Hindu minors assaulted by 6 Muslim men who also hurled abuses at Hindu Gods
Thane, Maharashtra, India 
29 March, 2024
Case Summary
On March 30 2024, six individuals from the Muslim community assaulted two Hindu minors in Thane's Kashigav area. One of the Muslim minors verbally abused and threatened the Hindu boy and also hurled profanities at Hindu deities. "I’ll beat you so much that none of your Hindu Gods will come and save you. Your Ram is Ma****. You are Ma****," the Muslim minor said. The next day, the Hindu child informed his family, and when confronted, the accused threatened him and called more people for support. On April 1, the Hindu minors were attacked on their way to school by the six accused, two of whom were adults. They were physically assaulted and insulted for their Hindu identity. The victims' father highlighted the issue and demanded strict action against the perpetrators. The six accused were charged under several sections of the IPC, including outraging religious beliefs and promoting enmity between communities.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the hate tracker under two prime categories. The first is- Attack not resulting in death. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Attacked for Hindu identity- In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime under this category. The second prime category selected here is- Hate speech against Hindus. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith- Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. This incident qualifies as a religiously motivated hate crime for several reasons. First, the Muslim perpetrators verbally abused and threatened the Hindu boy while hurling insults at Hindu deities, directly attacking his religious beliefs and identity. The remark passed by one of the accused demonstrates an intentional denigration of the Hindu faith. Second, the subsequent physical assault on the Hindu minors by six individuals, after the confrontation, further underscores the religious animosity driving the attack. This escalation of violence, coupled with insults targeting their Hindu identity, reveals a clear pattern of religiously motivated hostility, making this a clear instance of a religiously motivated hate crime. It is pertinent to note that the immediate trigger for the abuse and violence has not been made evident in the details of the case. In many such cases, the trigger for the violence and abuse is trivial, however, when the conflict escalates, the religious animosity reveals itself in certain threads of the ensuing violence. In this case, the religious hostility is evident from the fact that the Hindu minors, while being assaulted, were abused along with Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Had this been a conflict between minors owing to just the immediate trigger of the violence, the religious slurs would not have been used.
Victim Details
Total Victim
2
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 2
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 2
Age Group
- Minor 2
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
