The recent sentencing of a 26-year old man from Hindu background for murder, in an incident arising out of a seemingly trivial incident at a nightclub was greeted by surprise by many Hindus.

“Violence? Hindus? No way!” Or so some people would like to believe. “All Hindu youngsters go to university and get good white collar jobs, and act as pillars of the community” Frankly, this is a self-delusional fantasy of many Hindu community leaders, which fails to grasp the complex and diverse experiences and problems of young Hindus growing up here.

Yes, it is true that Hindus have higher than average levels of educational achievements. But then Shilesh Patel who was convicted of murder was himself a university graduate. Clearly education does not rule out problems occurring.

But at the same time there are Tamil gangs of which there are thought to be at least forty, the members of which are mainly Hindu, for which a totally separate division of the police has had to be set up tackle in London.

We have to take the reality as a whole rather than focus on any one particular aspect of it, and in doing so it can be seen that the same problems exist amongst Hindus as which exist for many other communities. The difference is perhaps that there is less acknowledgement of the problem and therefore less support for those whose lives are affected by it.

Starting from about a decade ago I became involved in a life of violence. Some of the incidents which I was involved in were isolated incidents, while others ended up as long drawn out conflicts. Some of these had an ethnic or religious dimension, but in practice most of them boiled down to pride and reputation. Luckily, after a few years I was able to get myself out of these situations, but several of my friends have continued to languish in the self-destructive cycle.

A lot of time, young Hindus who have grown up in protected environments become victims of a small incident like getting spat at or slapped by some group or another. Some people put into this situation would retreat into a shell, while others try and become tough and fight back. Both are understandable reactions, and one cannot necessarily blame a person who decides “not to take it any more”.

However there is another way of dealing with such situations, that stem from the self-confidence not to become intimidated and yet at the same time not to overreact. But for this, there needs to be support and guidance available in our community organisations. Rather than reject young people who have got themselves into problems, the community needs to help them redirect their lives. This includes promoting methods of channelling pent up aggression or frustration into positive forms, such as martial arts or careers which put the tendencies to good use, like the police or military.