London’s annual Diwali celebration, scheduled for 12 October 2025 under the Mayor’s office, continues to involve the same network of organisations previously criticised for partnering with the Vishva Hindu Parishad (UK), a far-right Hindu nationalist group accused of orchestrating anti-Muslim violence in India, and with the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), which faces allegations of labour trafficking and caste-based exploitation in its temples overseas.
The World Council of Hindu Temples, Ilford Hindu Centre, listed on the official Diwali in London (DiL) organiser page, appears to have dropped the explicit reference to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) that was present in previous years. However, the group’s English name and motto, “Dharma protects those who uphold it,” directly correspond to those of the VHP. The original Sanskrit version of this slogan, Dharmo Rakṣati Rakṣitaḥ (धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः), is used across VHP’s global branches.
A simple search confirms that the Ilford Hindu Centre is a registered base of the VHP-UK, revealing a direct link between the newly listed name and the same network previously criticised. The change in presentation, however, has not distanced the group from its well-documented history.
A militant past and global network
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) was established in 1964 with the support of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a paramilitary organisation that has been accused of inspiring Hindu supremacist movements across India. The RSS’s ideology has shaped India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and together, these organisations form the core of the global Hindutva project.
The VHP has been directly accused of instigating anti-Muslim violence, including the 2002 Gujarat pogrom that left more than 2,000 people dead. A UK government inquiry cited in the BBC’s India: The Modi Question documentary alleged that the violence was “planned, possibly in advance” by the VHP and its affiliates. The group has also been linked to the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid and to decades of communal violence in India.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.
