Hindu youth's home attacked by Muslim mob over allegations of 'blasphemy' amid chants of Allahu Akbar

Case ID : 0b66d18 | Location : Burhanpur, Madhya Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Fri, 31 May, 2024

Case ID : 0b66d18

Burhanpur, Madhya Pradesh, India

31 May, 2024

Hindu youth's home attacked by Muslim mob over allegations of 'blasphemy' amid chants of Allahu Akbar

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked over 'Blasphemy'

Communal clash/attack

Case Summary

In Burhanpur district of Madhya Pradesh, a Muslim mob created a ruckus on June 1, 2024, after deeming a social media post by a Hindu youth, Jatan, as blasphemous and anti-Islamic. The mob attacked Jatan's house, leading to clashes and stone-pelting between both parties. Eight people were arrested from both sides, and police are working to identify more individuals involved in the riot. The incident occurred in the Ganpati Naka area, where Shohrabuddin Qureshi filed a complaint against Jatan for an "anti-Islamic" Instagram post. Before the police could conclude their investigation, over 100 people from the Muslim community began rioting. They marched to Jatan's house in the Itwara Gate area, causing a commotion and chanting slogans of Allah-hu-Akbar. Supporters of Jatan gathered in response, leading to a tense situation and stone-pelting. Police intervened to disperse the crowd, facing stone-throwing from the attackers. Jatan was arrested under Sections 295-A and 188 of IPC and sent to jail. An FIR was filed against 106 attackers, including six named individuals, under Sections 147, 336, 353, and other IPC sections.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This particular case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under two subcategories of the prime category 'Attack not resulting in death' because of the various distinct components that demonstrate the perpetrator's bias against the Hindu faith and their deliberate attempt to harm the Hindus. The first sub-category under 'Attack not resulting in death' relevant in this case is 'Attacked for Blasphemy' Blasphemy essentially refers to the desecration of anything which is held sacred/holy to a group of people. However, for religious supremacist groups, the elements of ‘blasphemy’ are ever-changing, shifting and expanding – leading to infringement on the rights of other religious groups, freedom of speech and expression, threats and even physical violence. There are instances where blasphemy is also used as a dog whistle to target Hindus owing to intrinsic animosity towards Hinduism. There are several instances where stating truths as mentioned in the non-Hindu doctrine itself has led to unmitigated violence against Hindus. There have also been instances where non-Hindus have themselves created a ‘blasphemous’ situation, like placing a Quran in a temple, to use it as an excuse to attack Hindus. Essentially, Blasphemy charges are often made up and/or are used to shut down any form of criticism of non-Hindu faiths and as a tool to target Hindus. Any physical violence over Blasphemy charges against Hindus are foundationally based on animosity for Hindus and their faith owing to religious supremacist ideologies, therefore, such attacks would be documented as religious motivated hate crimes under this category. The second sub-category under 'Attack not resulting in death' relevant in this case is 'communal clash' Communal clash is a form of collective violence that involves clashes between groups belonging to different religious identities. For a communal clash between Hindus and non-Hindus to qualify as a religiously motivated hate crime, the trigger of the violence itself would have to be anti-Hindu in essence. For example, if there is a Hindu religious procession that comes under attack from a non-Hindu mob and after the initial attack, Hindus retaliate in self-defence, leading to a communal clash between the two religious communities. While at a later stage, both communities are involved in the clash/violence, the initial trigger of the violence was by the non-Hindu mob against the Hindus and therefore, it could safely be termed as an anti-Hindu violence. Further, the trigger would also have to be religiously motivated. In the cited example, the attack by the non-Hindu mob was against religious processions and therefore, can be concluded to be religiously motivated. In some cases, the trigger may be non-religious, however, it develops into religious violence against Hindus at a later stage. In such cases too, the foundational animosity towards Hindus becomes the motivating factor of the crime and therefore, it would be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus under this category. In this case, a mob of Muslims attacked a Hindu youth, accusing him of committing blasphemy. The misuse of blasphemy law by Islamists poses a significant threat to Hindus. As seen in several cases, this law is often used as a tool of oppression and violence, leading to false accusations, mob justice, and social ostracization of Hindus, especially in Muslim-majority countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh. The misuse of blasphemy laws against Hindus is often motivated by religious prejudice. Hindus are targeted because of their religious identity. In this case, too, over 100 Islamists in the name of blasphemy, launched a vicious attack against the Hindu youth. This was done out of sheer hatred and animosity against the Hindu youth and his religious beliefs, , making this case eligible to be documented in the hate tracker. It's crucial to note that this incident finally resulted in a communal clash. This only occurred because the victim's incensed supporters retaliated after the Islamists attacked the Hindu youth, sparking a conflict between the communities.