LONDON: For the first time UK Hindus have released a manifesto of their demands from a future govt ahead of the July 4 general election.
The 32-page document reflects their expectations from politicians of all parties that seek to win their vote. They are asking candidates to publicly endorse it on social media. As of Tuesday four Conservative candidates, Bob Blackman, Robert Buckland, Rahesh Singh and Theresa Villiers, had endorsed the Hindu manifesto.
Thirteen major British Hindu organisations, including Hindu Council UK, Hindu Forum of Britain, Hindu Mandir Network UK, National Council of Hindu Temples, and Iskcon UK, have jointly drafted the manifesto.
There are over a million Hindus in UK.
The manifesto calls for anti-Hindu hate, which is on the rise in UK, to be recognised as a religious hate crime and for those engaged in violence against Hindus and attacking the sovereignty of India to be monitored and proscribed.
Examples of anti-Hindu hate crime given include conflating diasporic Hindu identity with Indian citizenship, ethnicity and patriotism; denying or accusing Hindus of exaggerating the persecution of Hindus, including genocide; making unsubstantiated claims about the political agendas of people who are simply practising Hinduism; and maintaining that inequity in Indian society is “inextricably bound up with Hinduism”.
It notes there has been an increase in hate-motivated vandalism, burglary and threats against Hindu temples and calls for exclusive security schemes and funding for them. It also calls for it to be made mandatory that Hinduism is taught at GCSE level, for a greater number of language schools teaching Indic languages, and calls on candidates to champion the funding of more state-funded Hindu faith schools.
The manifesto recommends Hindu chaplains are appointed in all prisons, hospitals and schools and for articles of Hindu faith, including Hindu deities, to be made available in prayer rooms in these places.
It calls for a more streamlined visa process for Hindu priests and the dependants of UK Hindus — often elderly parents — to come to Britain, pointing out the process is cumbersome and expensive and seeks longer time limits on such visas.
MPs are asked to consult Hindu organisations before legislating on issues concerning UK Hindus. The manifesto advocates for a memorial for Hindu soldiers who served the UK and demands that more crematoriums are built and for the coroner’s process to be sped up to allow Hindu cremations to take place within three days of death.
The manifesto also calls for candidates to recognise that the connection of UK Hindus to India is primarily spiritual rather than political and calls for candidates to “understand the dharmic way of life”.
The 32-page document reflects their expectations from politicians of all parties that seek to win their vote. They are asking candidates to publicly endorse it on social media. As of Tuesday four Conservative candidates, Bob Blackman, Robert Buckland, Rahesh Singh and Theresa Villiers, had endorsed the Hindu manifesto.
Thirteen major British Hindu organisations, including Hindu Council UK, Hindu Forum of Britain, Hindu Mandir Network UK, National Council of Hindu Temples, and Iskcon UK, have jointly drafted the manifesto.
There are over a million Hindus in UK.
The manifesto calls for anti-Hindu hate, which is on the rise in UK, to be recognised as a religious hate crime and for those engaged in violence against Hindus and attacking the sovereignty of India to be monitored and proscribed.
Examples of anti-Hindu hate crime given include conflating diasporic Hindu identity with Indian citizenship, ethnicity and patriotism; denying or accusing Hindus of exaggerating the persecution of Hindus, including genocide; making unsubstantiated claims about the political agendas of people who are simply practising Hinduism; and maintaining that inequity in Indian society is “inextricably bound up with Hinduism”.
It notes there has been an increase in hate-motivated vandalism, burglary and threats against Hindu temples and calls for exclusive security schemes and funding for them. It also calls for it to be made mandatory that Hinduism is taught at GCSE level, for a greater number of language schools teaching Indic languages, and calls on candidates to champion the funding of more state-funded Hindu faith schools.
The manifesto recommends Hindu chaplains are appointed in all prisons, hospitals and schools and for articles of Hindu faith, including Hindu deities, to be made available in prayer rooms in these places.
It calls for a more streamlined visa process for Hindu priests and the dependants of UK Hindus — often elderly parents — to come to Britain, pointing out the process is cumbersome and expensive and seeks longer time limits on such visas.
MPs are asked to consult Hindu organisations before legislating on issues concerning UK Hindus. The manifesto advocates for a memorial for Hindu soldiers who served the UK and demands that more crematoriums are built and for the coroner’s process to be sped up to allow Hindu cremations to take place within three days of death.
The manifesto also calls for candidates to recognise that the connection of UK Hindus to India is primarily spiritual rather than political and calls for candidates to “understand the dharmic way of life”.