The United Kingdom-Indian Muslim Council report exposes institutional failures by the authorities and community leadership and proposes a roadmap to rebuild trust and prevent future unrest
NEW DELHI — A new report by the United Kingdom-Indian Muslim Council (UKIMC) will lay bare the causes and consequences of the 2022 riots in Leicester, pointing to the sectarian Hindutva ideology as the key instigator.
The groundbreaking report, Community Tensions, Hindutva, & Islamophobia, by the British-Indian advocacy organisation is due for release next week.
According to a report in 5Pillars, a news, opinion and analysis-based website which concentrates on British Muslim news, the UKIMC report is based on analysis and conclusions drawn from a survey of almost 500 members of Leicester’s Muslim community. The survey was conducted during 2023-2024.
It concludes that the Leicester riots were primarily driven by the sectarian Hindutva ideology, exacerbated by institutional failures, biased media narratives, and a Hindutva-driven digital ecosystem, leading to distrust, psychological harm, and the need for a comprehensive roadmap to rebuild community trust and prevent future unrest.
The research explores the community’s experiences prior to, during, and since the riots, as well as their perceptions regarding its origins, the responsible instigators, responses from the local authorities, and how it was represented in public, political and media narratives.
It also exposes institutional failures by the authorities and community leadership and proposes a roadmap to rebuild trust and prevent future unrest across the United Kingdom.
The 5Pillars cited a UKIMC spokesperson as saying: “This report is a wake-up call. Leicester’s story shows how quickly harmony can unravel when divisive ideologies take root. But with bold action, locally and nationally. We can rebuild trust and ensure no community feels targeted or abandoned.”
In 2022, riots in Leicester shocked the UK as sectarian street battles erupted between mostly Muslim and Hindu men following rising tensions between the two communities.
Muslims in Leicester had been dealing with a growing campaign of harassment and intimidation against their communities. Police attempted to separate rival groups each night as Muslims, angered by constant attacks on their community, began mobilising to patrol Muslim-populated areas.
The new survey has researched and documented accounts from locals who described a steady rise in anti-social behaviour — public alcohol consumption, loud music, fireworks, targeted littering and sexual harassment —alongside physical attacks, arson, and organised marches where Hindutva slogans were chanted.
These acts, often laced with ethno-religious ideologies, were perceived as deliberate attempts to intimidate and assert dominance over Muslim communities.
The report distinguishes Hindutva, a political ideology rooted in ethno-nationalism, from Hinduism. Hindutva, it explains, promotes an exclusivist vision of India as a Hindu nation, marginalising minorities like Muslims and Christians as “outsiders.”
Failures by the State, Media
The report sharply criticises media and political narratives that misrepresented the unrest.
It argues that many news outlets and politicians either framed Muslims as aggressors from the get-go or portrayed the violence as a clash between equal sides, ignoring evidence of targeted victimisation.
Right-wing news channels focused the story on anti-multiculturalism angles, using the troubles to argue that multiculturalism is bad without exploring the real cause of the tensions.
Conservative Government Minister Michael Gove announced an independent enquiry into the unrest. However, his reputation as an Islamophobe created a heavy sense of distrust in the government’s effort, further deepened by the appointment of the Zionist peer, Lord Ian Austin, as chair of the enquiry.
