British Hindu community members protest outside The Guardian’s headquarters

 Image by by INSIGHT UK

Close to 50 people belonging to the British Hindu community gathered to protest in front of British daily newspaper The Guardian’s headquarters in King’s Place London.

They blamed the popular newspaper of portraying the Hindu community in poor light and also served it a memorandum which was addressed to the editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner, urging her to respond to it.

On Tuesday, 27 September, a press release was issued that confirmed the protests. It mentioned: “As a result of Hindu hate-filled articles in The Guardian, a vigil will take place outside their premises.”

On Wednesday, several members of the community gathered outside the office and were seen holding banners that said ‘Hindu Lives Matter’, ‘Stop putting lives at risk’, ‘Stop spreading fake news’, ‘Stop demonising Hindus’, ‘Hindu is peace’, among others.

Insight UK, a social movement intended to bring matters concerning the British Indian and British Hindu communities to the forefront wrote on Twitter: “British Hindu & Indian communities protest outside @guardian offices in London for its continued anti-Hindu & anti-India bias.

 Image by by INSIGHT UK

“The Guardian has been pedaling its #Hinduphobia narrative for many years now. #EnoughIsEnough”

Another press release issued by a protesting group also read: “India which is host to tens of thousands of persecuted groups does not need to be given homilies on being tolerant. The Zoroastrians, Bahai’s, Tibetan Buddhists and Jewish people have lived in India happily for centuries. There are millions of Christians living happily except for some evangelical missionaries trying to convert Hindus by abusing Hindus traditions and culture. Sometimes minorities can be unreasonable and confrontational. A majority is not always wrong because it is a majority and a minority is not always right because it is a minority.”

The protesters strongly condemned The Guardian’s alleged role in the creation of hatred for the Hindu community in the UK and insisted that the newspaper be more careful about its reportage of the community. They also asked it to tone down the “extreme Hindu position”, failing which more protests would be held.

The protesters branded The Guardian’s journalism as “unprofessional” and expressed their willingness to meet the editorial board to discuss the matter.