Hindu deities persistently abused and denigrated on social media by Ambedkarite leader in Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh
Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, India 
27 April, 2026
Case Summary
In the Saurikh area of Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, Hindu religious sentiments were insulted after the district president of the Bhim Army, Suraj Kumar, persistently made objectionable social media content targeting Hindu deities. According to reports, the incident triggered a strong reaction from members of the Bharatiya Janata Party and residents, who gathered at the Saurikh police station and created a ruckus while demanding immediate legal action. On 28 April 2026, BJP workers reached the police station and submitted a complaint, stating that Suraj Kumar had been repeatedly posting derogatory remarks about Hindu gods and goddesses, as well as making offensive comments about the Prime Minister. They further stated that he issued threats to those who objected to his posts and warned of implicating them under provisions of the SC/ST Act. The situation intensified as people from multiple sections of society assembled at the police station and submitted written complaints along with screenshots of the social media posts as evidence. Meanwhile, the accused, Suraj Kumar, claimed that the posts in question were old and alleged that certain Kshatriya leaders were amplifying the issue for political reasons. He further claimed that he had received death threats. BJP leader Pravendra Singh rejected this explanation and maintained that Suraj Kumar had a pattern of making offensive remarks about Hindu deities and public figures. Station in-charge Jayanti Prasad Gangwar confirmed that a formal complaint had been received and stated that the police had initiated an investigation, with further legal action to be determined based on the findings.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Hate Speech against Hindus. The subcategory 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 case has been added to the hate crime database because Bhim Army District President Suraj Kumar made derogatory remarks about Hindu gods and goddesses. Hindu deities occupy an immensely important and sacred position in Hinduism and are deeply revered by the Hindu community. By using offensive language against the faith, the accused displayed clear religious hostility towards Hinduism and its followers. By publicly maligning Hinduism, the accused not only disrespected the faith but also incited hostility, making this a clear example of a religiously motivated crime. It was, in fact, not a random or misguided act, but a calculated and premeditated effort to attack Hinduism and the larger Hindu society. Such actions are consistent with hate speech, as they were designed to provoke hostility, offend religious sentiments, and spread contempt for Hinduism and its adherents. In recent times, social media has increasingly become a platform for anti-Hindu hate, with derogatory memes, videos, and messages targeting Hindu religious symbols, practices, and deities. Such content is recognised as part of a broader pattern of Hinduphobia and religious hate crimes online. This deliberate targeting of revered deities firmly establishes this act as a religiously motivated hate crime; therefore, it is being categorised under the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. Furthermore, the accused threatened to falsely implicate those who opposed his remarks under the SC/ST Act, thereby attempting to silence dissent through intimidation. This conduct directly portrays religious animosity, as individuals who objected to derogatory comments against Hindu deities were met not only with hostility but with coercive threats of legal harassment. By weaponising legal provisions to target those defending their faith, the accused demonstrated a clear intent to harm and intimidate members of the Hindu community for expressing religious sentiment, reinforcing the pattern of hostility underlying the incident. It is important to mention here that the accused was the district president of the Bhim Army, an Ambedkarite group. While the Bhim Army presents itself as a champion of Dalit rights, its actions and affiliations often contradict this claim. Dalits are very much Hindus, yet the Bhim Army frequently targets Hindu symbols, festivals, and practices, including those held sacred by Dalits themselves. This pattern suggests that the organisation’s agenda is less about genuine Dalit upliftment and more aligned with broader anti-Hindu narratives that seek to divide and weaken Hindu society from within. This becomes particularly apparent when the Bhim Army aligns with leftist and Islamist platforms, where identity politics is weaponised against Hindus. In such spaces, the micro identities of caste, region, and language are secondary; what matters most is religious identity. It is the Hindu identity, regardless of caste, that often becomes the target of animosity. As seen in cases where Dalit families were attacked for displaying Hindu symbols or worshipping deities, the hostility stems not from caste differences, but from a disdain for Hindu religiosity. For example, on May 19, 2020, reports emerged in which a Dalit family in Bihar’s Kishanganj district stated that the local Bhim Army unit attacked them for their Hindu beliefs, desecrating a temple as they objected to their reverence for Hindu deities and saffron flags. Similarly, on June 29, 2021, in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu named Saurabh Sharma was attacked by Bhim Army members over political differences. The assailants used swords and rods, causing severe injuries, and threatened to eliminate the Brahmin community from the area. Moreover, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad has repeatedly made statements and taken positions that reflect his anti-Hindu stance. For instance, he has publicly endorsed conversion as a political weapon, invoking B.R. Ambedkar’s decision to leave Hinduism, and has actively supported movements that call for a rejection of Hindu festivals and practices. In fact, Chandrashekhar Azad's political trajectory has strongly focused on building a Dalit-Muslim alliance, a strategy that became particularly visible during his active participation in the anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protests that culminated in the Delhi anti-Hindu Riots 2020. His brand of politics, under the banner of Dalit-Muslim unity, has contributed to narratives that vilify Hindu traditions and exacerbate targeted attacks against Hindus. Thus, by attacking Hindu symbols and aligning with forces hostile to Hinduism at large, the Bhim Army effectively turns against the cultural and spiritual traditions of the Dalit community itself. In doing so, it reinforces the very forces of division and religious antagonism that marginalise Dalits, not as a caste, but as Hindus. This contradiction reveals that, despite its stated mission, the Bhim Army’s trajectory increasingly serves an anti-Hindu, rather than a pro-Dalit agenda. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incidents based on when an event occurred or when the victim's ordeal began. It is important to clarify that none of the media sources covering this case has specified the exact date when the event occurred. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have recorded the date based on when the incident was reported in the media, 28 April 2026.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Others
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
