Religious and ethnic tensions between British-Indian Hindus and British-Pakistani Muslims erupted in Leicester, England, in August and September 2022. The precise source of the unrest and violence is uncertain. However, it is said that the anti-Hindu violence began on August 28 during the India-Pakistan 2022 Asia Cup match, resulting in Pakistan’s defeat, which infuriated Pakistani Muslims living there.
Since the Leicester incident, propagandists from all over have attempted to portray it as anti-Muslim violence by associating it with the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
A piece of report from the UK-based media outlet Daily Mail has recently gone viral on the microblogging site. The report cited that the unnamed source from the UK security force has revealed that the violent ethnic clash in Leicester last year were stoked by the Indian Prime Minister Modi’s Hindu nationalist party.
The report further citing the unnamed source said that there is evidence of BJP-linked activists using closed WhatsApp groups to incite Hindu protestors to take down to the streets and confront Muslim youths in an explosive clash.
Not only that, the propaganda Twitter account South Asia Index, citing a Daily Mail source, stated that UK security report says violent clash between Hindus and Muslims in Leicester last year were fueled by Modi’s BJP party. The user went on to say that the source has also revealed it was part of Modi’s desire to appear as the leader of Hindus worldwide.
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Fact Check
In the early part of our research, we conducted a relevant keyword search and reviewed various UK-based media outlet reports. According to the Daily Mail, a UK security source has revealed a link between the Modi-LED party and the Leicester violence. Given the BBC’s propaganda against the BJP and Modi, this important news story should have received extensive coverage by them.
However, we were unable to locate any BBC’s report that established a link between the Leicester violence and the BJP, nor did any of it report on Leicester violence cited the UK security source revelation.
Furthermore, while South Asia Index stated on Twitter that a report given by a UK security source showed a link between the violence and the BJP, we did not find any such report during our fact check.
The UK security force have not released any such report. So, the claim made by the Twitter user is baseless and misleading, and it has no source other than the Daily Mail to back it up.
Moreover, our team emailed the Daily Mail media, seeking them to mention which UK security agency revealed that the Leicester violence was fueled by the BJP. As soon as we receive their response, we will update our report accordingly.
Since numerous media outlets have been peddling the narrative that the Hindu community, Hindu organizations and the present government in India are to blame for the Leicester violence, our team decided to study the Daily Mail’s claim in depth. We discovered the Henry Jackson Society’s (HJS) fact-finding report.
Following investigations into conflicts between Muslims and Hindus in Leicester, a UK-based think tank has debunked claims of RSS and Indian political force being involved in the violent protest. The fake narratives had placed the larger Hindu community at danger of hatred, vandalism, and violence.
The research revealed that a number of social media influencers, some of whom were tied to terrorism, promoted false narratives in order to blame the Hindu community and incite violence against them.
The report notes that the social media influencers used false narratives and lies about ‘RSS terrorists‘ being behind the turmoil to motivate Muslims from around the UK to attend the rallies.
During the riots, one influencer with 150,000 followers shared false information about a Muslim girl being kidnapped by Hindus. The same influencer has previously lauded terrorist Dawood Ibrahim and boasted about his involvement with Pakistan’s D company.
A photo of a group of Hindu youths who had organized the Hindu march was shared online, misinterpreting them to be associated with RSS and BJP and saying that they are Hindu extremists. Victims stated that they are not familiar with Indian politics and are not affiliated with the RSS or the BJP.
The BJP was accused of organizing the bus to bring Hindutva fanatics to Leicester. This false allegation, however, was refuted by Guardian journalist Aina J Khan, who stated that the bus was the tourist bus.
Aside from the claims of RRS terrorists and Hindutva radicals, there were allegations of a mosque attack. The Leicester police department clarified in a tweet that social media reports stating the mosque was attacked were untrue.
Charlotte Littlewood, a researcher at the HJS, after interviewing the Hindu and Muslims, compiling the social media evidences, police report and statements came to the conclusion that the rioting was caused by a “micro-community cohesion issue” involving Muslim and Hindu youths in Leicester who held prejudicial attitudes towards one another.
Her fact finding report found that there no were Hindutva group operating in Leicester, neither the RSS and BJP played any part in carrying out the violence. The false allegations and narratives amplified over social media had led to circle of extreme violence in Leicester.
| Claim | The UK security report says that the Leicester violence were stoked by the BJP govt |
| Claimed by | South Asia Index |
| Fact Check | Misleading |
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