Hindu family threatened by influential Muslims to convert or migrate
Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India 
28 January, 2024
Case Summary
A Valmiki family in Saharanpur accused influential villagers of forcing them to convert to Islam and seizing their land. Dhira Singh, 55, head of the family, reported the threats to the police, stating that his brother and uncle had fled the village in fear. Dhira, a labourer, stated that influential Muslim villagers aimed to occupy his land, having already taken over his brother and uncle's properties. The family stated that these villagers threatened to kill them if they did not convert. Police station in-charge Navendra Singh Sirohi noted that there was a land dispute between two Muslim community groups and that preventive action had been taken against four individuals. Following Dhira's complaint, police initiated an investigation and planned to register a case against the accused.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
There have been cases where the Hindus living in an area, often with a majority dwelling belonging to non-Hindus or those harbouring animosity towards the Hindu faith, the Hindu residents experience pressure and threats. The pressure, threats or coercion is employed with two aims – the non-Hindu residents of the area want the Hindu residents to either convert their religion to the religion of the dominant residents or leave the area and relocate, so the area could be turned into an exclusive ghetto for adherents of the non-Hindu faith or those who harbour animosity towards the Hindu faith. In several cases, the aim of exodus is explicit. However, in several cases, the demand for exodus of Hindu residents is not explicit, however, harassment by non-Hindu residents leaves the Hindu residents no option but to leave the area, thereby, turning the area into an exclusive ghetto of non-Hindu residents. In such cases, there are instances of harassment or threats to the Hindu residents explicitly. For example, in the Hauz Qazi case of 2019, the Muslim residents claimed that mob violence against the Hindu residents had been triggered by a parking dispute. However, the violence did turn religious with a temple being desecrated and being directed specifically against the Hindu residents. The Hindu residents of the area were clear that the violence was religiously motivated and one of the motives was to affect an exodus of the Hindu residents. In such cases, even though the perpetrators have not explicitly expressed the aim of affecting exodus, the given circumstances and harassment, coupled with prevailing circumstances and precedent point to the intention of exodus and therefore would be categorized under this sub-category. Such crimes are religiously motivated and therefore are hate crimes. In this case, a Hindi-Dalit family was pressured to convert their religion and forced to flee their village as a result. This constitutes a religiously motivated hate crime as such actions are driven by intolerance towards the victim's religious identity and aim to coerce them into abandoning their faith, often accompanied by threats, violence, or other forms of intimidation. In this case, the pressure to convert and the subsequent need to flee clearly indicate a targeted action against individuals because of their religion and because of this, the case has been categorised as a hate crime.
Victim Details
Total Victim
5
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 5
Caste
- SC/ST 5
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 0
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 5
Case Status
Complaint registered
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
N/A
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
