Communal clash after miscreants pelt stones at a Ram Navami procession
Nalanda, Bihar, India 
29 March, 2023
Case Summary
A Ram Navami procession in Nalanda was planned to go from the hospital square to Baba Maniram’s Akhada. When the procession reached the Deewanganj Mohalla, miscreants started pelting stones, which led to a stampede. Two groups clashed and the scuffle turned violent with reported gunfire. Miscreants burnt several vehicles, households, and shops. Dozens of shops were looted; a mobile shop owner Javed Azam lost phones worth rupees 3 crores. A stationery store was torched, and books worth lakhs of rupees were burnt. Several rickshaws, cars and godowns were also burnt by miscreants. The local administration imposed section 144 in Bihar Sharif after this violence. Internet services were also suspended and a heavy police force was deployed. A total of 8 were injured, 3 of them sustained bullet injuries, and 27 were arrested.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This particular case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under two subcategories of 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 first sub-category under 'Attack not resulting in death' relevant in this case is 'Attack on religious procession'. The outward celebration and display of religious symbols in an intrinsic part of Hinduism. Religious processions on various festivals are age-old traditions and a way to manifest faith and form a part of the religious practices of Hindus. On several occasions, such religious processions come under attack by non-Hindu mobs, in a manifestation of their animosity towards Hinduism and their practices. The reasons cited for such violent attacks are many and range from crossing a non-Hindu resident-dominated area to playing loud music, crossing from an area where there is a religious structure of another faith etc. The violent attacks are triggered by the outward display of religiosity by Hindus. The attacks are mainly a manifestation of religious supremacist doctrine which believes that idolatry, essentially the Hindu faith, is one that deserves to be annihilated since the very tenets of Hinduism, its practices and traditions are considered a sin in those doctrines. Since these attacks emanate from intrinsic and doctrinal animosity towards Hindus and Hinduism, it is considered a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. The second sub-category under which this case has been listed is, 'communal clash'. Communal clash is a form of collective violence that involves clashes between groups belonging to different religious identities. For a communal clash between Hindus and non-Hindus to qualify as a religiously motivated hate crime, the trigger of the violence itself would have to be anti-Hindu in essence. For example, if there is a Hindu religious procession that comes under attack from a non-Hindu mob and after the initial attack, Hindus retaliate in self-defence, leading to a communal clash between the two religious communities. While at a later stage, both communities are involved in the clash/violence, the initial trigger of the violence was by the non-Hindu mob against the Hindus and therefore, it could safely be termed as an anti-Hindu violence. Further, the trigger would also have to be religiously motivated. In the cited example, the attack by the non-Hindu mob was against religious processions and therefore, can be concluded to be religiously motivated. In some cases, the trigger may be non-religious, however, it develops into religious violence against Hindus at a later stage. In such cases too, the foundational animosity towards Hindus becomes the motivating factor of the crime and therefore, it would be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus under this category. In this instance, the Islamist mob launched a vicious attack on a religious procession taken out by Hindu devotees on the occasion of Ram Navami, a significant Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Lord Ram, one of the most revered Gods in Hinduism. The members of the Muslim community were the ones who initiated the attack by hurling stones at the Hindu devotees, who then retaliated in self-defence and reprisal. The attack that was launched by Islamists against the Hindus was a form of symbolic aggression against the entire community that stems from an innate hatred for Hinduism. Given that the fundamental motivation behind these actions is contempt for Hindus and their religion, this instance has been added to the tracker under the following category. It is also important to mention here that though the last update was that the miscreants were unknown, regardless, the action stemmed out of hatred against Hinduism and resulted in the desecration of the sacred temple and would therefore be considered a religiously motivated hate crime.
Case Status
Case sub-judice
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Others
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
