Temple in Canada desecrated, ‘Declare Modi terrorist, Hindustan Murdabad’ graffiti sprayed

Case ID : 242df64 | Location : Windsor, Ontario, Canada | Date of Incident : Tue, 4 April, 2023

Case ID : 242df64

Windsor, Ontario, Canada

4 April, 2023

Temple in Canada desecrated, ‘Declare Modi terrorist, Hindustan Murdabad’ graffiti sprayed

Attack on Hindu religious representations

Attack on Temples

Case Summary

The walls of a local Hindu Satyanarayan temple located in the 1700 block of Northway Avenue of Windsor were vandalised by anti-India radicals. The miscreants wrote ‘Declare Modi terrorist’ and ‘Hindustan murdabad’ on the Temple. The police have released CCTV footage of the incident in which masked miscreants were seen painting graffiti on the exterior temple walls. The two suspects are wanted.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

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, there are strong suspicions that Khalistani perpetrators desecrated a Hindu temple with anti-India and anti-Modi slogans. While it can be said that since the slogans were against the country and its Prime Minister in particular, the crime should not be documented in the Hindu hate tracker. However, the truth remains that the attack on Hindu temples is in itself reflective of religious hostility. It is pertinent to note that Khalistani separatists harbour specific animosity towards Hindus and their faith and also view India as a Hindu collectivity. The very basis of their demands for a separate country carved out of India is that India is a Hindu collectivity and the Sikh religious identity is separate from it, much like Islam. Therefore, by the Khalistanis, anti-India slogans are also a manifestation of anti-Hindu sentiments of the Khalistanis and therefore, constitutes a hate crime.