India has been given a silent pass by its western allies, in lieu of New Delhi’s competition with China. 

A latest study carried out by Islamic Council of Victoria (Australia) has showed that around 86% of anti-Muslim content on twitter comes from the US, the UK and India.

On Indian users sharing anti-Muslim content, the research blames the BJP for the dissemination and amplification of anti-Muslim hate, saying, “(the) BJP has actively normalised hatred towards Muslims such that 55.12 per cent of anti-Muslim hatred tweets now originate in India.”

Commenting on a video interview of a Hindutva fascist during the anti-Muslim rally, Sweden-based Professor of Indian-origin Ashok Swain commented: “If these Hindu supremacists in Leicester are worried about increasing Muslim population in India, why have they escaped to the UK, not coming back to India?”

Riots continue in Leicester, England. Hindu far right groups shouting ‘Jai Sri Ram’ and attacking Muslims on the streets. pic.twitter.com/97fTIBsBiX

— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) September 18, 2022

Athens-based Cas Mudde said on Twitter that Hindutva was a global movement and “it is deeply naive to think its radicalism and violence will stay contained to India. Particularly worrying for UK, but could also come to US.”

Linking the Saturday-night anti-Muslim march to RSS and BJP, Swain suggested the UK authorities that any diaspora group “celebrating the home country's regime must lose the right to the host country's protection on the ground of political persecution.”

According to him, the Leicester violence shows that “British Indians are the primary suspects.”

“Hindu supremacists have changed India and Hindus living abroad,” Swain added.