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UK Hindu groups reject report on Leicester Violence as “biased”
Hindu groups said the inquiry was biased from the outset and lacked credibility.
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Malvika Choudhary - Tue, 24, Feb 2026
- 16:03 EST
- 17
INSIGHT UK / X (INSIGHT UK)
Hindu community organizations in the United Kingdom rejected the findings of an inquiry conducted by SOAS University of London into the 2022 communal violence in Leicester, questioning the report’s impartiality and credibility.
In a statement, INSIGHT UK said the inquiry was opposed by large sections of the Hindu community from the time it was announced in 2023 due to “serious concerns regarding its necessity, composition, and impartiality.”
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The group said the UK government had already initiated an official independent inquiry into the Leicester violence, raising questions about the need for a parallel process.
“There was no reason for SOAS to launch a parallel inquiry,” INSIGHT UK said, adding concerns were “further heightened by the backing of organisations such as MEND and 5Pillars — raising serious doubts from the outset.”
INSIGHT UK also raised objections to individuals and institutions associated with the panel. The group pointed to funding from the Open Society Foundations and the appointment of panel members Suresh Grover and Chetan Bhatt, noting that both had publicly attributed blame to Hindus before the inquiry’s commencement, which it said undermined confidence in the panel’s impartiality.
Hindu community and groups unequivocally reject the so-called “Independent” SOAS inquiry report
— INSIGHT UK (@INSIGHTUK2) February 23, 2026
The so-called “independent” SOAS inquiry into the 2022 Leicester violence has now concluded, and its report has been published. From the moment it was announced in 2023, the inquiry… pic.twitter.com/HNZzH1Ka5A
The statement further highlighted the appearance of Suresh Grover of The Monitoring Group in an interview conducted by Majid Freeman, described as “a central figure accused of spreading misinformation during the unrest,” where, it said, allegations against Hindus were made without evidence.
“These factors led Hindu organizations and community representatives, not only in Leicester but across the United Kingdom, to boycott participation,” INSIGHT UK said, describing the exercise as “a predetermined conclusion rather than an independent inquiry.” It added that “the panel’s composition and its backers meant that SOAS’s inquiry lacks integrity, balance and fairness.”
The report, titled Better Together: Understanding the 2022 Violence in Leicester, was published on Feb. 23 by the SOAS-led commission in partnership with the London School of Economics and The Monitoring Group. It examines the causes and dynamics of violent clashes between Hindu and Muslim communities in Leicester during August and September 2022.
The unrest involved vandalism, assaults, damage to property, and dozens of arrests, prompting authorities to commission multiple reviews to assess how tensions escalated. The SOAS inquiry attributed the violence to factors including social media misinformation, sectarian tensions, and failures in policing and civic oversight, identifying both communities as victims and perpetrators.
Hindu community representatives have said the report does not adequately reflect incidents involving attacks on Hindu individuals, homes, and temples during the violence and unfairly frames the community’s role.
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