Hindus in Britain have a problem: they fit in too well. Unlike alienated Muslim extremists, they do not march, demonstrate or threaten violence. Most achieve good results at school and hold good jobs. Many find their religion compatible with Western society. And, as a result, official Britain takes little notice.

Beset by fears of Islamic extremism and worries over failing integration, the Government takes the large, and largely successful, Indian community for granted. “Young Hindus feel that nothing is done for them,” says Anil Bhanot, the general secretary of the Hindu Council UK. “So they become more identity-oriented. They say they must assert themselves – ‘I’m a Hindu, let me have a piece of the cake’.

“Young Hindus see that they are not heard. Some tell the Government, ‘Is that because we don’t blow things up?’ They just laugh.”

Even when the Hindu Council does seek a meeting, the Government gives it a low priority. Moderation wins little attention, he says. Unlike Muslims and Roman Catholics, Hindus are not pressing for separate faith schools. They are calling for a Bank Holiday in October to celebrate Diwali and propose making this a “community holiday” that would also include Muslim and Jewish festivals. But so far they have made little headway. “They just send us a note of regret later. We are not fools.”

The danger, Mr Bhanot says, is a backlash. Hindus and Muslims used to be united 20 years ago, with joint programmes at universities. “Now all that has changed – partly because Muslims have built their own communities and partly because of Bin Laden and the fears that have built up.”

Already many Hindus object to the term “Asian”, fearing this associates them with Muslims. The trend saddens Mr Bhanot, a passionate believer in integration and interfaith dialogue. He was the council’s auditor (and still runs his own chartered accountant’s business), and was elected general secretary in 2003. But he insists that the job is not to court the media, which can have a negative effect, or to seek exposure on television. “The power associated with organisations has a dangerous effect. We are wary of confusing power with the work we do.”

That work is largely to offer the 170 Hindu temples across Britain and another 130 cultural organisations support, scholarship and an effective way to lobby the Government.

That lobbying played a crucial role in the contentious area of training priests. The Home Office proposals to clamp down on the entry of religious officials from the sub-continent was intended to stop the influx of radical imams from Paki-stan. For Hindu priests, however, trained in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, it spelt disaster.

“We cannot train them here. It is a very long process and setting up training schools would take decades and need government help.” But the council successfully persuaded the Government to create two categories – “religious workers” who did not preach, and did not fall foul of the rule that preachers must speak English, and “ministers of religion” who all spoke English anyway. About 100 priests, staying for four years, now come to Britain a year.

Mr Bhanot said that Hinduism, like other religions, has seen a resurgence among the young in the past decade. “Our forefathers established temples, and we are grateful. Then, because of secular pressures on young Hindus in a predominantly Christian environment, there was a gap in building in the 1970s. But from the 1980s, after the temples were built, the emphasis has shifted to festivals and celebrations.”

British Hindus now mark 20 large festivals a year, and the young are enthusiastic attendants. “We don’t want to make a big fuss and dance, as religion is a personal matter. But festivals are important, as they bring people together. Young people can identify with them, and they win the hearts and minds of the host community.”

Along with this revival of interest has come a thirst to know the fundamental precepts of Hinduism. The Hindu Council spends considerable effort making available “pundits” – trained scholars – who can answer, usually online, queries sent in by temples and worshippers. Is it appropriate, for example to relocate icons in a new temple? Norfolk Country Council, in respect to its housing policy, asked one pundit whether Tantric yoga practices were mainstream Hinduism.

The council is swift to underline the differences between religious practice in Britain and in India. “Here in the UK all castes are represented, including Dalits,” Mr Bhanot insisted. “The Nepalese are there, the Bengalis and Gujaratis are all there. And food was served from a Dalit temple in Southall. India is different.”

Another controversy that has occasionally hit the headlines is over open-air cremations. The council has tried to distance itself from a campaigner in Northumberland who unofficially – and illegally – conducted a cremation on an open funeral pyre. However, Mr Bhanot called for more crematoriums with facilities to accommodate worshippers, who are traditionally offered food and need to take a shower or wash. A large crematorium for Hindus, with a suitable hall, is being built in Leicester. More, he says, needs to be done.

A quietly spoken intellectual, Mr Bhanot personifies the moderation that he argues has kept British Hindus out of the headlines. That may change. He is angry that Hindus have not been included on the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights. “Aren’t they taking us seriously? They would be wrong. We can bring balance to policymaking.”

That, indeed, has been his life’s work.