Anti-Hindu hate crime reporting platform launched

A London-based organisation has launched a new reporting platform for anti-Hindu hate crime amid concerns about a rise in religiously motivated offences.

Harrow is home to the largest Hindu community in London but the borough's London Assembly member says there have been "worrying reports" of residents feeling targeted or unsafe in public spaces.

Faith-based hate crimes (1,023) increased by 23% between January and April compared to the same period in last year when there were 839, figures from the Met Police show.

There was previously no formal system for reporting anti-Hindu hate but the Anti-Hindu Hate Monitor, which can be accessed online, has been created to gather more evidence.

The platform, which is based on a similar website for reporting antisemitic hate incidents, aims to record both in-person and online attacks against Hindus across the UK by filling out a website form.

It comes after concerns these types of incidents were first raised last year in City Hall and the extent to which they had been under reported, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The monitoring system was developed by Ornicha Daorueng – researcher and head of the future faiths desk at the International Centre for Sustainability (ICfS) – after her research found growing concern around anti-Hindu hate but no formal system for recording related incidents.

Despite being the third largest religious group in the country, the ICfS said Hindus continue to face hostility that is "poorly defined, inconsistently recorded, and largely absent from policy conversations".

The Community Security Trust, which operates a similar antisemitism reporting system which led to more than 3,700 antisemitic reports being processed in 2025, helped develop the platform based on its existing model.

Daorueng said: "This platform has been developed to help address that gap by creating a dedicated reporting route, improving the quality and consistency of data collection, and building a better understanding of anti-Hindu hate in the UK.

"Without reliable data, effective policy is difficult to develop."

London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow, Krupesh Hirani called it "an important and much-needed step forward for Hindu communities, including here in Harrow".

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk