London, Apr 19 (IANS): Hindu students in the UK are targets of bullying and racial discrimination in classrooms with Muslim pupils telling them to change their religion to make their lives easier, according to a London-based think tank.

The Telegraph reported quoting a study by the Henry Jackson Society that Muslim pupils called for Hindus to convert or face "threats of hell for disbelievers" using terms such as "kaffir".

Half of Hindu parents surveyed reported that their child had experienced anti-Hindu hate in schools, while less than 1 per cent of schools surveyed reported any anti-Hindu related incidents in the last five years.

The survey, covering 988 Hindu parents and more than 1,000 schools around the country, found that there were "numerous instances of derogatory references made towards Hindus, such as mocking their vegetarianism and belittling their deities, which were also made by Islamist extremists rallying against the Hindu community in Leicester.

"In one instance, a female Hindu pupil had beef thrown at her, and a male student was reported to have to change East London schools three times on account of anti-Hindu bullying. Eight physical assaults were detailed," the study said.

In one example a child "was harassed and told that if they convert to Islam, their life will become so much easier" and another was told: "You aren't going to survive very long... If you want to go to paradise, you'll have to come to Islam... Hindus are the herbivores at the bottom of the food chain, we will eat you up."

Another parent said children were told to watch videos of an Islamic preacher and to "convert because Hinduism makes no sense", The Telegraph reported.

According to the think tank, religious education was "fostering discrimination" against Hindus with inappropriate references to the Indian caste system and misconceptions over the worship of deities which students felt made "a mockery of them".

It was found that only 15 per cent of parents surveyed believed schools adequately address anti-Hindu related incidents.

Ben Everitt, Conservative MP for Milton Keynes, told The Telegraph that the findings were "damning" and called for urgent improvements to religious education.

"The findings in this report are damning and shed light on the varying themes and forms which anti-Hindu discrimination materialises in the classroom," he said.