0:00:02 > 0:00:06Over the past 50 years, Britain has seen its skyline change.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11Across the country, amongst the suburban sprawl,
0:00:11 > 0:00:15every now and then there's a glimpse of a more exotic world.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20These are sacred Hindu temples,
0:00:20 > 0:00:25buildings devoted to a religion of diverse beliefs and many gods.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29Hinduism - the word makes it sound as if it's a single tradition, but,
0:00:29 > 0:00:32in fact, it's this incredibly complex mix
0:00:32 > 0:00:34of many different cultures.
0:00:34 > 0:00:39We have an absolute dazzling diversity of forms of God,
0:00:39 > 0:00:42holy texts, forms of worship.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47In this film, we explore the fascinating history of five
0:00:47 > 0:00:51very different temples across Britain,
0:00:51 > 0:00:55from their humble beginnings, to architectural masterpieces.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59And through the stories of the people who worship here,
0:00:59 > 0:01:02we'll reveal the turbulent and complicated tale
0:01:02 > 0:01:04of Hinduism in Britain.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07It's a story of rebellion and protest...
0:01:07 > 0:01:09They don't close churches down or anything like that,
0:01:09 > 0:01:11so why are they closing our manor down?
0:01:11 > 0:01:14You've got to understand, Hindus don't do this.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17They just felt this was their chance to make a statement.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20..a tale of loss and exile...
0:01:20 > 0:01:24One of the Army personnel comes to me and says,
0:01:24 > 0:01:26"Your name is on a hit list.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28"Please leave, to save your life."
0:01:29 > 0:01:31..beauty and hope.
0:01:31 > 0:01:36The temple is something which is my soul.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56One of the earliest Hindus to settle in Britain
0:01:56 > 0:01:59was 81-year-old Krishan Mittal.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03Arriving here more than 50 years ago he became an unassuming pioneer
0:02:03 > 0:02:07of one of the first places to be used as a Hindu temple.
0:02:09 > 0:02:10No work of art...
0:02:11 > 0:02:12..but a shop in Bradford.
0:02:15 > 0:02:20Mr Mittal's journey to the UK began in India at a time when the country
0:02:20 > 0:02:21was in turmoil.
0:02:23 > 0:02:30In 1947, India gained its independence from the British,
0:02:30 > 0:02:32but it was at a great cost,
0:02:32 > 0:02:39because India was divided between two countries, India and Pakistan.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45Like many Hindus, Mr Mittal and his family found themselves
0:02:45 > 0:02:47living in mainly Muslim Pakistan.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52Religious tensions ran high, and they were forced to flee.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57There was madness.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03Nobody knew what they are doing.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05That's it. It was madness.
0:03:08 > 0:03:09Trains were just like cargo.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14People used to walk
0:03:14 > 0:03:17on foot, miles.
0:03:17 > 0:03:23Loaded with their leftover things on shoulders and children like this.
0:03:25 > 0:03:26It was...
0:03:29 > 0:03:30I can't find word.
0:03:34 > 0:03:35Inhuman.
0:03:40 > 0:03:45Krishan moved to Delhi, in India, where he began working as a teacher.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49It was here that he heard from a friend about new opportunities.
0:03:51 > 0:03:56In my school there was a teacher, he said,
0:03:56 > 0:04:01"Most of the people from Punjab are going to England.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04"Why don't you try your...
0:04:04 > 0:04:05"luck?"
0:04:07 > 0:04:12The first substantial migration of Hindus really got under way
0:04:12 > 0:04:15in the 1950s.
0:04:15 > 0:04:20After the Second World War, Britain needed manpower because there was
0:04:20 > 0:04:24a shortage of people to work in factories and foundries.
0:04:25 > 0:04:30Mr Mittal made for Bradford where he found a job at a textile mill.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32And once he'd established himself,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35he turned to finding a place of worship.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37For him and his Hindu friends,
0:04:37 > 0:04:41it was the Muslim and Sikh Asians who spurred them into action.
0:04:42 > 0:04:47Muslims started building up their own mosques,
0:04:47 > 0:04:50and Sikhs started making gurdwaras.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53But the Hindus didn't have anything.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59With a lack of funds they had to improvise by transforming
0:04:59 > 0:05:02their own homes into makeshift temples.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06Then we started worshipping
0:05:06 > 0:05:09at our own houses every Sunday.
