Pamphlet justifying cow slaughter, beef consumption and containing distorted Hindu scriptures published by Muslim man
Bharuch, Gujarat, India 
2 August, 2024
Case Summary
The Bharuch taluka police arrested Abdul Aziz Ahmed Patel Mufti, a Muslim man, for publishing pamphlets that falsely and misleadingly interpreted Hindu theological verses to justify cow slaughter and beef consumption. The pamphlets, which contained distorted Sanskrit verses from sacred Hindu texts like the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Manusmriti, Upanishads, and Puranas, were found to have deeply hurt the sentiments of the Hindu community. The pamphlet, titled "Vegetarianism in Terms of Religion and Nature," included text that insulted Hindu beliefs and attempted to mislead people by promoting practices contrary to Hindu traditions. The incident came to light when a Hindu man discovered the 18-page pamphlet on a road in Kantharia village and reported it to the Bharuch taluka police. After receiving the complaint, the police conducted an investigation, which led to the arrest of Abdul from Tipu Sultan Colony.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the hate tracker as a religiously motivated hate crime under the prime category- Hate speech against Hindus. Under this, two sub-categories have been selected. the first is- Misquoting scriptures as hate speech- Misquoting the religious scriptures of Hindus has particularly devastating consequences. Misquoting the scriptures of Hindus is often done to justify or promote hatred, discrimination, or violence against specific individuals or groups of Hindus. Religious scriptures are often nuanced and those who harbour religious animosity towards Hindus often misquote or misrepresent the scripture to legitimise their animosity and hate towards the faith and its adherents. Religious scriptures have often been misquoted to present stereotypical lies about Hinduism being “oppressive” and therefore, legitimising the violence against Hindus by extremist and supremacist ideologies. Any such misquoting of scriptures to justify hate, violence and discrimination against Hindus owing to religious animosity is hate speech and is categorised as such. The second sub-category under which this case has been placed is- Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith- Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. The cow holds a sacred place in Hinduism. This deep-seated reverence for the cow is rooted in ancient scriptures and cultural practices, where it is often associated with various deities and considered a source of wealth and prosperity. As a result, Hindus view cow slaughter and beef consumption as not only a cultural affront but also a religious violation. Here, the Muslim accused published a pamphlet that deliberately justified cow slaughter and beef consumption. Not only this, the pamphlet also contained distorted Sanskrit verses from sacred Hindu texts like the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Manusmriti, Upanishads, and Puranas. The included text insulted Hindu beliefs and attempted to mislead people by promoting practices contrary to Hindu traditions. This was clearly done with the intent to mock the Hindu faith, underscoring the deep-rooted hatred towards Hinduism in the mind of the perpetrator. Given that the fundamental motivation behind this incident is contempt for the Hindu religion, this instance has been added to the tracker under the following category.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
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