A study by United Kingdom (UK)-based think tank Henry Jackson Society has found that Hindu students in the UK are being subjected to bullying from their classmates from other religions.
A total of 988 Hindu parents were interviewed for the report, with the authors also surveying over 1,000 schools, the think tank has said in a statement.
It said that 51 percent of Hindu parents surveyed reported that their child had experienced “anti-Hindu hate” in schools, while less than a percent of schools surveyed reported any anti-Hindu related incidents in the last five years.
In some cases, beef was hurled on Hindu students, while some accounts claim that the students were asked to convert to Islam by their classmates, as per the detailed findings reported in British media.
In some cases, Hindu students were reportedly told that their religion made “no sense”. There are accounts of Hindu deities being disparaged in front of the students.
“Eight physical assaults were detailed. One female Hindu pupil had beef thrown on her, a male student was reported to have to change East London schools three times on account of anti-Hindu bullying…” the findings claim.
According to report’s author Charlotte Littlewood, several Hindu students faced ridicule from other students on account of their vegetarianism.
In one particular instance, the report claims that a Hindu student was told by his Muslim classmate that Hindus were “herbivores” at the bottom of the food chain.
It claims that in some instances, Hindu students have been subjected to xenophobic insults from their White classmates because of the social and political happenings in India.
Only 19 percent Hindu Parents Believe That British Schools Are Able to Identify ‘Anti-Hindu Hate’
The think tank says that growing anti-Hindu hate in UK schools was being fuelled by a “problematic approach to teaching Hinduism that is directly leading to bullying in the classroom”.
It said that religious education which “amplified” misconceptions around the Indian caste system and Hindu deities was contributing to Hindu students being mocked at schools.
The report claims that in some cases, Hindu students were denied a day off on festivals such as Diwali, while students of other faiths were allowed a holiday on their festivals.