0:05:09 > 0:05:14And gradually, the other Hindus who were living around,
0:05:14 > 0:05:15they started joining us.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21Anywhere can be made a sacred space in Hinduism.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25You invite God to come into it and say, "This is a pure place now,
0:05:25 > 0:05:26"please come here and be with us."
0:05:26 > 0:05:30And everyone comes together as a congregation for this.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33Then after the ceremony you can envelope it
0:05:33 > 0:05:34and it becomes a house again.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41Mr Mittal's home in Bradford, a former shop,
0:05:41 > 0:05:45became one of the regular places the Punjabi Hindus gathered for prayers.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52This is 409 Harewood Street,
0:05:52 > 0:05:57and we used to come and worship in this house so many times.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01Worship where they have this display area.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05We used to live upstairs.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07These rooms used to be empty.
0:06:08 > 0:06:13So, naturally, there was quite enough space for people
0:06:13 > 0:06:16to come and stay and worship.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19And then we used to have...
0:06:19 > 0:06:20sanctified food.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25For early arrivals from India,
0:06:25 > 0:06:28often men on their own without their families,
0:06:28 > 0:06:32worshipping together in their own homes was more than just
0:06:32 > 0:06:36religious ritual - it was a way of keeping their Hindu identity
0:06:36 > 0:06:39alive in a culture where there were few links with the land
0:06:39 > 0:06:41they'd left behind.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47That was just to keep in touch with our...
0:06:48 > 0:06:50..religion, and with our culture.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53Because we don't want to forget.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01But temples aren't just about maintaining identity.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10At the end of the '60s they became a place of refuge for a new surge
0:07:10 > 0:07:12of Hindu arrivals to Britain,
0:07:12 > 0:07:16not drawn by work, but fleeing expulsion from Africa.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24Today marks a historic moment for the worshippers
0:07:24 > 0:07:27at one of Leicester's oldest temples.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30It's an event that only takes place once in a generation.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Today is really an important day where we will be bringing
0:07:36 > 0:07:40two new goddesses into our Mandir, into our temple.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44Mother Ganga, who is the River Ganges, all the way from India.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47Also, Goddess Saraswati, who is the goddess of knowledge.
0:07:49 > 0:07:54Vibhooti Acharya is one of the first female presidents of a Hindu temple
0:07:54 > 0:07:55in the UK.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58They are brought in with high reverence because they are believed
0:07:58 > 0:08:02to be, not just statues, but living gods,
0:08:02 > 0:08:05who will be blessing us in the Mandir for many, many years to come.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11The arrival of the Goddesses marks the anniversary of when the first
0:08:11 > 0:08:15deities were installed here 40 years ago.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19At the same time as Vibhooti and her family, including her two sisters,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22Bharti and Hema, arrived in Leicester from Tanzania.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29We came here very early in 1972.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33My father was feeling that the face of Africa was changing,
0:08:33 > 0:08:36and he felt slightly unsettled.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40He had the three daughters, and he felt that, perhaps,
0:08:40 > 0:08:42the prospects were better in the UK.
0:08:47 > 0:08:52In fact, behind the temple's celebrations lie stories
0:08:52 > 0:08:54of persecution and exile.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01Most of the Asians who come here are from East Africa,
0:09:01 > 0:09:05descendants of families sent there by the British from colonial India.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12At the end of the 19th century, the British,
0:09:12 > 0:09:19who were administering East Africa, decided to lay a railway.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22That actually meant that they needed people with skills
0:09:22 > 0:09:25in ironwork, in woodwork, and so forth.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30With such skills in short supply in Africa, the British brought
0:09:30 > 0:09:33Indians from Gujarat on the West Coast of India
0:09:33 > 0:09:34to work on the railway,
0:09:34 > 0:09:36which stretched from Kenya to Uganda.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43But once it was finished, many Asians chose not to return,
0:09:43 > 0:09:47instead setting up businesses, often becoming affluent.
