On 5 January The Telegraph published a piece called “Hindus warn Labour against ‘chilling’ Islamophobia definition”, about a letter from Hindu Council UK to Communities Secretary Steve Reed. The piece gives the impression that the position taken by Hindu Council UK reflects the views of British Hindus at large. It does not.
The piece attempts to discredit an already diluted definition of Islamophobia. It legitimises a group rooted in Hindutva ideology, despite last year’s leaked report revealing that the UK government itself identified Hindutva/Hindu nationalism as an extremist threat. It frames efforts to tackle Islamophobia as a special concession to Muslims, ignoring the fact that there is a long-established definition of antisemitism and that the state of Islamophobia in this country urgently necessitates further action. Tell MAMA reports an 800–1000% increase in Anti-Muslim hate cases since 2012, and the Islamophobia Response Unit recorded a 763% rise following October 2023, underscoring the urgent need for stronger protections.
Rajiv Sinha from HfHR UK speaking at conference on Islamophobia in Leicester, 17 December 2025
Those issuing this “warning” to the government are themselves significant contributors to Islamophobia. Anil Bhanot, Director of Hindu Council UK, described himself in now-removed tweets as “Hindutva” and said that “Islam is a religion of violence.” He continued, “Islam’s dawah is an evil tenet and the sooner it’s legislated against in parliament the better. It turns muslims into Shaitans, as in love Jihad too.” Love jihad is an Islamophobic conspiracy theory. Bhanot went on: “Hinduism is the father of all religions. Islam is a bad copy. Islam is against humanity” and is an “invasion into minds”.
Anil Bhanot’s tweets, from 5Pillars Article: Islamophobic Hindu Council UK director steps down
Bhanot had been awarded an OBE for his services towards inter-faith relations in 2010. These tweets led to his OBE being stripped in December 2024. It is not in any way appropriate or credible for a person or organisation with such beliefs to be weighing in on how the state defines and tackles Islamophobia or anti-Muslim hate. Likewise the state should not be quoting, consulting, or legitimising anyone with these views.
Furthermore, the same so-called “community leaders” who are warning the government about the definition of Islamophobia being ‘exploited or misused’ are themselves campaigning to get the government to adopt false and harmful definitions of religiously motivated hate crimes against Hindus, building a disinformation narrative of “Hinduphobia”. There is increasing racial and religiously motivated crime overall, yet there is no evidence to suggest that Hindus are being disproportionately affected by this. In fact Hindus perform very well on social and economic indicators, enjoying top ranks in measures like income, wealth, education, prison rates, and more when compared with all religious minorities. Muslims, on the other hand, are experiencing an increase in targeted attacks and discrimination, a fact borne out clearly in the NGO statistics above as well as official statistics and mainstream discourse.
It is deeply contradictory that these far-right Hindu ideologues have warned against conflating criticism of a religion with attacking adherents of that religion when they set out to create just such a conflation in their document, the “Hindu Manifesto”. This manifesto, co-published by Hindu Council UK and 73 aligned organisations during the British general election 2024, lists examples of anti-Hindu hate that seem to make up an attempt to shut down criticism of their political ideology of Hindutva.
Vigil for Indian Democracy led by South Asia Solidarity Group, 5 May 2024
The Hindu Council UK’s letter to the government states that “freedom of expression includes the right to offend, to challenge and to criticise ideas, indeed Hinduism encourages intellectual debates that has made it robust.”
We therefore question why Hindu Council UK is trying, through the Hindu Manifesto for example, to make it illegal to “Accus[e] those who organise around anti-Hindu hate of being agents or pawns of violent, political agendas”. We believe that this “accusation”, though it may be found offensive by some, belongs well within the realm of freedom of expression, the right to offend, and the right to criticise ideas.
Given that the expressed and clearly evidenced ideological leanings of leading figures within the Hindu Council UK, and the broader Hindutva movement in this country, centres on anti-Muslim hate, the input of these people and groups on the topic of anti-Muslim hate is totally unworthy of consideration.
Hindu Council UK’s input on Islamophobia lacks credibility. Muslim communities must be central to defining and addressing Islamophobia, not those with a history of promoting it.
This is a joint statement issued by the following Indian diaspora & British Muslim organisations:
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- Hindus for Human Rights UK (HfHR UK)
- UK-Indian Muslim Council (UK-IMC)
- South Asia Solidarity Group (SASG)
- India Labour Solidarity (ILS)
- Muslim Engagement & Development (MEND)
Rajiv’s TiTok on FORSEA-published statement. https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNRhtQ81M/
