Krupesh Hirani, a British Hindu Labor Assembly Member, took it upon himself to fight the rising Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu hate crimes in the United Kingdom. His motion was unanimously passed in the London Assembly.
Krupesh Hirani tables motion on Hinduphobia
This week, Krupesh Hirani presented a motion addressing Hinduphobia at the London Assembly, and it received unanimous approval. The motion emphasizes the importance of fostering a closer partnership between the Metropolitan Police and the Hindu community in order to combat the increasing incidents of anti-Hindu hate crimes.
Krupesh Hirani highlighted that Hinduphobia is a prevalent issue but is inadequately documented. He stressed that effectively addressing anti-Hindu hate crimes is only possible if they are officially recognized.
Krupesh stated, “London, and indeed the wider society, should have no tolerance for Hinduphobia. Unfortunately, we have observed a troubling surge in hate crimes targeting our community over the past year.”
He also pointed out that despite Hindus being the second most vulnerable group to religiously motivated hate crimes, this is not adequately reflected in police records. This underscores the need for improved data collection and more responsive measures from the police.
Krupesh expressed his satisfaction with the London Assembly’s unanimous support for holding the Metropolitan Police accountable, aiming to strengthen the trust between the police and the Hindu community.
Krupesh Hirani’s speech
The full text of Krupesh Hirani’s motion has been published by IGlobalNews. The statement from the Assembly is an important acknowledgment of the Hindu community’s contribution to London’s diversity and culture, as well as a recognition of the need to address the issue of hate crimes against Hindus. The statistics mentioned in the statement highlight a concerning increase in hate crimes against Hindus, which is a matter of serious concern and requires attention from law enforcement and community leaders.
Meat being thrown at school pupils and women wearing a red bindi mark on their foreheads being taunted for having a ‘sniper mark’ were cited by Krupesh Hirani as real-life examples of Hinduphobia experienced by people in London and the UK.
“This Assembly wishes a Happy Diwali to all Londoners who celebrate. This Assembly notes that recent statistics from the Home Office show that in 2022/2023, there were 291 hate crimes, accounting for 3 percent of those recorded by the police in England and Wales, against Hindus. This is an increase on the previous year, which saw 161 recorded hate crimes. These figures also show that the number of racially or religiously aggravated offenses recorded by the police by month has increased since 2015. This Assembly notes that there are no public statistics on the number of religiously motivated hate crimes by religion on the Metropolitan Police Service Crime Dashboard”, Krupesh said in his address.
The request to include a breakdown of hate crimes by religion on the Crime Dashboard is also a valid and important suggestion. Such data can provide a more comprehensive understanding of hate crimes and help in devising targeted strategies to combat them. It allows for a more accurate assessment of the specific challenges faced by different religious communities and can inform policy decisions.
Overall, this Assembly’s statement shows support for London’s diverse communities, calls for concrete actions to address the issue of hate crimes against Hindus, and emphasizes the importance of transparency and data collection to effectively combat religiously motivated hate crimes in the city.
It is worth highlighting that this September Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations were disrupted in UK’s Leicester. Police officer Adam Ahmed used excessive force on an elderly Hindu priest of Indian origin during the celebrations. The videos of the incident went viral on social media, where Ahmed was seen behaving rudely with the priest and the Hindu devotees who tried to stop him. This is merely one of the numerous instances of Hinduphobia experienced by the Hindu diaspora in the UK. It is appreciable that elected members are taking the problem head-on.
(Featured Image Source: Siasat.com)
