Muslim men attack Hindu temple, damage Shiv Parvati idols ahead of Shravan Somvar, attack priest with knife

Case ID : 0b673c5 | Location : Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Sat, 20 July, 2024

Case ID : 0b673c5

Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India

20 July, 2024

Muslim men attack Hindu temple, damage Shiv Parvati idols ahead of Shravan Somvar, attack priest with knife

Attack on Hindu religious representations

Attack on Temples

Desecration of Hindu religious symbol

Attack not resulting in death

Attack against Hindu devotees

Case Summary

Four Muslim youths namely, Akram, Shahrukh, Arshad, and Azam, were arrested for attacking a Hindu temple and damaging idols of God Shiv and Goddess in the holy month of Shravan. The incident took place in the Gopeshwar Nath temple in Izatnagar, Bareilly district. The accused were charged with causing a disturbance and vandalizing the temple's idols. Akram, originally from Uttarakhand, led the group in damaging the idols of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati just before the Shravan month began. Akram also attacked the temple priest with a knife. Upon learning of the incident, local Hindu residents and activists demanded strict action. They alerted the police, leading to a response by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Rahul Bhati and Circle Officer (CO) Anita Chauhan. When the police arrived, the accused tried to flee, but Akram was apprehended. Authorities found foreign currency with him, prompting an immediate investigation. The other suspects were later arrested. All four were charged under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including section 298, which deals with defiling a place of worship with the intent to insult religion.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

According to the case details, 'attack on Temples' and 'desecration of Hindu religious symbol' are the two sub-categories under the core category 'attack on Hindu religious symbols' under which this case has been listed. The first relevant sub-category in this case 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 second sub-category relevant in this case is, 'Desecration of Hindu religious symbol'. Icons and symbols or a religious representation of a spiritual ideal are widely revered in Hinduism. Iconography is of vital significance in the Hindu milieu. It helps connect people’s spiritual beliefs with the real world. Iconography within the Hindu faith takes several shapes and forms. Murtis are of most significance to Hindus, to which daily rituals, prayers and offerings are done. Besides the murtis, there are several other symbols which have deep significance in the Hindu faith – the Om and Swastika for example. Since these Hindu religious symbols hold paramount importance in Hinduism, any desecration of symbols, icons, murtis, religious representations and manifestations, is driven by animosity towards the faith itself which manifests itself through these murtis, icons and symbols. Therefore, any desecration of these Hindu religious symbols and representations is considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. Another primary category that this case is being added to is 'attack not resulting in death' under the sub-category 'attack on Hindu devotee'. 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. In this case, despite understanding that temples are centres of worship and sanctity for Hindus, the perpetrator vandalised the premises and broke the idols of Hindu gods and goddesses. Such attacks on the premises of a temple that aim to cause harm to the temple or its devotees demonstrate the inherent Hinduphobia that radical Muslims harbour. Further, the Muslim mob also attacked the priest of the temple with a knife without any provocation. For this reason, this case qualifies for inclusion in the hate tracker database.