Ram Navami procession curtailed as police administration bans use of DJs and firecrackers in Katihar, Bihar
Katihar, Bihar, India 
17 March, 2026
Case Summary
In Barari, Katihar, Bihar, Ram Navami celebrations were curtailed when the police administration imposed a ban on the use of DJs and firecrackers during the Ram Navami procession. This was announced during a peace committee meeting held on 18 March 2026. The meeting was held in the Barari police station premises to ensure a peaceful celebration of Ram Navami and Eid. Station in-charge Sumesh Kumar chaired the meeting, which was attended by public representatives, social workers, and intellectuals. Sumesh Kumar said that the Barari block has a history of celebrating all festivals with brotherhood and cooperation. He appealed to both the Hindu and Muslim communities to celebrate Ram Navami and the Eid procession in a friendly and peaceful manner. Meanwhile, various committees for the Ram Navami festival were instructed to obtain licenses and hold processions only on designated routes. The police administration also completely banned the use of DJs and fireworks during the sacred Ram Navami procession. It was also informed at the meeting that strict vigilance will be maintained on antisocial elements during the festival. Police will also continuously monitor any objectionable posts on social media. In this meeting, Block Panchayat Raj Officer Raj Kumar Singh, former Mukhiya Niamatur Rahman, former Mukhiya Amarendra Singh Sanju, Panchayat Samiti member Mithlesh Yadav, JDU District General Secretary Chandra Mohan Singh, BJP Mandal President cum Twenty Point Vice President Vicky Kumar Sah, BJP Mandal Incharge Mahesh Chaudhary, Congress Block President Simranjit Singh, Southern Bhandartal Sarpanch Arjun Singh, Ward Councilor Representative Jitendra Kumar Yadav, former Chief Representative Amarjeet Singh, JDU leader Virendra Singh Bobby, Bajrang Dal's Rajiv Bhagat, Praveen Rinku, Aditya Bhagat, Pawan Chaurasia, Chhotu Chaudhary, Paramjeet Singh, Raj Kumar Pandit, Pramod Kumar and Shahbaz Ansari along with many other dignitaries were present.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case is being added to the tracker under the primary category- Restriction/ban on Hindu practices. The subcategory selected is- Administration restricting religious practice. In several cases, it is seen that the administration/state disallows a religious practice owing to prejudicial orders and concerns, targeted specifically against the Hindu community. Such restriction/prohibition would be considered documented as a hate crime because the orders are often a result of pressure by groups that harbour animosity towards Hinduism and Hindus. Often, the restriction by the authorities is driven by bias, hostility, or prejudice against the specific community being stopped from holding a religious practice, by pressure groups that harbour animosity towards Hindus, intrinsic to their faith. Since practices are intrinsic to the faith of the Hindus, such prejudicial restriction is considered a curtailing of the fundamental rights of the Hindu community. In several cases, for example, the authorities ban a Hindu religious practice due to pressure from groups opposed to the religion. In other instances the prohibition is selectively enforced against one religious group (Hindus) while others are allowed to proceed. There are still other cases where the authorities preemptively restrict a religious practice by Hindus because those who hold animosity towards Hindus may get “provoked” leading to them being violent, thereby assuaging the sentiments of those who hold animosity towards Hindus by curtailing the religious rights of Hindus. Such acts and orders are prejudiced, indicating discriminatory motives owing to the capitulation to groups that harbour animosity towards Hindus and therefore, would be categorized as a religiously motivated hate crime since the original pressure leading to the order itself is a result of hatred/bias/prejudice/religious hate against Hindus. This case is a clear instance of a religiously motivated hate crime because the police administration in Barari, Katihar, Bihar, used its authority to ban the use of DJs and fireworks during Ram Navami processions, directly targeting a Hindu festival and its religious practices. The ban singled out a specific, sacred festival event, Ram Navami, and imposed restrictions that did not apply in the same way to other religious festivals celebrated in the area, demonstrating an institutional pattern of discrimination against Hindu religious expression. By focusing its administrative action specifically on Ram Navami celebrations, the administration sent a message that Hindu public worship and cultural display were less entitled to protection and space than other religious observances, which was the hallmark of religiously targeted hostility rather than neutral law and order management. The use of DJs and fireworks in Ram Navami processions is not merely entertainment; it is an integral part of how Hindu communities experience and celebrate the festival today. DJs are used to amplify devotional bhajans, chants of Jai Shri Ram and other religious songs that are traditionally sung along the procession route, allowing larger numbers of devotees to participate collectively in the worship, while fireworks add to the festive joy and symbolic celebration of Lord Ram's birth. Bursting crackers is essential to Hindu festivals and celebrations, making their prohibition an attack on the Hindu faith and its adherents. Ram