The British State is Right: Hindutva is an ‘ideology of concern’ in the UK

Banner: Rally by the Overseas Friends of BJP (UK) outside parliament in the run up to the UK general election. Photo: Rajiv Sinha

The British state has correctly identified in two separate documents the hateful ideology of Hindutva as ‘breeding grounds for extremism’ in the UK, even if it didn’t want us to find out.

Hindutva is a political ideology of Hindu supremacy and nationalism that seeks the creation of India as an explicitly Hindu state, overturning post-independence secularism. It is the official ideology of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, well known for his hate speech. There is an extensive Hindu nationalist lobby in the United Kingdom (and in many countries around the world).

On 27th January 2025, The Guardian announced that a report commissioned by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper herself listed Hindu nationalism, misogyny, and the manosphere as ‘extremist ideologies and beliefs’. This report, leaked to a think tank, was the first time (we know of) that Hindutva has been linked by a government official to the unrest in Leicester 2022.

Then on 30th March the Daily Mail reported that it had seen a police intelligence report that expresses concern that, ‘British Hindu extremists are forming alliances with Far-Right groups over their ‘common hatred’ of Muslims’. This is reminiscent of my op-ed in The Wire from September called, “Hindu supremacists and White Supremacists Have one thing in common for now: Islamophobia”.

It’s encouraging that these reports recognize the growing influence of Hindutva — not just as a fringe ideology, but as a force that threatens pluralism and interfaith unity in the UK. Last year Hindus for Human Rights UK was central in highlighting the collaboration between Hindu supremacists and white supremacists, for example Tommy Robinson. We widely publicised the fact that Robinson had been platformed by several Hindutva figures to stir up hatred and division.

Tommy Robinson’s appearance on CNN-News18, spouting hate and disinformation with no journalistic opposition.

In response to these reports, many affiliated with the Hindutva ecosystem have reacted with predictable outrage and attempts to discredit information and silence critics. INSIGHT UK, a right-wing Hindu organisation that openly promotes disinformation and hate, has said it is filing a complaint against the Daily Mail. Hindus for Labour said, ‘No credible Hindu organisation in the UK has aligned itself with any right-wing British group’. The worlds of human rights, academia, and free journalism disagree. We know that these organisations are tied to the far right, it’s extensively documented.

There is concern that international political considerations will affect the willingness of our government to address these problems. We must not end up in a situation where growing trade ties with India leads to silence in the face of India’s violations of democratic norms and human rights domestically and abroad. We have to get serious so that the UK isn’t next on the transnational repression list, yet we have to take the right approach too.

The secret police report is correct to say Hindutva ‘may worsen community relationships between Hindus and other faith groups like Muslims and Sikhs’, but we must also disavow the failed “war on terror” approach that relies on broadbrush securitisation and policing of minority communities.

Instead, we know that the way out of this is to support internal community efforts towards peace, dialogue, and reconciliation. Resisting Hindutva isn’t about targeting Hindus — it’s about protecting Hinduism from being co-opted by authoritarian ideologies. The most effective resistance to Hindutva comes from within the Hindu community itself. Groups like Hindus for Human Rights UK are reclaiming a spiritual and cultural identity rooted in nonviolence, equity, and care for all. This is not a campaign of fear — it’s a movement for peace, justice, and the soul of our communities.

Rajiv Sinha
Director of Hindus for Human Rights UK

HfHR-UK is an anti-caste, anti-Hindutva progressive Hindu organisation. It advocates  for pluralism, civil and human rights in South Asia, the United Kingdom, North America, and across the South Asian diaspora, rooted in the values of shanti (peace), nyaya (justice) and satya (truth).

Hindutva Watch (HW) is a media and research initiative committed to documenting hate crimes and hate speech targeting India’s religious minorities and marginalized groups, including Dalits. The project has been described by the Washington Post as “one of the most robust real-time data sets of human rights abuses in the world’s largest democracy.”

Hindus for Human Rights UK gathering: community work focussing on dialogue is the way through this situation.