Hindus celebrating Ahilyabai Holkar Jayanti attacked by Muslim mob in Muslim dominated area
Yavatmal, Maharashtra, India 
30 May, 2024
Case Summary
On May 31, 2024, a violent clash occurred in the Mulawa region of Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district during a rally organised by Hindus to celebrate Ahilyabai Holkar Jayanti. The attack was launched by members of the Muslim community in the Muslim-dominated area of the region, reportedly due to 'unfavourable' songs being played on the DJ system. The Muslims launched the attack on the rally participants as the latter reached Tipu Sultan Chowk near the ZamZam Grocery shop. The incident appears to have been premeditated, with attackers reportedly turning off street lights and readying stones in advance. According to a complaint, the accused, identified as Sheikh Sahil Sheikh Irshad, Sheikh Mohsin Sheikh Gaffar, Sheikh Sarawar, Iliyas Ahmed Abdul Kadar, Mohammed Naveer Abdul Gaffar, Sayyed Majid Sayyed Gani, Ajeez Khan, Gulab Khan, and others, pelted stones at the rally participants in Tipu Sultan Chowk. The police confirmed that several rally participants, including minors and police officers on duty, were injured and hospitalised. Around 16 individuals, including two prime Muslim accused and seven Hindus who retaliated, were arrested.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This particular case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under four 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 'Attack on religious procession'. The outward celebration and display of religious symbols in an intrinsic part of Hinduism. Religious processions on various festivals are age-old traditions and a way to manifest faith and form a part of the religious practices of Hindus. On several occasions, such religious processions come under attack by non-Hindu mobs, in a manifestation of their animosity towards Hinduism and their practices. The reasons cited for such violent attacks are many and range from crossing a non-Hindu resident-dominated area to playing loud music, crossing from an area where there is a religious structure of another faith etc. The violent attacks are triggered by the outward display of religiosity by Hindus. The attacks are mainly a manifestation of religious supremacist doctrine which believes that idolatry, essentially the Hindu faith, is one that deserves to be annihilated since the very tenets of Hinduism, its practices and traditions are considered a sin in those doctrines. Since these attacks emanate from intrinsic and doctrinal animosity towards Hindus and Hinduism, it is considered a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. The second sub-category relevant here is, 'Attack on Hindu devotees.' Hindu devotees are a few of the easiest targets of religiously motivated hate crimes because during the festival/procession/puja etc, for non-Hindus it is easy to profile their victims on the basis of religion. Hindu devotees come under attack on several occasions by individual non-Hindus or mobs of non-Hindus owing to their animosity against Hinduism, its symbols and tradition/practices. There are several instances of Hindu devotees being attacked while they worship in temples or temporary religious structures, during religious processions, doing bhajan/kirtan/puja in their own homes, in the residential society etc. These attacks are perpetrated by non-Hindus primarily because of their animosity towards Hindus and their faith. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, there are two elements that make these hate crimes. First, the Hindus who come under attack are attacked violently while indulging in religious activity. Whether they are in a place of worship or not is immaterial to the crime. When individuals are attacked while indulging in religious practices, the attack in itself is a hindrance to their freedom to practice religion and therefore constitutes a hate crime. Secondly, religious supremacist doctrines and ideologies deem religious practices of Hindus to be offensive ab initio since they are considered “sinful” by these ideologies, worthy to be annihilated by force or coercion. Driven by these religious supremacist ideologies and doctrines, the attacks against Hindu devotees stem from intrinsic animosity towards Hinduism. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, it develops into a religiously motivated crime during the course of the violence. Since these attacks stem from animosity towards Hindus and Hinduism, they are considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. The third sub-category under which this case has been listed is, Attacked for crossing 'Muslim area' One of the reasons that Hindus get attacked unprovoked specifically by Islamists is for crossing ‘Muslim areas’. Essentially, Muslim mobs often attack Hindus crossing or present in certain areas which have a majority Muslim population. It has often been cited as one of the reasons to blame Hindus for attacks against themselves, signalling that Hindus displaying religious symbols, taking our religious processions or crossing any area which is dominated by Muslim residents is a provocation in and of itself. These areas are mostly ghettoized areas where mobs mobilize quickly to attack Hindus for a variety of reasons like playing music during a religious procession, crossing a mosque, wearing a tilak or any other religious symbol in a Muslim-dominated area, praying at a local temple in that area etc. There have been cases where the few local Hindus of that area have been attacked on their way to the Temple for prayers as well, simply because the area is considered a Muslim-dominated area. Several times, it is entirely possible that the immediate trigger for the violence against Hindus was non-religious in nature, however, the violence became religiously motivated in nature because the area was Muslim dominated and the residents on the whole harboured animosity towards Hindus, evidenced from the actions of the mob, the slogans, and the nature of the attack. Such crimes are motivated by the religious identity of the victims and are therefore classified as hate crimes under this category. The fourth sub-category relevant here 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, the Muslim mob launched an unbridled attack on Hindu devotees while they were crossing an area, which the Muslims declared to be theirs as people of their religious community predominantly occupy it. Notably, there was no provocation from the Hindu side. The trigger for the attack on the procession was the DJ music being played by the Hindu devotees as the procession passed through the mosque. The members of the Muslim community were the ones who initiated the attack by hurling stones at the Hindu devotees, who then defended themselves. Ahilya Bai Holkar is a historical figure with great significance for Hindus. This was not a religious procession by the strict definition of it, however, the music being played was devotional and the procession itself was viewed as a devotional procession for the Hindu participants who revere the historical figure. The Muslim mob was offended because of the religious identity of the Hindus and the fact that a procession which was devotional in nature was passing through an area where the Muslim population was in majority. Such attacks are driven by religious hostility and therefore, it is documented as a hate crime.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
