Stones pelted at Hindu Temple during Eid Milad-un-Nabi procession

Case ID : 04aee0d | Location : Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Sun, 15 September, 2024

Case ID : 04aee0d

Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, India

15 September, 2024

Stones pelted at Hindu Temple during Eid Milad-un-Nabi procession

Attack on Hindu religious representations

Attack on Temples

Case Summary

In Mandsaur, a tense incident occurred during the Eid Milad-un-Nabi procession when stones were thrown by Muslims at the Bade Balaji temple near Nehru Bus Stand. The stone injured a person standing inside the temple premises, leading to a heated dispute between groups. The situation quickly escalated as members of a Hindu organization protested, demanding the arrest of the culprit. Shopkeepers in various markets started closing their shops after hearing about the conflict. Hindu organization members gathered outside the temple, sat on the road, and recited the Hanuman Chalisa, pressing for action against those responsible for the stone-pelting. The temple's priest, Sharad Dwivedi, confirmed that he and others were sitting in the temple when stones from the Islamic procession hit one of his colleagues and injured him, while he was hurt in the leg. He also reported that additional stones and slippers were thrown by the Muslim mob when they protested. The police registered a case based on the priest's complaint and initiated an investigation.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the hate tracker under the prime category of- Attack on Hindu religious symbols and under this, the sub-category selected is- Attack on Temples- In Hinduism, a temple is the abode of the Deity. The Deity in the Temple is consecrated, thereby, making it a real, breathing entity. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the temple premises itself are sacred to Hindus since Hindus hold the faith that the entire Temple space is an amalgamation of the divine energy of the deity. Given the central significance of Temples in Hindu Dharma, any attack against a Hindu Temple or its peripheral premises is an attack on the faith itself and is born out of animosity towards the faith, of which, the Temple is a central tenet. Any manner of attack against a Temple and/or its premises would therefore be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. The attack on a Hindu temple during the Eid Milad-un-Nabi procession was an unprovoked and deliberate assault. By hurling stones at the temple, the attackers specifically targeted the Hindu community based on their religious identity. This unprovoked act of violence was clearly meant to instill fear and intimidate Hindus, reinforcing the idea of religious dominance. The timing of the attack, during an Islamic religious procession, suggests a calculated effort to showcase power, using the occasion to direct aggression towards another community's sacred space. Given the targeted nature of this assault, which stems from religious animosity, this case has been added to the tracker under the category of religiously motivated hate crimes.