India-Pakistan 2022 cricket match clashes: New U.K. report into Leicester communal violence calls for unity forum 

A report on Leicester's 2022 communal clashes calls for a unity forum to enhance community relations and combat disinformation.

A new report into violent communal clashes on the streets of Leicester in 2022, blamed on widespread disinformation, on Monday called for the creation of a permanent community unity forum to improve relations in one of England’s most diverse cities. 

‘Better Together: Understanding the 2022 Violence in Leicester’, released by the Leicester Project Research Team and chaired by human rights expert Professor Juan Mendez, concluded that no single community was to blame for the unrest which flared up following an India-Pakistan cricket match in August 2022.

It stressed that the communal clashes between communities of Indian heritage underscore the urgency of fresh, nationally resourced and locally accountable approaches to building strong, resilient and united communities. 

“Our report focuses on conflict between some groups of Muslims and Hindus in Leicester, but this issue affects all residents of Leicester – white, black, South Asian and others – all of whom have a stake in the city, its many communities, and the relations between them," the report notes. 

“The communal dimension of the violence was clear, including the references to Muslims as ‘Pakistani’, though most South Asian Muslims in Leicester are of Indian origin," it states. 

Both Hindu nationalist and political Islamist actors were found responsible for actively seeking to “inflame division for political ends”.