A new online platform for reporting anti-Hindu hate incidents has been launched in the UK amid concerns about a rise in and under-reporting of religion-based crime within the Hindu community.The International Center for Sustainable Development has launched a reporting system called the Anti-Hindu Hate Monitor to document online and in-person incidents against Hindus across the country.The platform, which allows people to submit reports through an online form, was created after researchers discovered that the UK had no formal national system specifically for recording anti-Hindu hate incidents.The launch comes amid a significant increase in faith-related hate crimes in London. According to the BBC, data from the Metropolitan Police showed that 1,023 faith-based hate crimes were recorded between January and April this year, compared with 839 in the same period last year.Ornicha Daorueng, who helped develop the surveillance system, told the BBC that a lack of reliable reporting data made it difficult to properly understand the scale of anti-Hindu hatred in the UK.She said: “This platform has been developed to help address this gap by creating dedicated reporting pathways, improving the quality and consistency of data collection and providing a better understanding of anti-Hindu hatred in the UK.”“Without reliable data, it’s difficult to formulate effective policy.”The design of the system was supported by the Community Safety Trust, which operates a similar anti-Semitic incident reporting network.Researchers involved in the project said that Hindus in the UK still face hostility despite being one of the largest religious groups in the UK, but this hostility is often not well documented or ignored in wider policy discussions.
