On Monday (September 19), ‘journalist’ Kallol Bhattacherjee courted controversy after he tried to downplay the vicious attack by Islamists on the Indian Hindu diaspora in Leicester as a fight between Gujaratis.
He made the contentious remarks while reacting to the condemnation of the attack by the Indian High Commissioner in London. Kallol Bhattacharjee attempted to strip the victims of their Indian identity and project the attack as an ethnic clash.
“Reports suggest that the fight is between two groups of Indians. Hindu and Muslim Gujaratis are fighting each other. So, it may not be entirely correct to say that Indians were attacked.”
In a subsequent tweet, the ‘journalist’ resorted to bothsidesism and falsely claimed that Hindus and Muslims took turns attacking each other. He also pinned the blame on ‘loud celebrations’ in the aftermath of the India Vs Pakistan Asia Cup match for the month-long violence against the Hindu community.
“Leicester is famous for being a Gujarati area. Tension has been high since India-Pakistan Asia Cup match. Hindus and Muslims have taken turns in attacking each other since trouble began over loud celebration after the match,” he had tweeted.
This is however not the first time that a prominent ‘journalist’ went on an anti-Gujarati tirade in the aftermath of the violence against Hindus in Leicester. On Sunday (September 18), ex-Ahmedabad Mirror Editor Deepal Trivedi insinuated that Gujaratis from India were responsible for the violence in Leicester.
Trivedi, a Congress side-kick, claimed that Leicester is dominated by Gujaratis and such behaviour is expected of them.
Horror at Leicester: Targeted attacks on Hindus and Misinformation campaigns
Leicester City in England’s East Midlands region has witnessed a sharp increase in targeted attacks against the Hindu community. The orgy of violence by Islamists began soon after India clinched victory against Pakistan in the group stage match of the Asia Cup on August 28.
According to a Hindu organisation (@INSIGHTUK2), a casual banter between Indian fans and Pakistani supporters turned serious when the latter snatched and disrespected the Indian tricolour. Soon after, the police took cognisance of the matter but added to the raging misinformation by Islamists that religious slurs were hurled in Hindi.
India and Pakistan again met at the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup. After Pakistan succeeded in settling scores on the field, its supporters attacked a Hindu home celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi.
The accused men also received overwhelming support from their co-religionists on social media. Homes, cars, and properties belonging to the Hindu community, which were easily identifiable with sacred symbols, were damaged. In order to control the situation, Chief Superintendent Adam Slonecki granted dispersal and stop search powers to the police.
Recently, a Hindu temple came under attack by Islamists in Leicester. In a viral video, one extremist was seen uprooting a saffron flag affixed to the temple structure. On September 16, the police informed that a total of 27 people were arrested in connection with the violence.
Meanwhile, the Islamists resorted to making outlandish claims to deviate public discourse from the targeted attacks on Hindus. While speaking to Opindia, research scholar Sarah L Gates said, “This was a planned clean out aka religious cleansing. They want to purge Hindus.”
Hindus in Leicester are now at the mercy of the police for their safety. With motivated news publications and Islamist groups portraying them as the perpetrators, they are left to fend for themselves.
