UK mob violence exposes deep, disturbing reach of India's Hindutva agenda in diaspora

A string of controversial events involving Indian communities around the world, from violence to sectarian politics, have recently thrown into sharp relief the existence of strong and active global networks of Hindu nationalists.

Such controversies are likely to become more frequent and bring violent repercussions, analysts warn, as Hindu nationalists grow stronger and bolder across continents, secure in their backing by India's powerful Hindu nationalist - also known as Hindutva - ecosystem and the Narendra Modi government in New Delhi.

Over the last two months, clashes broke out repeatedly between members of the Hindu and the Muslim communities in the British city of Leicester, over reasons from a cricket match to rumours and distrust triggered by social media disinformation.

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According to local reports, fans packed the city's streets after the Indian team lost a cricket match to arch-rivals Pakistan in August, chanting slogans such as Pakistan Murdabad (Death to Pakistan) to Jai Shri Ram (Hail, Lord Ram).

Violence continued to erupt in September. Leicester police arrested at least 55 people in September for offences including common assault, violent disorder and possession of offensive weapons.

Leicester Member of Parliament Claudia Webbe, in a letter to local police, said residents told her the violence had been driven, in part, by "underlying Islamophobia in parts of Leicester's communities, rather than an isolated incident".

Across the Atlantic earlier this month, Hindu activists in Canada's Brampton city were up in arms after a signage board for a park named after the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu holy scripture, was allegedly vandalised.

In August, celebrations in New Jersey in the United States for India's 75th independence day turned sour after local Hindus included a yellow bulldozer among the parade, accompanied by photos of Yogi Adityanath, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. A hardline Hindu nationalist, Adityanath has previously threatened violence against Muslims and targeted Muslim homes with bulldozers.

Last year, Hindu nationalist internet trolls and groups mounted intimidation campaigns against participants of a conference titled "Dismantling Global Hindutva", including sending them death threats.

"None of this is new at all," said Amrit Wilson, author and member of the UK-based South Asia Solidarity Group, which campaigns on human rights issues. "Over time, deep divisions had been created by Hindu nationalists between different communities."

A common thread weaving through most of these incidents has been the response of the Indian government. Days into the Leicester violence, the Modi government issued an unusually partisan statement.

"We strongly condemn the violence perpetrated against the Indian community in Leicester and vandalisation of premises and symbols of Hindu religion," the statement from the High Commission of India in London said, singling out the Hindu symbols as targets of attack, adding that it had sought "immediate action" against those involved in the attacks.

Similarly, the Indian High Commission in Ottawa was quick to react to allegations the signage in Brampton park was vandalised. The commission termed it "a hate crime" and asked authorities to take prompt action "against the perpetrators". Investigation later proved there was no vandalism involved.

This correspondent tried to reach out to three major Hindutva groups across the UK and Europe - the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, the Hindu Forum of Britain and the Hindu Forum Germany - but none of them were willing to speak on the subject. Similar attempts were made to contact India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), without avail.

Activists say the recent events are not surprising, given that Hindutva groups have been pushing the Hindu nationalist agenda abroad for a while now.

Hindutva groups in the UK have refused to accept there is caste-based discrimination in the country, according to Ravi Kumar of the UK-based Anti-Caste Discrimination Alliance (ACDA). His organisation has been urging the British government to criminalise such discrimination.

"We have pushed the government repeatedly to bring a law against this discrimination, but the plans are now firmly in cold storage, thanks to the efforts of the Hindu nationalist groups," Kumar said.

Wilson, the author, said the strong sentiments were fuelled by the flood of communally charged disinformation and Islamophobic content on Indian social media and messaging applications.

"Incendiary propaganda has been circulating for years among the Hindu communities, very similar to the propaganda that circulates in India, especially on WhatsApp and social media platforms," she said.

Many, including UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman, have blamed the Leicester violence on new immigrants, attributing it to the "failure to integrate large numbers of newcomers".

Wilson said many in the Indian immigrant community often embraced hardline Hindu nationalism as a way to "hold on to their roots".

"Many of them were indoctrinated before they came to the UK," she said, referring to not just those born in India but also the "twice migrants", a term used to denote people of Indian origin who had to migrate to the UK from countries other than those in South Asia.

According to UK government data, nearly 42 per cent of people of Indian origin in the country were born in South Asian countries while 11.1 per cent were born in South and Eastern Africa.

The presence of people of Indian origin in those countries encouraged the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a prominent Hindu nationalist umbrella organisation, to open its first overseas branch in Kenya in 1947.

The RSS expanded rapidly in Kenya and Uganda following the migration of Indians there, according to the book Religion, Caste and Politics in India. Many who were active with the RSS in those countries later continued their work when they moved elsewhere, including the UK.

Another aspect that has helped the overseas Hindu nationalist movement is their takeover of the cultural space, according to Rohit Chopra, associate professor at the Santa Clara University's College of Arts and Sciences.

"For instance, in the US, which is really ground zero for the global Hindutva project, Hindu nationalist groups would organise dinners during Diwali, or organise camps where Hindu children could learn about Ramayana and Mahabharata," Chopra said, referring to the two Hindu mythological epics.

Often, these groups also help migrants with visa issues, or assist incoming students from India with problems they might face on arrival, Chopra added.

Such strategies are commonly employed by Hindu nationalists across the globe. In Taiwan, where the Hindu community is still fledgling, Hindutva groups have reportedly pitched in with Hindi classes for children and Mandarin lessons for older Indians, in a bid to hold on to their identity and aid integration.

The BJP has also stepped up its efforts to engage the diaspora in the last few years.

In 2003, under then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the BJP-led government initiated a programme, Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, to draw the diaspora community into domestic politics and development works. The Modi government has been taking steps to extend voting rights to non-resident Indians abroad who continue to retain Indian citizenship.

Chopra said such focus on the diaspora helped the BJP, with funding being one key aspect.

One example was the Ram Janmabhoomi movement which was funded mostly by overseas Indians, he said, referring to a BJP campaign in the 1980s to build a temple for the deity Ram in place of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya. Hindu nationalists ended up demolishing the mosque in 1992, engulfing the nation in communal violence and riots.

In 2018, the Indian parliament approved an amendment to funding laws that allow political parties to accept funding from foreign sources.

The BJP also taps into the network of diaspora Indians during elections, asking them to volunteer and campaign for the party - for example, it tried to get 5,000 non-resident Indians to canvass support in their respective hometowns during the 2009 general election.

With such benefits, analysts say the focus on the Indian diaspora, especially among Hindu nationalists, is only going to intensify.

"In the last eight years, since the Modi government took charge, these Hindutva networks have only grown stronger, they are bolder, the aggression is much more open," Chopra said, adding the funds and resources of the diaspora, and the Hindu right-wing mobilising it, were "immense".

Wilson, the author, agreed displays of Hindutva were only likely to grow more frequent and, possibly, uglier.

"There is no doubt that the RSS will go on (with its activities in the diaspora)," she said. "What happened in Leicester was essentially just a trial balloon. They will try this elsewhere."

But there is growing resistance. In August, organisers of the New Jersey parade with the bulldozer were forced to apologise after facing severe criticism. Following protests, UK organisers last month cancelled events involving Sadhvi Ritambhara, a controversial far-right Hindu nationalist.

Many like the ACDA's Kumar still worry that social media disinformation and misinformation would continue to fuel anger and hate among communities.

"There are narratives and counter-narratives being produced on social media and fake news is circulated constantly," Kumar said.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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