In a packed room of temple representatives, campaigners, legal experts and community organisers, a quiet but significant shift began to take shape on 14 May 2026. The launch of the Anti-Hindu Hate Monitor (AHHM) was not simply the unveiling of a website or reporting platform. For many in attendance, it marked the beginning of a long-awaited attempt to document, understand and confront anti-Hindu hate in the UK with clarity, consistency and evidence.
The evening opened with a networking session that reflected the diversity of Britain’s Hindu landscape. Community groups, support services, temples and national Hindu organisations gathered under one roof. Conversations flowed easily between grassroots volunteers and senior representatives, united by a common concern: incidents affecting Hindus in Britain are often experienced privately, discussed quietly, and rarely formally recorded.
Why data matters
The formal proceedings were chaired by Jade Hagen, Chief of Staff at the International Centre for Sustainability (ICfS), who introduced Ornicha Daorueng, Head of the Future of Faiths Desk at the organisation and one of the leading figures behind the initiative.
Daorueng explained that the creation of AHHM emerged directly from research into perceptions of anti-Hindu hate in Britain. Her findings revealed a striking disconnect between the concerns repeatedly voiced within Hindu communities and the lack of reliable data available to public institutions.
The Anti-Hindu Hate Monitor aims to change that. Designed as a dedicated reporting and evidence-gathering platform, AHHM seeks to create a clearer national picture of anti-Hindu hate incidents.
The platform’s launch arrives at a moment when conversations around religious hate crime in Britain are becoming increasingly urgent. Speakers throughout the evening stressed that communities often struggle not only with incidents themselves, but with the challenge of proving that those incidents exist in meaningful numbers.
Among the strongest supporters of the initiative was Krupesh Hirani, who described the monitor as “an important step forward” for Hindu communities nationwide.
Hirani explained that he had spent nearly three years campaigning for a platform capable of documenting anti-Hindu hate more effectively. While support for greater recognition existed across communities, he said authorities frequently lacked the evidence needed to allocate sufficient police resources or identify wider trends.
“This is such an important step forward for Hindu communities across the country,” he said. “Far too many people I speak to have experienced anti-Hindu abuse or intimidation, yet so many of these incidents go unreported.”
“At a time when religious hate crime is clearly rising, limited reporting makes it difficult to understand the scale of anti-Hindu hatred and ensure the police have the data to target the issue.”
Hirani encouraged both victims and witnesses to report incidents, arguing that greater visibility would ultimately strengthen accountability and recognition.
Lessons from the Community Security Trust
A particularly resonant contribution came from a representative of the Community Security Trust (CST), the long-established organisation that monitors antisemitic incidents in Britain. The speaker traced CST’s origins back to Jewish servicemen after the Second World War, noting that the organisation initially faced scepticism from authorities who doubted the extent of antisemitic abuse.
Over four decades, however, CST’s systematic collection of reliable data transformed how antisemitism is understood and addressed in Britain. Today, the organisation works closely with law enforcement and public institutions, while also supporting faith groups seeking to establish similar initiatives.
The comparison offered an important lesson for attendees: recognition often begins with documentation.
Understanding the legal challenges of hate crime
Legal insight came from Varinder Hayre OBE, District Crown Prosecutor and Legal Manager at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) London North, who outlined the complexities involved in prosecuting hate crimes.
Hayre explained that determining whether an offence is hate-motivated requires more than simply examining the act itself. Prosecutors and hate crime scrutiny panels must establish whether the victim’s perceived identity played a role in why they were targeted.
She emphasised that almost any offence can qualify as a hate crime if prejudice forms part of the motivation. Reporting platforms like AHHM, she noted, could prove vital in establishing patterns of behaviour and helping investigators understand context.
Recent increases in hate crime cases, particularly antisemitic incidents, have already led to faster prosecution processes across London, supported by strong evidence and reporting mechanisms.
“If it isn’t reported, it doesn’t exist”
The evening’s final speaker, Nilesh Solanki of Action for Harmony, focused on the many forms hate can take — from ignorance and discrimination to intimidation, harassment and violence.
Determining where an unpleasant interaction crosses into hate can often feel unclear, he acknowledged. Yet failing to report incidents altogether risks allowing them to disappear from public understanding entirely.
“If an incident isn’t reported, it doesn’t exist,” Solanki told the audience.
That message became one of the defining themes of the evening. Speakers repeatedly stressed that the conversation around anti-Hindu hate cannot properly develop until communities possess both the language and confidence to identify and report incidents.
For organisers, the hope is that AHHM will become more than a database. It will become a national framework through which Britain’s Hindu communities can better understand their experiences and ensure those experiences are no longer overlooked.
The new monitor can be accessed via https://ahhm.co.uk/, while reporting guidance and demonstrations are available through https://ahhm.co.uk/our-guidelines/.
