Hindus attacked after they opposed Muslim mob disrupting road construction work in Muslim-majority area in Nepal

Case ID : 0b6730d | Location : Janakpur Zone, Nepal | Date of Incident : Mon, 24 June, 2024

Case ID : 0b6730d

Janakpur Zone, Nepal

24 June, 2024

Hindus attacked after they opposed Muslim mob disrupting road construction work in Muslim-majority area in Nepal

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim

Case Summary

In Nepal’s Sarlahi district, communal tensions erupted when a Muslim mob disrupted government development work on June 25, 2024. After being driven away, the mob targeted Hindu homes in the Muslim-majority area of Paswan Tola, throwing stones and causing significant damage. The attackers included Zahir Tailor, Nawazuddin, Jabir, Tariq, Imamul and Ghulam. Many of the affected Hindus belong to Scheduled Castes (SC) in India. Hindu organisations accused the administration of protecting the violent Muslims and failing to take serious action. The incident occurred during the construction of a government-approved road in Ward 8 of Godaita Bazaar, where Muslim individuals tried to intimidate the contractor and labourers to stop the work without any official documents. Following a scuffle, the mob was forced away but later attacked Hindu homes, destroying property and injuring residents. The mob chanted inflammatory slogans and hurled stones at Hindu houses. The thatched roofs of the Hindu community’s kutcha homes were destroyed during this sudden onslaught. Several bikes and gas cylinders were also vandalised. Vinod Mahato, Jai Kishore Mahato, Chander Das, and Rajendra Das were among those attacked. The Hindu Samrat Sena demanded security for Hindus in Muslim-dominated areas and criticised the Nepali administration for not taking action against the attackers.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case is being added to the primary category 'attack not resulting in death' under two sub-categories. The first sub-category is 'attacked for Hindu identity'. In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime under this category. The second category is 'attacked for opposing radicals'. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. In this case, the Muslim residents were attempting to stop road construction work in a Muslim majority area. The Hindus of the area opposed the Muslim residents and were subsequently attacked by the mob. The attack was spawned by the Hindus' religious identity, as the Muslims took offence to Hindus, who they consider inferior, opposing them. Therefore, the two sub-categories this case has been added to intersect to prove that the motivation of the attack against Hindus was religious hostility and animosity. Disclaimer: The actual victim count in this case is likely much higher. However, for the sake of accuracy, only 5 known victims are being added to the victim count.