Climate change, fair trade and human rights are cool buzz words right now, but when it comes to taking action how many of us could get results?

The impact of MF Husain’s recent exhibition at Asia House, showing Hindu dieties having sex with animals took Hindu activism to new heights. The exhibition was withdrawn after being vandalised. But was this action one step too far?

Anita Rani meets the new generation of faith activists who prefer email to flag burning. Upset these media savvy tacticians and you’re one email away from a thousand complaints in your inbox.

First up is the Hindu Forum of Britain (HFB), an umbrella organization that represents over 275 Hindu groups throughout Great Britain. They are fighting an ongoing battle against the commercialisation of sacred Hindu imagery. Members Sachin Nanda, Panna Vikaria and Arti Patel tell Anita why they are committed to defending their faith.

Fahad Ansari, Beena Faridi and Hajira Qureshi are from the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), an independent, non-profit organization that campaigns against what it sees as violations of the human rights of Muslims.They organise a spoof ceremony called the Islamophobia Awards in which people vote in an online poll for who they think has been the most anti Islamic person of the year. Anita Rani attends the event and finds out what kind of action the trio have taken to defending attacks on Islam and Muslims.

Useful Links

Hindu Forum of Britain
Islamic Human Rights Commission