Hindu sentiments mocked: Saffron flags carried during Ganesh Chaturthi procession branded extremist by Muslim Council of Britain
Leicestershire, United Kingdom 
27 August, 2025
Case Summary
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), the United Kingdom’s largest Muslim organisation, sparked outrage by labelling saffron flags as extremist symbols. The remarks followed a Ganesh Chaturthi procession in Leicester, where two cars participating in the Hindu festival were seen carrying saffron flags. On August 28, 2025, MCB issued a statement urging authorities to take action, claiming that the flags displayed at the Hindu celebration were tied to "extremism" and had alarmed local communities. “This is not a neutral cultural or religious symbol but one tied to an extremist movement. Its use risks importing divisive overseas politics into our neighbourhoods and undermining the hard work done to restore peace since 2022. We are raising this urgently with the Hindu Council, Police, and community leaders, and we repeat our call for Hindutva extremism to be recognised as a domestic security threat. Authorities must ensure local events are safe, inclusive, and free from political provocation," wrote the Muslim body. In response, the Hindu Community Organisations Group (HCOG), which represents 40 Hindu organisations in Leicester, filed a police complaint against MCB. They described the statement as false, inflammatory, and offensive, accusing MCB of distorting the meaning of one of Hinduism’s holiest emblems. HCOG argued that MCB’s comments risk fuelling hostility toward Hindus and undermining social cohesion. Its convenor, Vinod Popat, stressed that the saffron flag, or Bhagwa Dhwaj, is a sacred Hindu symbol representing peace, sacrifice, courage, and truth. He said linking it with extremism is both inaccurate and a direct violation of religious freedom guaranteed under UK law.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category in this case is: Hate speech against Hindus. The subcategory under this is: Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith. Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus, with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika, which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus, has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem from inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith; therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. This case has been added to the tracker because labelling the saffron flag, or Bhagwa Dhwaj, as an extremist symbol is an act of religious hate speech that directly targets Hindus and their faith. The saffron flag is one of Hinduism’s most sacred emblems, symbolising peace, sacrifice, courage, and truth. To associate it with extremism is to deliberately distort its meaning, demean a deeply revered religious symbol, and stigmatise the Hindu community as a whole. Such characterisations weaponise religious symbols to foster hostility against Hindus. This act, in fact, constitutes symbolic aggression, as it delegitimises and demonises a sacred religious symbol that has been revered for centuries as a marker of peace, sacrifice, and truth. This targeting is not happening in a vacuum. Leicester has a recent history of anti-Hindu violence, particularly the wave of Islamist-led attacks in 2022. Following the Asia Cup India-Pakistan cricket match on August 28, 2022, armed mobs attacked Hindus and their homes in Leicester’s eastern section. In early September, Muslim mobs went on a rampage for days, specifically identifying Hindu houses through religious markers like Om symbols, saffron flags, and images of Lord Ganesh. The violence escalated on September 17, when a Hindu protest against this wave of attacks was met with stone-pelting, bottle-throwing, and the desecration of a saffron flag in front of police. These events demonstrated a pattern of anti-Hindu hate, where Hindus were targeted solely for their faith and visible religious identity. Against this backdrop, MCB’s branding of the saffron flag as extremist reinforces existing animosity against Hindus. By portraying one of Hinduism’s holiest symbols as dangerous, MCB is not merely misrepresenting a religious emblem, but actively shaping a narrative that casts Hindu identity itself as a threat. The statement not only misrepresents Hindu beliefs but also puts Hindus at risk of increased hostility, stigmatisation, and hate crimes in the UK. This is especially dangerous in Leicester, where tensions have already run high and where Hindus faced targeted violence in 2022. This is not merely a dispute over symbolism. It is part of a broader campaign of religious vilification, and it constitutes hate speech and bigotry against Hindus, their identity, and their right to practice their faith freely.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
N/A
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
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