Hindus in Leicester expressed their displeasure with the media for portraying the violent altercations following the India-Pakistan cricket match as an example of Hindu-Muslim
animosity.
Hindu inhabitants complained that the media did not highlight their distress and
instead turned this into a Hindu-Muslim conflict, according to Arshia Malik in Asian Lite
International.
Malik continued, “However, it was evident that conflicts had the hallmark of post-game events
riots that occasionally dot the European landscape.” Nobody anticipated that the fights between
some young men of Pakistani and Indian descent in Leicester, United Kingdom, would escalate into
a Hindu-Muslim conflict.
The Muslim heritage journalists presented a biassed, one-sided perspective of the situation
and used Hindutva, the RSS, and Indian nationalism as their favourite scapegoats to cover for
the instigators, including UK-based radicals Maajid Freeman and Mohamed Hijab who have ties to
terrorist organisations.
According to Asian Lite International, on September 20 a mob violently
demonstrated in front of the Durga Bhawan temple in Smethwick, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Following this, the Leicester Police Department made it plain that Hindus had “no role” in any
form of violence, despite the fact that the mob had been organised by numerous English counties
and cities to congregate on specific days and act out.
Charlotte Littlewood, a Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, came to this conclusion
after speaking with locals of both Muslim and Hindu faiths, gathering data from social media and
videos, and reviewing statements and reports from the police.
On August 28, when India defeated
Pakistan in the Asia Cup T20 encounter, the cycle of violence began. According to a statement
from the Leicestershire police, a fight broke out between groups of young males in that county.
“These are worrisome because they will simply further polarise a society that was previously
peaceful. These stories have led a local problem to spread to cities like Birmingham, “Read the
declaration.