0:09:51 > 0:09:56But in the early 1960s they found their lives thrown into turmoil
0:09:56 > 0:10:00when all over Africa, former British colonies were gaining independence.
0:10:02 > 0:10:07This was a time when the East African states were seeking
0:10:07 > 0:10:10greater Africanisation.
0:10:10 > 0:10:15So the prosperous Hindu community felt increasingly insecure.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22In one country in particular, the treatment of the Asians
0:10:22 > 0:10:24was unexpectedly violent.
0:10:31 > 0:10:37In the 1970s, Maz Mashru was working in Uganda as a photojournalist
0:10:37 > 0:10:41when President Idi Amin ordered the expulsion of Asian minorities
0:10:41 > 0:10:43from the country.
0:10:43 > 0:10:50I announced the decision to ask the British government to take over
0:10:50 > 0:10:57responsibility for the British citizens of Asian origins.
0:10:57 > 0:11:02There was an announcement from President Idi Amin that we had
0:11:02 > 0:11:0590 days to leave the country.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10It was a moment that changed the course of Maz's life.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14Because I was involved with the previous regime, they had put,
0:11:14 > 0:11:16four times, a gun on my chest.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22And my informant comes to me and said, "Please leave,
0:11:22 > 0:11:23"to save your life."
0:11:25 > 0:11:29In order to escape Amin's threats, Maz and his wife had to make
0:11:29 > 0:11:32the dangerous journey to the British passport office
0:11:32 > 0:11:35in the country's capital.
0:11:35 > 0:11:40When I was going to Kampala there were 19 roadblocks
0:11:40 > 0:11:42manned by the army people.
0:11:43 > 0:11:49On each roadblock we had to stop, identify ourselves,
0:11:49 > 0:11:52exhibit all of our belongings,
0:11:52 > 0:11:56and if they thought that there was something valuable...
0:11:59 > 0:12:02..they would just help themselves and that belonged to them.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09Like, they removed earrings out of my wife's ears.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13They pulled the chain out of my wife's neck.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16They also got the wedding ring,
0:12:16 > 0:12:20but I managed to convince them that that was a wedding ring,
0:12:20 > 0:12:21and they gave that back.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26And it was very painful,
0:12:26 > 0:12:28very painful experience.
0:12:31 > 0:12:36Maz managed to make it to Britain and settled in Leicester.
0:12:36 > 0:12:37He assumed he'd found safety.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41But there was a shock on arrival.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45Far from being a haven, it was a place of hostility.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47They're coming from another country,
0:12:47 > 0:12:49we're paying so much a week, National Health and stuff,
0:12:49 > 0:12:51and they come in and get it straightaway for nothing.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54It's about time the government took over its responsibilities,
0:12:54 > 0:12:57and sent these people back to their country of origin.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00Sadly, when we came to this country...
0:13:02 > 0:13:07..a lot of people thought we were coming from a dark continent,
0:13:07 > 0:13:09we were illiterate,
0:13:09 > 0:13:13and we came here to exploit the wealth of this country.
0:13:16 > 0:13:17It must have been...
0:13:18 > 0:13:20..devastating for them.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24They lost their homes, they lost their way of life.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28What they took with them was their Hindu tradition.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34For a community left with so little,
0:13:34 > 0:13:37finding the resources for a place to worship was tough.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41So rather than custom-build a temple,
0:13:41 > 0:13:44they adapted an existing building -
0:13:44 > 0:13:47a disused Baptist Church was transformed
0:13:47 > 0:13:48into the Shree Sanatan Mandir.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58And in a strange and sometimes hostile world,
0:13:58 > 0:14:02it was the temple that provided a place of familiarity and security.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07For the Acharya sisters arriving from Tanzania as children,
0:14:07 > 0:14:10it was a second home.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14The whole of the temple was like a huge playground for us,
0:14:14 > 0:14:18a massive playground where we'd play hide and seek and the priest
0:14:18 > 0:14:20used to play with us, and join in.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23And he was aged, the poor man, but he would be like,
0:14:23 > 0:14:26"OK, I'm going to find you."
0:14:26 > 0:14:28And he used to say, "I'm coming."
