The Henry Jackson Society (HJS) has made concrete revelations regarding anti-Hindu hatred rampant across schools in the UK in its latest report on this issue. In order to conduct this study, the HJS, through Freedom of Information (FOI) posed certain questions to thousand public schools in England which have pupils of Indian heritage, regarding incidents of anti-Hindu hared in school. On the other hand, a survey was circulated among Hindu parents, and 988 parents participated voluntarily.
The results reveal that within the random sample of the schools, 24.2 percent responded within the legal time frame, and while 71.49 percent recorded zero incidents, 0.41 percent recorded one incident of anti-Hindu hate. Within the remaining 28 percent of responses, 14.05 percent of schools responded that they did not record bullying to this level of detail whilst still giving a response of zero. They are not included in the ‘zero incidents recorded’ section. 5.7 percent of schools actively declined to respond. 8.25 percent gave erroneous responses such as ‘To be handled by the Local Authority’.
The reasons behind refusing to share data by the schools were as follows: not holding data according to the demographic specified; finding no lawful basis for processing the response; the time it would take them to respond was too onerous; not holding data specific enough to capture anti-Hindu hate as a form of bullying; and too few students within the set parameter meaning that there was a risk of being able to identify them.
From those who responded, 14.05 percent of the random sample who gave a result of zero also noted they did not hold information pertaining to bullying to this detail. It is unclear whether responses of zero may have also meant that the school does not hold bullying records to this level of detail but did not express this in their response. 14.05 percent therefore is a conservative estimate as to the number of schools that do not hold the information to this detail. Zero assaults were recorded.
On the other hand, the results of the Hindu parents’ survey reveals that 51 percent of parents of Hindu pupils surveyed reported that their child had experienced anti-Hindu hate in schools; 19 percent of Hindu parents surveyed believed schools were able to identify anti-Hindu hate; 15 percent of Hindu parents surveyed believed schools addressed anti-Hindu related incidents; 8 cases of physical abuse were noted where parents chose to detail incidents; and 3 cases of students having to move school owing to anti-Hindu bullying were detailed.
254 parents chose to share details of the incidents which took place with their children in schools, these details were then coded into themes by the HJS. The themes were chosen to reflect the fact that some issues appeared at high frequency.
The first theme coded is ‘anti-Hindu slurs’ which includes references made to polytheism, religious practices, and idol worship. An example which showcases negative reference to idol worship has been mentioned in the report, comments like, “You don’t know about your own religion, you have so many gods. Your religion is idol worship”, are made despite correcting them to say deity worship, and they continue to insist that they are the same. The parents said, “When teachers say these things, they undermine the students and make a mockery of them”.
Another parent revealed, “My child went to school with a religious symbol on his forehead. He was bullied until he no longer wanted to attend school. Over the years we have had to change his school three times within East London”. While another said, “My daughter was bullied at school and had beef thrown at her by classmates as she is a Hindu”.
Theme two has been coded as ‘far-right/xenophobia’, which includes typical xenophobic tropes such as ‘go back home’ and negative references made to skin colour have been coded as ‘far right’. This means they reflect far right inspired thinking not that the pupil necessarily identifies as such. As per one incident, a Hindu pupil was told, “Jesus will send your Gods to hell”, while another incident revealed that white kids gang up and do not talk to Hindu kids.
Theme three involves Islamic extremism, which includes references to Islamic supremacy and calls for Hindus to convert or threats of hell for disbelievers. Terming Hindu kids as ‘Kafirs’, Muslim students harass them and tell them to convert to Islam so that their life becomes easier (as the bullying will then stop).
Another incident was reported wherein the Hindu student was told, “You aren’t going to survive very long. If you want to go to paradise, you’ll have to come to Islam. Hindus are the herbivores at the bottom of the food chain, we will eat you up”.
Theme four has been coded as linking Hindu pupils to India, which involves holding Hindu pupils accountable for political or societal issues in India, or holding Hinduism responsible for societal ills in India such as the caste system. Regarding this, Dr Rishi Handa, Head of Sanskrit, and Head of Religious Studies & Philosophy at St James Senior Boys’ School, said, “To appreciate the nature and function of caste, an understanding of historical, theological and sociological elements is needed which is typically beyond the scope of primary and even secondary education”.
Hindus in this study have consistently raised it as an inappropriate topic to be taught as part of the Hindu faith. The emphasis in the classroom on caste singles out Hindu pupils in a particularly negative light.
One parent revealed, “Other students tried to bully my daughter that she is Hindu, saying ‘why you people break our mosque, why you people attack us?’, So we changed the school”. Another one stated, “Child has faced bullying from other children on many occasions specifically after PM Modi’s rise in India and after article 370 was revoked”.
One parent said, “Lots of bullying from other pupils about different God and even shaming my children about caste system and about Modi in India. Some children try and tell my children to watch videos of Zakir Naik and convert because Hinduism makes no sense”.
