Public display of anti-Hindu, anti-India hatred: Bangladesh waiter openly abuses India, apologies reluctantly after fear of police action
Italy 
24 June, 2026
Case Summary
A video circulating widely on social media has drawn attention to an incident involving a Bangladeshi waiter identified as Hossain, who was seen making derogatory remarks about India. The incident reportedly took place at a restaurant in Italy. A video circulating widely on social media has drawn attention to an incident involving a Bangladeshi waiter identified as Hussain, who was seen verbally abusing a group of Indian women and making derogatory remarks about India. The incident reportedly took place at a restaurant in Italy. The video was shared by Instagram influencer Khushi Dubey on her social media account. In the video, Hossain behaved aggressively towards Khushi Dubey and the other women accompanying her. During the confrontation, which initially began over the bill, he used offensive language directed at India and was heard saying, “You are from fu@#%ng India.” The remark was made multiple times by the Bangladeshi waiter, despite the girls' warnings to him against it. He also threatened the women by telling them that he would call the police. The situation escalated until local police arrived at the restaurant. Following the authorities' intervention, the Indian women demanded an apology from the waiter for his remarks about India. Videos from the scene show Hossain appearing reluctant while apologising. Khushi Dubey repeatedly asked him to clearly state that he was apologising for abusing India. The interaction was recorded and subsequently shared online, where it gained significant attention. The video went viral across social media platforms. Many users praised Khushi Dubey and her companion for confronting the abuse and standing their ground, while criticising the waiter's conduct and his derogatory remarks directed at India and Indians.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This incident has been added to the tracker under- Hate speech against Hindus. Under this, 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 constitutes a religiously motivated hate incident because the abuse directed at the Indian women was not merely an expression of hostility towards a nationality. For Muslims in Bangladesh and Pakistan, India is frequently viewed not simply as a sovereign nation-state but as the civilisational homeland and collective representative of Hindus. Consequently, expressions of intense hostility towards India often overlap with and reflect hostility towards Hindus and Hindu identity. The remarks made by the Bangladeshi waiter were not confined to a disagreement over a restaurant bill. During the confrontation, he repeatedly singled out the women for being Indian and used abusive language directed at India itself. The fact that he repeatedly emphasised their Indian identity while hurling insults indicates that their national identity was the trigger for his hostility. Given the ideological framework through which many anti-Hindu actors in Bangladesh perceive India, such abuse cannot always be neatly separated from animosity towards Hindus. This understanding is particularly relevant in the context of Bangladesh, where anti-India rhetoric frequently intersects with anti-Hindu sentiment. Hindus constitute the largest religious minority in Bangladesh and have long faced discrimination, social exclusion, targeted violence, attacks on temples, land grabbing, intimidation, and communal attacks. Following the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government in 2024, hundreds of incidents involving attacks on Hindu homes, businesses, temples, and religious institutions were documented across the country. Hindu families were targeted, displaced, assaulted, and subjected to threats because of their religious identity. Such incidents demonstrate that hostility towards Hindus remains deeply embedded within sections of Bangladeshi society. A recurring feature of anti-Hindu narratives in Bangladesh is the portrayal of Hindus as representatives or agents of India. Hindu citizens of Bangladesh are often accused of possessing divided loyalties or being linked to India by virtue of their religion. This ideological conflation means that hatred directed at India frequently carries an underlying hostility towards Hindus, while hostility towards Hindus is often justified through anti-India rhetoric. The two prejudices are therefore closely interconnected and often reinforce one another. In this case, the waiter's repeated abuse of India, his aggressive behaviour towards the Indian women, and his reluctance to apologise until confronted with police intervention reflect more than a casual insult. The incident exemplifies a mindset in which contempt for India is openly expressed and normalised. Given the broader regional context, where India is frequently viewed by Islamist actors as a Hindu collective and where anti-Hindu prejudice remains widespread, the abuse directed at India can reasonably be understood as carrying a strong anti-Hindu dimension. For these reasons, the incident is being documented as a religiously motivated hate incident. The hostility displayed towards the victims arose from an ideological framework that conflates India with Hindu identity and views both with animosity. As such, the abuse represents not merely anti-India sentiment but also a manifestation of the broader anti-Hindu prejudice that continues to affect Hindu communities across Bangladesh and the wider region.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
