New Delhi: A leaked UK Home Office document has identified Hindu nationalism and Khalistani extremism among nine emerging threats requiring focused attention, sparking debate about the scope and nature of extremism in the UK.
The report, commissioned by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper in August 2024, labels “Hindu nationalist extremism” as an “extremist ideology” for the first time, according to The Guardian.
The report highlights “Khalistani extremism” alongside Hindu nationalism as significant concerns. This classification comes after the 2022 Leicester riots, where clashes between British Hindus and British Muslims of South Asian origin occurred following an India-Pakistan cricket match.
The report is based on input from Home Office entities such as Prevent, the Research, Information and Communications Unit (RICU), and Homeland Security, Analysis and Insight (HSAI).
The leaked document, obtained by the think tank ‘Policy Exchange’ as per the BBC report, outlined a list of nine emerging extremist threats, including Islamist extremism, extreme right-wing ideologies, extreme misogyny, pro-Khalistan extremism, Hindu nationalist extremism, environmental extremism, left-wing and anarchist movements, single-issue extremism, violence fascination, and conspiracy theories.
The report raises concerns about certain factions within the Khalistani movement that promote violence and spread messages demonising Muslim communities, including unsubstantiated claims of child exploitation, and propagate conspiracy theories.
Simultaneously, the report recognised concerns regarding India’s actions abroad, specifically allegations of involvement in violence against Sikhs in Canada and the US, as reported by The Times of India.
In response to the leak, Home Office Minister Dan Jarvis clarified that the report does not represent current or new government policy and that there are no plans to broaden the legal definition of extremism.
