Leicester: Violence between Hindu and Muslim communities in Leicester over the weekend led to the arrest of 18 people, nearly half of them from outside the county, the Guardian has learned.

Since it was revealed that eight of those detained were not from Leicestershire, there has been growing concern that outsiders have caused trouble in the city. Five of these came from Birmingham, one from Solihull, one from Luton, and one from Hounslow.

The city's mayor, Sir Peter Solsby, reacted to the news, saying it appeared to be the first indication that people were coming to Leicester to participate in the brawl.

This means that some people are traveling to Leicester to join other conflicts. They have decided to do it in our city, it is worrying. We are proud of our strong community ties, he told the Guardian.

He added, “Since the time this problem started, I have spoken to many people from all communities and they are deeply disturbed by it.” It seems to have more to do with the politics of the subcontinent than anything boils down to in Leicester.

A tense standoff broke out over the weekend between a group of Muslim and Hindu men and the police on Saturday night. The protests were held on Sunday in response to a spontaneous march in the city by Hindu men on Saturday.

Videos posted online over the weekend showed a man tearing a flag outside a Hindu temple on Melton Road in Leicester and another showing a flag burning, adding to the tension.

The Indian High Commission in a statement posted on Twitter strongly condemned the "violence against the Indian community in Leicester, and the vandalism of the campus and symbols of Hinduism".

"We have taken this issue strongly with the UK authorities and called for swift action against those responsible for these attacks," the statement continued.

In an interview earlier in the day with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Soulsby claimed that social media was fueling the unrest and that there was "no apparent local cause" for the clashes in "a very peaceful town".

He said, “I have seen a lot of such things on social media which are now very misleading and some of them are completely lying about what is happening between different communities.

According to Dharmesh Lakhani, who represents and works with Hindu temples throughout Leicester, one flag at the Pagoda Temple on Belgrave Road was removed while the other was burnt. He called this behavior "unacceptable."

“I am really proud to say that the day the flag was removed, there was an Imam outside,” Lakhani said in reference to the incident. He claimed that I am keeping an eye on things outside the temple.

In a city he said has long been a sanctuary for Hindu and Muslim communities - who lived side by side for decades - Lakhani, who has also been working with mosques in the area and local Muslim leaders, spoke on both sides. He urged for peace and dialogue. ,

According to police, several people have been searched and several arrests made in recent weeks using the Section 60 stop-and-search authority.

Several Muslim-owned businesses and a Hindu temple can be found near Green Lane Road, where a group of Hindu men were seen marching on Saturday.

Eyewitnesses reported that hundreds of people chanted "Jai Shri Ram", which means "Jai Ho to Lord Rama" or "Victory to Lord Rama" in Hindi. The mantra is linked to anti-Muslim violence in India, and was supported by videos shared on social media.

Yasmin Surti, who has spent 30 years working with the Leicester community, said that since the group's march through the city left many local Muslims feeling unsafe, the police asked questions about why they allowed it. Is required. Surti said, in the already tense situation, it was "failed" to remove the flag from the temple on Belgrave Road.

She continued, "Hindus and Muslims have co-existed peacefully in Leicester for many years."

Contrary to some social media posts, the police have come forward to claim that the violence that followed the India-Pakistan cricket match in August was not initially motivated by religion.

According to a social media post, a Muslim was allegedly attacked by Hindus. A police spokesman said this was false as the victim was actually a Sikh and a fan of the team of attackers.

Leicester is a model of multiculturalism, but there is an inherent division, according to Gurharpal Singh, an Emeritus Professor of Sikhism and Punjab at Sousse University in London and Visiting Fellow at the University in Leicester.

According to Singh, the rising tensions are now the result of a major social change taking place in the city. Additionally, one "cannot deny the growing importance of domestic politics, you know, the BJP [Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party] mobilization of the diaspora."

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