0:14:28 > 0:14:31And we used to hide, crouch right down on the floor.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33- And he was so nice.- Under the bench,
0:14:33 > 0:14:36because at that time you could get under the bench and you could
0:14:36 > 0:14:42not be seen. Also on top of the temple we used to be able to leap
0:14:42 > 0:14:44onto the dome and hide behind the dome.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50For a people who have lost everything and survived,
0:14:50 > 0:14:54the temple is more than just a place of gods and rituals -
0:14:54 > 0:14:57it's a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04This Mandir, to me, is a place of survival.
0:15:05 > 0:15:11We have a lovely word, called praan, and it means spirit or breath,
0:15:11 > 0:15:15and the Mandir is really like our every breath.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20It shows our struggle and it shows our achievement.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24It reflects our love and unity.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27The temple is something...
0:15:28 > 0:15:30..which is my soul.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35The spread of Hinduism in Britain hasn't always been
0:15:35 > 0:15:37driven by migration.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43It was a temple bought by a British music legend that would change
0:15:43 > 0:15:47the face of Hinduism and unite the community
0:15:47 > 0:15:49in a fight for religious freedom.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52MUSIC: My Sweet Lord by George Harrison
0:15:56 > 0:16:00In 1971, George Harrison became the first member of the Beatles
0:16:00 > 0:16:02to have a solo number one.
0:16:07 > 0:16:12My Sweet Lord became the biggest selling record of the year,
0:16:12 > 0:16:15and it reflected Harrison's new-found passion
0:16:15 > 0:16:18for a religious movement inspired by a Hindu holy man.
0:16:20 > 0:16:26In 1965, AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada took the West by storm.
0:16:29 > 0:16:34At the age of 69, he gave up his family and responsibilities in India
0:16:34 > 0:16:38and went to America, where he began to attract followers to a movement
0:16:38 > 0:16:40which spread worldwide.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42His message was simple.
0:16:43 > 0:16:48Prabhupada's main focus was chanting the name of Krishna.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50THEY CHANT
0:16:51 > 0:16:56And when you chant the names of Krishna, it's as if the god
0:16:56 > 0:17:00was dancing on your tongue, so it's the idea that in every part
0:17:00 > 0:17:03of your body, you're making divine service.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09It was a meeting between Prabhupada and George Harrison that led
0:17:09 > 0:17:12to the founding of a temple in leafy Hertfordshire,
0:17:12 > 0:17:16that would become the focus of one of the most passionate disputes
0:17:16 > 0:17:19in the history of Hinduism in Britain.
0:17:19 > 0:17:20We called George and said,
0:17:20 > 0:17:24"We've found this beautiful manor building in Letchmore Heath."
0:17:24 > 0:17:28He said, "Go ahead." He purchased it and we opened
0:17:28 > 0:17:30Bhaktivedanta Manor in the summer of 1973.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35George's lawyers applied for the planning just to make sure that was OK.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38They wrote to the local council and said, "We're going to use it as
0:17:38 > 0:17:41"a residential training centre for Krishna consciousness."
0:17:43 > 0:17:47It was a decision that would thrust this little-known English manor
0:17:47 > 0:17:49into the spotlight as, very quickly,
0:17:49 > 0:17:53it became clear that this wasn't just a quiet place of learning,
0:17:53 > 0:17:55popular with converts.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58It was also attracting the wider Hindu community.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07It wasn't just the people who were following the movement
0:18:07 > 0:18:12who came here, there were a lot of Hindus who were coming here as well.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16This was the one large temple that we could all come out and visit,
0:18:16 > 0:18:21especially at Janmashtami, which is the birth date of Krishna.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28That's a day when all Hindus actually make a point
0:18:28 > 0:18:30of coming to the temple.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34So we'd have a large number of cars coming through the village,
0:18:34 > 0:18:39which then really made an issue for the villagers that were saying
0:18:39 > 0:18:42they can't get into the village, there's a lot of noise.
