A new community-led investigation into the 2022 unrest in Leicester has concluded that imported Hindutva extremism, systemic Islamophobia, and policy failures were key drivers behind the violence that rocked one of Britain’s most diverse cities.
The report — Community Tensions, Hindutva, and Islamophobia Leicester City: A Case Study — is jointly authored by the UK Indian Muslim Council (UKIMC) and the Community Policy Forum and is the first independent inquiry into the events.
Leicester was thrust into the national spotlight in September 2022 when street battles erupted. The unrest lasted several days, spreading briefly to nearby Birmingham, before it subsided.
Drawing on testimony from nearly 500 Muslim residents collected between 2023 and 2024, the study challenges official narratives that portrayed the unrest as a symmetrical clash between Hindu and Muslim groups.
Instead, it describes the violence as the culmination of years of provocation, with respondents attributing this escalation to the spread of imported Hindutva ideology.
According to the report, the violence did not emerge spontaneously but was preceded by a pattern of hostile acts, including nationalist chanting, sectarian marches through Muslim neighborhoods, harassment outside mosques, and fireworks set off near Islamic places of worship.
Several respondents recounted how groups of young Hindu men engaged in intimidation, anti-social behaviour, and targeted abuse — including harassment of Muslim women in hijab.
“The violence witnessed in 2022 did not occur in a vacuum. Instead, it was a breaking point in the city’s communal dynamics that exposed long-standing tensions,” says the report.
“Whilst Leicester has historically been celebrated for its multiculturalism, there was a gradual erosion of these relations in the years preceding the riots. Patterns of anti-social behaviour and divisive provocations, especially during key events, such as cricket matches and religious festivals were repeatedly cited by participants as contributing factors,” It added.
Rising tensions
The findings also point to a digital dimension, linking the escalation to online Hindutva networks. Researchers identified influencers, bots, and anonymous accounts — operating both in the UK and India — that amplified Islamophobic narratives and stoked hostility.
After the turmoil, Leicester Police later confirmed that some participants in the disturbances had travelled from outside the city.
The report stresses that Leicester’s Hindu population should not be blamed and highlights the role of “a minority of extremists importing these ideologies into our streets.”
It calls on leaders from both Muslim and Hindu communities to show responsibility in countering hate and preventing future violence.
The report issues ten recommendations, including scrapping the government’s controversial Prevent strategy in favour of a rights-based public health model, formally recognising Hindutva extremism and far-right extremism as domestic security threats, and adopting a definition of Islamophobia. It also calls for reforms in policing to address community concerns better.
Its findings echo a leaked Home Office report earlier this year, which acknowledged “Hindu nationalist extremism” as a factor in Leicester’s unrest — marking the first time it has been flagged as a potential target for Britain’s counter-extremism efforts.
UKIMC has refused to participate in the government-led inquiry into the riots, citing concerns over the appointed chair and his history of “Islamophobic remarks.” Instead, the group pursued this independent investigation.
Community leaders spoke to the Islam Channel at the time of the unrest about what happened – watch the video below.
