Hindu Temple vandalised by Muslim men; women devotees threatened with death
Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India 
9 April, 2023
Case Summary
Muslim youths vandalised the Sheetla Mata temple in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. The accused identified as Firoz, Rashid and Imran also assaulted the labourers involved in the temple repairs and threatened to kill the women who had come to worship in the temple if it was not removed. Police registered a case against the accused for damaging the place of worship and beating the labourers. IPC sections 295, 294, 323 and 506 were inserted, based on the complaint of labourers.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This particular case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under two prime categories of the tracker because of the various distinct components that demonstrate the perpetrator's bias against the Hindu faith. The first category relevant in this case is 'Attack on Hindu religious representations' under which the sub-category chosen 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. In this case, some Muslim youths vandalised the Sheetla Mata temple in Indore. Attacking a temple deliberately for any purpose whatsoever is an example of their lack of respect for religious tradition which stems from an inherent Hinduphobia. For this reason, this case has been documented under this category in the tracker. The second prime category relevant as per the case details is 'Attack not resulting in death' under which the sub-category significant here would be 'Attack against Hindu devotees' since the Muslim perpetrators had not only vandalised the temple but also misbehaved with the woman devotees who had come there to worship. The accused also threatened them with death if the temple was not removed from there. 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.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