0:18:42 > 0:18:49And they felt that the quiet village atmosphere was being taken away.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54Complaints about visitor numbers were made to the council.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59The controversy focused on the manor's purpose,
0:18:59 > 0:19:03and whether a building established as a theological college
0:19:03 > 0:19:05could also serve as a place of public worship.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12Welcome to a meeting of the Bushey and Aldenham Planning Sub-board.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16I think the council felt that a residential training place would be
0:19:16 > 0:19:20like a monastery, so there wouldn't be very many people coming to it.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23Whereas what they were seeing at the manor was tens of thousands
0:19:23 > 0:19:25of people coming on big occasions.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30Despite the Hare Krishnas' suggestion of building
0:19:30 > 0:19:33an alternative access road bypassing the village,
0:19:33 > 0:19:36in 1994, matters came to a head.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42The local council issued an order which, if enforced,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45would close the manor for public worship,
0:19:45 > 0:19:49and turn all Hindu visitors into lawbreakers.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53When we heard that the manor would be closed, I mean, the Hindu...
0:19:55 > 0:19:57I mean, everyone was really upset.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01The temple was to close on March 16th.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06I remember standing in the temple the night before.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10It was packed. It was a Tuesday night.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12Everyone was in there, and they thought,
0:20:12 > 0:20:15"This could be our last chance to visit the temple."
0:20:16 > 0:20:20For British Hindus, who usually kept a low profile,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23it was a threat that galvanised them into action.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32Thousands of Hindus from all over the country
0:20:32 > 0:20:36converged on central London today to protest at what they say
0:20:36 > 0:20:38is an attack on their freedom to worship.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43They don't close churches down or anything like that,
0:20:43 > 0:20:44so why are they closing our manor down?
0:20:44 > 0:20:46We want to worship and we want to know our rights,
0:20:46 > 0:20:48what to do with our god.
0:20:50 > 0:20:56It was such a great feeling to see that so many people
0:20:56 > 0:21:00had taken time off, closed their businesses,
0:21:00 > 0:21:03and come there to help us to keep this place open.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07We had no idea how many people were going to come for that.
0:21:07 > 0:21:12As it turned out, the police told me on that day, it was 37,000 people.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15No-one believes that any other community would suffer like this.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18The government and the local council would never try to close down
0:21:18 > 0:21:21any other shrine or religious institute in the way
0:21:21 > 0:21:23they have treated this temple. It's insane.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25And you've got to understand, Hindus don't do this.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29They are law-abiding,
0:21:29 > 0:21:31they are so careful,
0:21:31 > 0:21:33but they just felt this was their chance to make a statement.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41It was an outpouring of support that paid off.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45A year later, the Secretary of State agreed that if a new access road
0:21:45 > 0:21:48was created, the manor could remain open.
0:21:50 > 0:21:55It was a sign, really, that Hindus had arrived.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58It was such a joy and relief.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02And they were so pleased with themselves, actually.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05So proud that they had risked everything,
0:22:05 > 0:22:07and it actually had paid off.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15As the Hare Krishnas celebrated their victory,
0:22:15 > 0:22:19a long-established temple was making the difference between
0:22:19 > 0:22:23life and death for Hindus fleeing civil war.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33Towering above the suburbs of north-east London is a temple
0:22:33 > 0:22:36that is home to one of the least understood Hindu communities
0:22:36 > 0:22:39in Britain - the Tamils.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44Originating from South India and the island of Sri Lanka,
0:22:44 > 0:22:46the Tamil Hindus have their own language
0:22:46 > 0:22:48and religious traditions.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54And today devotees are gathering to celebrate a festival focusing
0:22:54 > 0:22:56on their patron deity, Murugan.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08Murugan is well-known as a warrior God. He is considered to be the son
0:23:08 > 0:23:13of Lord Shiva who is the main god in the Hindu pantheon.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17He's also the brother of the elephant-headed god, Ganesh.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21And he's known for a rather strong, almost fighting aspect,
0:23:21 > 0:23:24and he carries a spear called a Vel in Tamil.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31The London Sri Murugan Temple was established as a place of worship
0:23:31 > 0:23:33by South Indian Hindus in the mid '70s.
0:23:34 > 0:23:39But a decade later it became home to refugees seeking sanctuary
0:23:39 > 0:23:43from a 30-year civil war in Sri Lanka,
0:23:43 > 0:23:46a war that claimed the lives of more than 100,000.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50The conflict began in 1983...
