The British city of Leicester has been rocked by violence and confrontations between Muslims and Hindus, as a result of differences that arose between them following a previous cricket match, in which the Pakistani team was defeated by its Indian counterpart. Cricket has become a vehicle for fanning Indian extremist nationalism and anti-Muslim hatred.
On Saturday, the British city of Leicester witnessed violent clashes between members of the Muslim and Hindu communities. According to local accounts, Indian cricket fans chanted slogans insulting to Pakistanis and racist against Muslims, prompting acts of violence using sticks and Molotov cocktails.
Since the end of last August, tension has shaken the relationship between the Muslims and Hindus of the city, following the defeat of the Pakistan team against the Indian team in a cricket match. With the rise of extreme Indian nationalism, supported by the Indian Prime Minister and his party, cricket has become a tool for stoking anti-Muslim sentiment.
The clergy intervened to calm down
And the "BBC" network published that the Leicester city police intervened to break up the violence that erupted on Saturday between young men from the Muslim and Hindu communities in the city. Police said they arrested two people, and that the unrest erupted after an "unplanned protest" by the Indians.
According to eyewitnesses to the British network, the East Leicester area witnessed clashes in which masked people participated, hurling Molotov cocktails and fighting with sticks, and "although the police were present, the situation got out of control." Another eyewitness said: "We have seen a lot of tension over the past weeks, people still feel fear and uncertainty."
Leicester Mayor Sir Peter Solsby said: "I don't think anyone was expecting what we saw during the confrontation, things really got worse last night and I am very concerned about the people who have been arrested, most of them in their late teens or early twenties, and I have also been affected by the way she has responded. The police, it was not an easy task."
Religious figures from the two communities intervened to calm the situation. The Federation of Muslim Organizations in Britain called on the Muslims of Leicester to stay away from confrontations and not participate in them. "Leicester is a city that is proud of its diversity, where the Muslim and Hindu communities have always worked in peace for 50 years, yet we must accept that recent waves of violence are linked to groups who have recently arrived (in the city) with racist ideologies," he added in his statement.
Sanjeev Patel , representative of Hindu and Jain temples across Leicester, said he was "deeply saddened and shocked" by the violence the city witnessed on Saturday night, saying: "We have lived in harmony in the city for many decades, but over the past few weeks it is clear that Things to discuss around the table to find out what makes people angry."
Sport as a tool for fueling Hindu racism
The city of Leicester oscillates on the impact of tensions between the Muslim and Hindu communities, which have erupted since last August 28, following a cricket match that brought together the Indian and Pakistani teams for the Asian Nations Cup, during which the Pakistanis were defeated. As a result, Indian fans took to the streets, chanting racist slogans against Muslims.
And sports in general, since the right-wing extremist Narendra Modi came to power in India, has become a tool for fanning Hindu nationalist sentiments and anti-Muslim hatred. This is evident in the racist slogans that have become chanted by the Indian fans, after every meeting between their team and its Pakistani counterpart.
In the cricket World Cup qualifiers, October 2021, following the Indian team's defeat against Pakistan, Muhammad Al-Shami , the only Muslim player in the Indian squad, was attacked through social media with racist words, and he was betrayed and held responsible for that defeat.
The Indian police also arrested at least 14 Muslim citizens, only because they expressed their joy at the victory of the Pakistan team, as they were accused of inciting sedition.
In an article by the Indian writer Akhil Sood, on the transformation of cricket into a tool for fueling nationalism, he wrote: "All I see now are severe insults directed at Pakistan. Sport has become a suitable prop for the spread of the spirit of daily chauvinism, and instead of rationality we use fanaticism, Islamophobia, and aggression Foolish reactions are hypothetical, and the usual pseudo-hatred of sporting rivalry has been replaced by a vicious and very real one.”
The Indian writer concludes: "Increasing nationalism has sucked the joy out of what was once an integral part of watching cricket. The usual sporting schadenfreude among spectators is no longer in place, as it inevitably descends into racist insults and an assertion of racial superiority."
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