In June 2024, a Hindu schoolboy was pressurised to convert to Islam, in Springwell Junior School, Heston. The incident involved three 7-year-old children, in Year 2, who all came from Muslim backgrounds.
The child expressed a desire to eat halal chicken, despite being vegetarian, and told his parents that he had changed his name to Mohammed. He told them that if he didn’t become a Muslim, he was told that his Muslim classmates wouldn’t remain friends with the boy.
The Hindu parents involved in this case of coerced religious conversion contacted their son’s school, and the children in his class were interviewed by the teachers. Troublingly, the teachers and parents found out that the student was forced by his classmates to cut his kalava, the Hindu sacred thread commonly worn on the wrist. The Hindu student was told to cut it off to remain friends with their classmates. The three Muslim students involved in this incident have been suspended by the school.
Last year, several organisations raised concerns regarding safeguarding the rights of Hindu schoolchildren. A study by the Henry Jackson Society in 2023 showed that bullying, pressure to convert to another religion and Hinduphobia were commonplace across many schools in the UK. The study revealed that 51% of Hindu parents reported that their child had experienced anti-Hindu hatred at school. Only 15% of Hindu parents believed that schools were adequately equipped to tackle this.