Navami processions themselves are annual, highly symbolic events where Hindus publicly express their faith, devotion and joy, often spanning long distances through towns and neighbourhoods. To restrict the means by which these bhajans and chants were shared, through the ban on DJs and fireworks, is effectively to restrict the visibility and public intensity of Hindu religious celebration. Hence, imposing such arbitrary restrictions on DJs and fireworks during Ram Navami processions shows that the police administration tried to suppress the outward expression of Hindu faith and identity, forcibly limiting the sacred playing of bhajans dedicated to Lord Ram and the explosive displays of devotion, revealing an institutionalised bias and discrimination against Hindu religious festivals. Playing music through DJs and using fireworks is not an illegal act, nor is it inherently provocative or violent. When the music consists of religious bhajans and devotional songs connected to Ram Navami, and fireworks mark the triumphant spirit of the festival, it is a nonviolent, peaceful expression of belief. The administration’s decision to ban DJs and fireworks under the guise of general administrative or security considerations, while allowing other religious events to proceed without similar restrictions, exposes prejudice rather than genuine neutrality. The state is singling out a minor, once yearly expression of Hindu faith, a single day of public celebration, where DJs or fireworks are used only for a short period, suggesting that the real target is not noise or safety but the religious character of the event, which reveals a deep‑seated religious animosity towards Hindu public worship. The targeting of the DJs and fireworks ban becomes even clearer when placed against the wider pattern of sound systems and explosive use in the area. Ram Navami is a one‑day Hindu festival, whereas loudspeakers and similar sound systems are used repeatedly throughout the year by other religious institutions, and fireworks feature in various non-Hindu celebrations without restriction. Mosques, for example, use loudspeakers daily for the azaan, yet such uses are rarely subjected to the same kind of crackdown or restriction. It is only the one‑day Hindu celebration, Ram Navami, where the playing of DJ bhajans and the use of fireworks is singled out for a ban, which reveals a clear case of differential treatment towards Hindus. This selective targeting of Hindu religious expression, while everyday religious sound practices and fireworks of other communities remain unaffected, showcases prejudice within the police administration and the broader state apparatus. When the state applies its restrictions so unevenly, it is not maintaining neutrality but actively privileging one religious practice over another, and such institutional bias against a Hindu festival fits squarely within the definition of a religiously motivated hate crime. It is also important to note that the police administration’s ban on DJs and fireworks is done to supposedly maintain a better law and order situation, arguing that the playing of Ram Navami bhajans through DJ systems and the use of fireworks across India has triggered anti‑Hindu radical elements to attack processions. They assert that chants of Jai Shri Ram, the use of Ram bhajans through loudspeakers and fireworks have been used as pretexts for violence by radical groups, leading to clashes and unrest. However, in this case, instead of strengthening security, controlling these anti‑social elements or preventing attacks on Hindus, the administration responds by restricting the very religious expressions that are targeted by those extremists. The state effectively shifts the burden away from protecting Hindu devotees and onto silencing them, appeasing radical groups rather than confronting them. By restricting the right of Hindus to play bhajans through DJs and use fireworks on Ram Navami, the administration reveals a biased stance that prioritises the comfort of potential attackers over the constitutional rights of Hindu worshippers, and that makes the restriction a clear case of religiously motivated discrimination. Further, it is important to mention here that every individual or community has the right to practice their religious faith in the manner that is meaningful to them, within the bounds of the law; to single out a Hindu festival and impose arbitrary limitations on how devotees may express their beliefs, such as banning the use of DJ‑amplified bhajans and fireworks, is to interfere with that fundamental right and can also be considered a prejudicial order denying the Hindu community its constitutional guarantees. Such arbitrary actions taken specifically against Hindu religious observances reflect animosity and prejudice towards Hindu beliefs and Hindu identity, and they go beyond routine administrative control into the realm of religious targeting, particularly when the state uses its authority not to protect Hindu worshippers but to curtail their religious expression, thereby undermining both the principle of equal treatment before the law and the rights of Hindus as equal citizens. Such actions stem from animosity and prejudice against Hindus and their beliefs, making it a religiously motivated offence. Given that this case meets several different key parameters of a hate crime, it is being added to the Hate Crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
State and Establishment
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
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