0:23:52 > 0:23:55There have been reports of more violence in Sri Lanka...
0:23:55 > 0:23:58..when predominantly Hindu Tamils were attacked by members
0:23:58 > 0:24:01of the mainly Buddhist Sinhalese majority
0:24:01 > 0:24:03in pogroms in the capital, Colombo.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08An event that became known as Black July.
0:24:10 > 0:24:15Jana was living in the north of the island when the violence began.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19Many Tamils were robbed or killed,
0:24:19 > 0:24:21and many people injured,
0:24:21 > 0:24:23their homes burned.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27Acts of horrific violence were committed against
0:24:27 > 0:24:31the Tamil population. Tamil people were executed in the street.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34People were beaten to death by mobs.
0:24:34 > 0:24:35People were burnt alive.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43It was an event that plunged the country into civil war.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48Militant youth movements including the infamous
0:24:48 > 0:24:52Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam began fighting the Sinhalese
0:24:52 > 0:24:56nationalist government to establish an independent Tamil state.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03But the Tamil Tigers were just one of many armed factions
0:25:03 > 0:25:05vying for new recruits.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11It was a dangerous rivalry that the teenage Jana got caught up in,
0:25:11 > 0:25:12with terrifying consequences.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17I was abducted by one of the...
0:25:17 > 0:25:19militant groups.
0:25:19 > 0:25:20Blindfolded and...
0:25:22 > 0:25:23..taken by van.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27I was kept under armed guard.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30Possibly to execute.
0:25:31 > 0:25:32I know many people...
0:25:33 > 0:25:36..killed. So, similarly, I faced,
0:25:36 > 0:25:38"Yes, my life is going to end."
0:25:47 > 0:25:50Jana was lucky - he was rescued by friends,
0:25:50 > 0:25:54but he realised his only chance of a future without violence
0:25:54 > 0:25:56was to flee his homeland.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04If I want to stay there, I have to kill a few people,
0:26:04 > 0:26:06or I need to leave the country.
0:26:06 > 0:26:07So I leave the country,
0:26:07 > 0:26:11because my struggle is not fighting against the people.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16Coming to Britain saved Jana's life,
0:26:16 > 0:26:20and for Tamil refugees like him, the Hindu temple
0:26:20 > 0:26:22had a fundamental role to play.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27Temples are not just places of worship.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30They're not even just places of community gathering.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33They can be places that make the difference between life and death.
0:26:34 > 0:26:39This was the case with many of the young men who fled the civil war.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42They were often able to take refuge in these temples.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46They were fed there.
0:26:46 > 0:26:47They slept there.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50They became the centre of their existence while they
0:26:50 > 0:26:52recreated their lives in Britain.
0:26:53 > 0:26:58For Tamil people, temples are more than a place of worship.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01Because once they saw the temple,
0:27:01 > 0:27:06then they got the strong belief they can achieve whatever they want.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08They can solve whatever their problem.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12All can be achieved through the temple.
0:27:16 > 0:27:21Over the past 60 years, the face of British Hinduism has changed
0:27:21 > 0:27:23beyond recognition.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26The community is no longer improvising worship
0:27:26 > 0:27:29in back-to-backs, but crafting breathtaking structures
0:27:29 > 0:27:31in the heart of British cities.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39And it's north-west London that's the home to the largest Hindu temple
0:27:39 > 0:27:41in Europe.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44It's a reflection of just how far Hinduism has come.
0:27:46 > 0:27:52The Neasden Temple represents one of the most confident statements
0:27:52 > 0:27:55of religious and cultural identity,
0:27:55 > 0:28:01not just in the scale and the detail with which it was built,
0:28:01 > 0:28:05but also the way in which it was presented as part of
0:28:05 > 0:28:07a multicultural Britain.
0:28:07 > 0:28:14It shows that Hinduism is as much a part of the British landscape
0:28:14 > 0:28:15as our churches.
0:28:16 > 0:28:21Hindu temples are far more than religious buildings -
0:28:21 > 0:28:22they're monuments of hope.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27An enduring testament to a community that has suffered loss
0:28:27 > 0:28:33and persecution, yet found the courage to rebuild broken lives.