Muslim teacher assaults Class 7 student for chanting "Jai Shri Ram"
Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh, India 
19 January, 2024
Case Summary
On January 20, 2024, a Muslim school teacher named Mohammad Abdul Wahid brutally beat a class 7 Hindu student named Naitik Gupta, for chanting "Jai Shri Ram" in the classroom. The incident happened at Green Bells Public School located in the Budhar police station area in the Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh. The victim student was in the class with his friends. No teachers were present in the classroom. At that time, some students started chanting "Jai Shri Ram." Hearing the slogans, teacher Mohammad Abdul Wahid reached there and started questioning the students. When another student pointed out Naitik as the one who started the chant, Wahid slapped him 7-8 times on the back of his head and his back. After the assault, Naitik and his friends approached the principal, but he dismissed the issue, suggesting they meet the director, claiming such incidents had the director's support. The incident sparked protests from Naitik's family and local Hindu organisations, leading to the arrest of teacher Mohammad Abdul Wahid. He was booked under various sections of the IPC and the Juvenile Justice Act. The school’s director, Sameer Niyazi, was also implicated in the case for his involvement.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
As per case specifics, it has been placed under the sub-category- 'Restriction on expression of Hindu identity', under the prime category- 'Restriction/ban on Hindu practices' of the hate tracker. An example of the state-affected prejudicial and targeted orders against the Hindu community would be a government denying the right of a Hindu or a group of Hindus to hold a religious procession owing to the animosity of non-Hindu groups. Denial of the religious right of the Hindus to assuage the non-Hindu group which harbours animosity to a point where it could lead to violence against Hindus is not only a failure of law and order but is a prejudicial order against Hindus, denying them their fundamental rights to express their religious identity. An example of a hate crime against Hindus by a non-Hindu would be a non-Hindu institution forcing its Hindu employees to abandon religious symbols that a Hindu would wear as an expression of faith owing to inherent prejudice against the faith professed by the victim or a non-Hindu group of people restricting a Hindu group from constructing a place of worship simply because the demography of the area in which the temple is being built is dominated by non-Hindus. Such actions are driven by religious animosity and/or prejudice against Hindus and their faith and would therefore be categorized as a hate crime. The other primary category the case is being added to is 'attack not resulting in death' under the secondary category '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. Here, a Muslim school teacher brutally beat up a minor student for chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' in school. "Jai Shri Ram" is a common Hindu slogan that honours Lord Ram, one of the most revered gods in Hinduism. It is often used as a greeting, a chant during religious ceremonies, and an expression of devotion. Reprimanding a child for chanting "Jai Shri Ram" is a clear act of religious intolerance. It suggests a bias against the child’s expression of their religious identity, which is problematic, especially in settings like schools where freedom of expression should be respected. It violates one's fundamental right to freedom of religion, which includes the right to express one's religious beliefs openly. It also sends a message of intolerance and exclusion to the broader community. Reprimanding and harassing someone or subjecting them to violence due to their religious beliefs or expression can be classified as a hate crime because the motivation behind the act is religious bias, which in this case was displayed by the teacher of the school which is why this case has been included in the hate tracker. Another primary category this case is being added to is 'Predatory Proselytisation' under the sub-category 'Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination'. The case reveals that the Hindu victims were minors, indicating a lack of consent and genuine change of conscience. It is a well-established fact that children are more susceptible to manipulation since they are still developing emotionally, cognitively, and socially. Their brains are not fully matured, making them more vulnerable to influence and less capable of critically evaluating information. Moreover, subtle manipulation tactics can be difficult to detect, especially when employed by trusted authority figures in positions of influence. This makes it challenging for parents, to identify and address instances of religious manipulation in schools. In this case, the accused, teachers in a position of trust, demonstrated a clear animosity towards Hinduism by indulging in violence against the minor students for chanting Jai Shri Ram. The teachers essentially covertly tried to push the children towards Islam by distancing them from their religion and practices. This sort of harassment is rooted in animosity towards the victim’s religious identity and is therefore documented as a religiously motivated hate crime in this Hinduphobia Tracker.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 1
Age Group
- Minor 1
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