Theme five has been categorized as ‘poor teaching’, which involves comments made around inadequate teaching on Hinduism. As per one parent participant, in a school open day, the displayed material regarding Hinduism talked about casteism only with reference to Hinduism even though various sects exist also in Christianity and Islam with animosity and lack of mobility between these sects. This type of selective highlighting of social evils and attributing it to Hinduism leads to bullying.
Another one revealed, “RE teacher taught that Sati Pratha is part of Hinduism. This resulted in my child being alienated by classmates for being a Hindu and blaming for such a bad custom. My child has absolutely no knowledge about it so could not answer any questions asked by friends. It impacted mental health of my child for almost a year”.
Theme six includes lack of school provision, meaning an unequal approach by schools to Hindu practices and festivals when compared with other faiths. One participant stated, “We haven’t been given a holiday on Diwali on several occasions while Muslim pupils are given three Eid holidays”.
Within each theme, certain sub-themes emerged with such a high frequency that they are important to note: Polytheism was mentioned within 106 responses; the caste system was mentioned 15 times; and negative references to the sacrality of the cow were mentioned 18 times. It is also worth mentioning that some of the discrimination exhibited in the classroom showed similarities to the manifestations of hate witnessed during the unrest in Leicester between Hindus and Muslims. There were numerous instances of derogatory references made towards Hindus, such as mocking their vegetarianism and belittling their deities, which were also made by Islamist extremists rallying against the Hindu community in Leicester.
Further, there are reports from some surveyed parents that lessons about Hinduism produce confusion and misconceptions about the Hindu belief in the existence of multiple Gods; 106 references were made to inaccurate perceptions of Hinduism with respect to polytheism/idol worship/multiple Gods. 22 references were made to a lack of accommodation for Hindu religious symbols, student dietary restrictions and Hindu festivals.
“Child bullied for being Hindu inside the classroom and also in the playground. In the classroom, Hindu beliefs and customs (including caste) were mocked by other students whilst learning about Hinduism”, a survey participant said. Another mentioned that other students bully Hindu students by insisting that Hindus are polytheistic. This marginalisation resulted in some Hindu students feeling inferior to those of Abrahamic faiths due to bullying from peers and the school’s tacit approval of such attitudes.
“Religious Education taught at school regarding Hinduism is pretty much a mockery of the religion that highlights distorted, incorrect facts which makes it easy for the kids from other religion(s) to pick on Hindu kids”, revealed another respondent.
In addition, parents were asked specifically about their school’s ability to handle discrimination against Hindu pupils and given the option to offer advice to schools. A common thread was an overwhelming ignorance of Hindu theology on the part of students, and more significantly educators. Lessons teaching that Hindus worship “330 million gods”, “elephants and monkeys” or “idols” left Hindu parents and students offended and alienated. 106 of the incident reports related to polytheism and 15 to the caste system.
Another concern expressed by parents was a lack of serious engagement with Hindu philosophers and theologians. Seventeen respondents said that Hindu or Indian sources were few and far between, leaving often adversarial, outdated or simply incorrect commentary on central Hindu principles and beliefs to be taught instead. A recurring example was school commentary on the origins of the caste system and the Indo-Aryan pre-history of India. Seven parents commented on Indian history being explained from an essentially 19th-century point of view.
Furthermore, one parent was dismayed to see this European analysis of Indian history used to link India and the caste system to Fascism and the Holocaust, describing how an “RE teacher said that Aryans conquered India and started the caste system where Brahmins oppressed the lower class and Hitler drew his inspiration from Brahmins as they oppressed people”. Another described an incident where one child accused a Hindu child of being a Nazi because of the use of the swastika in Hindu symbolism.
HJS’s report concludes saying that it may be that there is a tendency to downplay such incidents as ‘playground banter’. However, several studies have observed that faith-based bullying has the potential to be more impactful than other forms of bullying, precisely because it targets not just the victim, but “their entire family, heritage, and culture”. Schools should reflect on the harm such slurs cause, as well as the wider community divisions they may be helping to foster.
The findings underscore the urgent need for greater awareness and understanding of the Hindu experience in schools and further research into other lesser-known types of prejudices that may be manifesting in Britain’s classrooms. It highlights the need for more specific and accurate reporting mechanisms to capture such incidents. Moreover, studies have found a lack of provision for teaching on Hinduism in religious education, which may contribute to discrimination against Hindu students. Additionally, this report highlights concern that Hindu customs and festivals are not respected in some schools as they are for other religions.
Furthermore, the NCRI has expressed concerns over rising tensions between Muslim and Hindu communities in the lead-up to the 2024 Indian elections, and the Prevent Review has also raised concerns about the impact of Pakistan’s anti-India rhetoric on relations between communities within the South Asian diaspora. Therefore, it is crucial to prevent and counter anti-Hindu hate to promote social cohesion and integration.
