Muslim woman desecrates idol of goddess; forces Hindu husband and family to convert, eat beef during Durga Puja
Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India 
30 March, 2023
Case Summary
A 26-year-old Hindu man, Ajay Kumar Singh from Faridpur village, married Muskaan, a Muslim woman from Jullupur village, a few months prior. He approached the Uttar Pradesh Police, accusing his wife and her family of pressuring him to convert to Islam. Ajay said that during Durga Puja (Chaitra Navratri), Muskaan insisted they eat beef. When his family explained they were fasting, she destroyed the idol of the goddess installed in their home. Ajay also stated that his family was the only Hindu household in an otherwise Muslim-dominated hamlet. He said that Muskaan began pressuring him and his family to convert shortly after their marriage. She reportedly threatened to commit suicide and falsely accuse him of abetment if he refused. The Aligarh police booked Muskaan, her mother Shehanshah, father Yunus Ali, brother Furquan Ali, and brother-in-law Suhel Khan. Charges include defiling worship places (Section 295), outraging religious feelings (Section 295A), wounding religious sentiments (Section 298), and criminal intimidation (Section 506) under the IPC.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
In this case, there are two distinct components which prove that the offence was committed coupled with a religious bias. The first factor is that the perpetrator, a Muslim woman, in this case, married the Hindu victim after somehow taking the victim into confidence that she was accepting of his religious identity, however, immediately after, she and her family began pressurising the Hindu man to convert to Islam and pressurizing the man to involuntarily consume beef, which is considered taboo in Hinduism, making it evident that the woman had got into the relationship with malafide intent to alienate the Hindu man from his professed faith. In such cases, a non-Hindu woman marries a Hindu man and the force/pressure against the Hindu man to convert to Islam begins after marriage. In such cases, the marriage is consensual in most cases and often, there is no element of the non-Hindu woman hiding her religious identity. The marriage could be under the Special Marriages Act where neither parties are required to convert their religion for the marriage to be considered legitimate. While the victim in such cases enters matrimony assuming that religious identity is not a barrier, the non-Hindu woman starts to pressure the Hindu man to convert to Islam after marriage. In such cases, there is application of force/pressure by the perpetrator, including, denial of the man’s religious rights. Some of the means by which the man is forced/pressured to convert include forcing/pressurizing the man to involuntarily consume beef, pressurizing/forcing to read the Kalma, forced circumcision, forced to go to the mosque, etc. There are several instances where after marriage, the man voluntarily converts to Islam. Such cases are often argued to be a result of religious brainwashing, however, for the purpose of documenting religiously motivated hate crimes, in the absence of the victim complaining of forced conversion, such cases do not form a part of the database. Further, what makes it worthy of being documented as a religiously motivated hate crime is that the accused tortured the Hindu victim's family to browbeat him into acceding to her conversion demands. When Hindu men are in a relationship with non-Hindu women, there are cases where the Hindu spouse is forced to convert his religion. Several methods are used for such forced conversion. The non-Hindu woman and/or her family, and religious leaders are often documented to issue threats and even employ violence. One of the ways used by such perpetrators is threatening and/or torturing the family members of the Hindu man to pressure him to convert. The perpetrators in such cases issue threats to harm or torture the family of the man. In some cases, there is also violence directed towards the family in order to force the Hindu man to convert. The aim of such crimes is to blackmail the victim into changing his religion by inducing fear of harm to his family. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. Another prime category relevant in this case is 'Attack on Hindu religious symbols.' 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. The perpetrator, a Muslim woman in this case, despite understanding the importance of idol worshipping in Hindusim, destroyed the goddess idol that the victim worshipped. Idol worship in Hinduism is a deeply symbolic and integral part of spiritual practice. It allows devotees to connect with the divine in a tangible way and by destroying the goddess idol, the accused intended to hurt the religious sentiments of the victim and to alienate him from his religion. Such cases where Hindu victims are harassed to convert to the perpetrator’s religion are rooted in animosity towards the victim’s religious identity and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 1
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Complaint registered
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
