Hindu devotees attacked by Muslim mob for chanting devotional slogans during Ram Navami amid Ramzan evening prayers

Case ID : 242dec3 | Location : Hyderabad, Telangana, India | Date of Incident : Thu, 30 March, 2023

Case ID : 242dec3

Hyderabad, Telangana, India

30 March, 2023

Hindu devotees attacked by Muslim mob for chanting devotional slogans during Ram Navami amid Ramzan evening prayers

Attack not resulting in death

Attack against Hindu devotees

Case Summary

A video of violence surfaced online from the Charminar area in Hyderabad, where a Muslim mob attacked Hindu devotees for chanting devotional slogans on the occasion of Ram Navami, which coincidentally came in the month of Ramzan. It is evident from the video that some Hindu devotees arrived on bikes and began chanting devotional slogans to commemorate Ram Navami. Several Muslim fanatics, who were offended because Ramadan evening prayers were being held at the time, accosted and assaulted the Hindu devotees. A case has been filed by taking suo moto cognisance of the incident.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This particular case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under the prime category 'Attack not resulting in death' because of the various distinct components that demonstrate the perpetrator's bias against the Hindu faith and their deliberate attempt to harm the Hindus. The sub-category under 'Attack not resulting in death' relevant in this case is 'Attack against Hindu devotees'. 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 instance, the conflict was triggered after Islamists launched an attack on Hindus during Ram Navami celebrations. The Muslims participating in Ramadan prayers took offence to Hindu devotees chanting devotional songs. The initial trigger of the violence itself was religious in nature, in this case, since the Muslim mob attacked the Hindu devotees owing to them celebrating their religious festival with music, while the Muslims praying inside the mosque wanted them to refrain from their celebration, keeping Islamic sensibilities in mind. When the Hindu devotees insisted on celebrating their festival per their own customs, the Muslim mob attacked the Hindus. It is pertinent to note here that the Hindus had not demanded that the Muslim devotees stop their celebration, it was, in fact, the Muslims who had tried to impose their religious considerations on the Hindus by attempting to stop them from celebrating their festival. Due to the perpetrator's obvious contempt for the victim's faith, this case qualifies for documentation under this hate tracker.