Hindu nationalism and white supremacy played a central role in the 2024 race riots

The Hindu nationalist project, explicitly modelled on European fascism and based on inequality, exclusion, and false history, has allies worldwide. Far-right Hindutva ideologues have collaborated with regressive powers for years in the UK to promote Hindu supremacy and anti-Muslim hate.

Hindu nationalism collusion with global far-right

Hindutva is the ideology of Hindu supremacy and nationalism that dominates politics in India and the diaspora. It is built on false notions of South Asian history, namely that only Hindus belong in India, contrasting with the secular constitutional basis of the country since 1947.

Principally housed in an organisation called the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ethnoreligious Hindutva movement is now influential in Indian government through the RSS’s political wing, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The extensive RSS network of organisations has been closely mapped on to the UK and other countries.

Before India’s independence the RSS was, at best, subservient to the British colonial rulers. Today the RSS and Indian far-right figures have collaborated closely with Israel – including through the current genocide – the Trump regime, and white supremacists across Europe.

This is a global fascist, neoliberal project based on hate as well as the impetus to manage populations worldwide for extraction and profiteering. India’s and Israel’s cooperation has grown due to shared experiences of perpetrating violent control and mass crimes in, most notably, Kashmir and Palestine. One company – JCB, run by UK billionaire Anthony Bamford – produces the bulldozers used by Israelis to terrorise Palestinians and used by the BJP to terrorise Indian Muslims.

Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Narendra Modi have spent time together discussing India-USA ties. Far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders and European MEPs have supported the BJP.

Anders Breivik, the neo-Nazi who murdered 77 people in Norway in 2011, spoke about Hindutva, the RSS, and the BJP in his manifesto. He explicitly supported Hindu nationalism and the deportation of all Muslims from India.

The British connection

In 2024 the UK was ravaged by race riots in which fascists pulled people of colour out of cars and beat them in the streets, destroyed property and attacked bystanders, and set fire to buildings housing asylum seekers.

Notorious racist Tommy Robinson was interviewed in July 2024 on a California-based YouTube channel run by Sree Iyer called PGurus. The channel puts out Hindu supremacist propaganda and hate. In this conversation Robinson promoted his “patriotic rally” that took place two days later, spewing Islamophobic disinformation such as the assertion that:

We do have a problem. That problem is from the followers of Islam… they’re literally raping their way through our country.

Robinson contrasted this with other minoritised religious groups, saying Sikhs are a:

well-integrated, well-assimilated fabulous community. No problems, zero problems from the Hindu community.

This kind of model minority rhetoric – a divide and conquer tactic – must be rejected by all.

Robinson, widely associated with racism and fascism, was nonetheless platformed again by CNN-News18 (affiliated with CNN and co-owned by Warner Bros) in  August 2024. CNN-News18 promoted their interview with Robinson on Twitter/X with the following caption:

#Exclusive: Islamic migrants come to UK and declare war. They are here to dominate. Islam is not a race, it’s a fascist violent ideology which masquerades as a religion says Activist, @TRobinsonNewEra in conversation with @akankshaswarups

#UKRiots #KeirStarmer #TommyRobinson

The 25 July conversation between Robinson and Iyer took place 5 days before the racist riots began on 30 July. His 5 August CNN-News18 interview was released on the day the riots came to a close. In other words, during the prelude to the riots and all throughout the riots themselves, Tommy Robinson and various actors in service of Hindu supremacy and Islamophobic hate collaboratively spread disinformation and incited violence against Muslims. I hold the Hindutva movement to be complicit in the UK 2024 racist riots.

Strong links

Robinson also fanned the flames of the violent tension between Hindus and Muslims in Leicester in 2022, instigated in large part by ‘extremists adhering to Hindutva ideologies’ and the flooding of social media with hateful content. He posted on social media about ‘the radical Islamists’ and touted bringing ‘hundreds of men to Leicester’ to support Hindus. A leaked report revealed the UK government’s recognition of the threat of Hindutva ideology and its connections to the events of Leicester 2022.

Academic Ed Anderson emphasises that ties between the white British far-right and the Hindu far right go back years. He writes in his book, Hindu Nationalism in the Indian Diaspora:

In February 2016, the National Council of Hindu Temples (NCHT)… a mainstream, representative organisation that is drawn to the Islamophobic far-right… invited EDL founder Tommy Robinson to speak at their annual conference in a Southall temple. The event was grudgingly cancelled after outrage from anti-racism activists and members of the Hindu community.

A leaked National Police Chiefs’ Council report revealed knowledge that Robinson has met with Hindu groups to “promote anti-Muslim campaigns”. Research by the Savera coalition has highlighted the growing collaboration between the Hindu far right and domestic far-right movements in the United States too.

Communities united going forward

We can build unity just as wide and deep as the far-right have. In fact, we have to and we are. There are countless South Asian diaspora groups working in the UK and internationally to build progressive power. We at Hindus for Human Rights UK have a close bond with our dear partners at UK-Indian Muslim Council. This is a crucial example of Hindu-Muslim solidarity that has already drawn countless people towards our movement against Hindutva and for unity.

Opposing and dismantling the far right is one part of the puzzle. We also have to be proactive in addressing people’s needs, intercommunal tensions, and creating our own alternatives. Hateful ideologies and movements only have allure when people are desperate and divided. With a united front across religion and all other potential cleavages, we will address the core socio-economic challenges people face and defeat the far right.

Featured image via the Canary