Muslim mob attacks Hindu procession ahead of consecration ceremony in Ayodhya
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India 
20 January, 2024
Case Summary
On 21st January, amidst the celebrations of Ram Mandir Pran Prathishtha in Ayodhya, Hindus carrying out a procession was attacked by a Muslim mob at Mira Road in Mumbai. While the members of the Hindu community were taking out a procession via Mira Road with flags of Bhagwan Ram and Bhagwan Hanuman on their vehicles and chanting, “Jai Shri Ram”, a Muslim mob attacked the procession. The mob attacked the Hindus with sticks and rods, attacked the members of the Hindu community, damaged the vehicles and desecrated the religious flags. Notably, the mob did not even spare women who were part of the procession. In videos of the incident, people could be seen throwing away flags, attacking vehicles and hurling abusive words at participants of the procession. Hindu community asserted that they were on a peaceful march when the Islamists confronted and attacked them. Several persons were reportedly detained, and the Police assured that the situation was under control.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
Distinct elements in this particular case demonstrate that the crime was committed while harbouring a bias against the Hindu faith. As per case details, there are two prime categories under which this case has been placed in the hate tracker, namely, 'attack not resulting in death' and 'attack on Hindu religious symbols'. To break it down further, two sub-categories have been selected under the first prime category and one under the second sub-category. The first sub-category under 'Attack not resulting in death' relevant in this case is 'Attack on religious procession'. The outward celebration and display of religious symbols in an intrinsic part of Hinduism. Religious processions on various festivals are age-old traditions and a way to manifest faith and form a part of the religious practices of Hindus. On several occasions, such religious processions come under attack by non-Hindu mobs, in a manifestation of their animosity towards Hinduism and their practices. The reasons cited for such violent attacks are many and range from crossing a non-Hindu resident-dominated area to playing loud music, crossing from an area where there is a religious structure of another faith etc. The violent attacks are triggered by the outward display of religiosity by Hindus. The attacks are mainly a manifestation of religious supremacist doctrine which believes that idolatry, essentially the Hindu faith, is one that deserves to be annihilated since the very tenets of Hinduism, its practices and traditions are considered a sin in those doctrines. Since these attacks emanate from intrinsic and doctrinal animosity towards Hindus and Hinduism, it is considered a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. The second sub-category under which this case has been listed is, 'Attacked against Hindu devotees'. Hindu devotees are a few of the easiest targets of religiously motivated hate crimes because during the festival/procession/puja etc, for non-Hindus it is easy to profile their victims on the basis of religion. Hindu devotees come under attack on several occasions by individual non-Hindus or mobs of non-Hindus owing to their animosity against Hinduism, its symbols and tradition/practices. There are several instances of Hindu devotees being attacked while they worship in temples or temporary religious structures, during religious processions, doing bhajan/kirtan/puja in their own homes, in the residential society etc. These attacks are perpetrated by non-Hindus primarily because of their animosity towards Hindus and their faith. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, there are two elements that make these hate crimes. First, the Hindus who come under attack are attacked violently while indulging in religious activity. Whether they are in a place of worship or not is immaterial to the crime. When individuals are attacked while indulging in religious practices, the attack in itself is a hindrance to their freedom to practice religion and therefore constitutes a hate crime. Secondly, religious supremacist doctrines and ideologies deem religious practices of Hindus to be offensive ab initio since they are considered “sinful” by these ideologies, worthy to be annihilated by force or coercion. Driven by these religious supremacist ideologies and doctrines, the attacks against Hindu devotees stem from intrinsic animosity towards Hinduism. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, it develops into a religiously motivated crime during the course of the violence. Since these attacks stem from animosity towards Hindus and Hinduism, they are considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. Further, as per the details, the sub-category selected under the second prime category is 'Desecration of Hindu religious symbols'. Icons and symbols or a religious representation of a spiritual ideal are widely revered in Hinduism. Iconography is of vital significance in the Hindu milieu. It helps connect people’s spiritual beliefs with the real world. Iconography within the Hindu faith takes several shapes and forms. Murtis are of most significance to Hindus, to which daily rituals, prayers and offerings are done. Besides the murtis, there are several other symbols which have deep significance in the Hindu faith – the Om and Swastika for example. Since these Hindu religious symbols hold paramount importance in Hinduism, any desecration of symbols, icons, murtis, religious representations and manifestations, is driven by animosity towards the faith itself which manifests itself through these murtis, icons and symbols. Therefore, any desecration of these Hindu religious symbols and representations is considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. In this case, a Hindu religious procession taken out to commemorate the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya came under attack by Islamists. For Hindus, the Pran Pratishtha event represents the pinnacle of centuries-long struggles to reclaim Lord Ram’s birthplace and reinstate Bhagwan Ram to his Janmabhoomi. The return of Lord Ram to Ram Janmabhoomi is a testament to the thousands of devotees, particularly the Karsevaks, who gave up everything to continue battling for a site that was forcibly taken by Islamic fundamentalists who humiliated the native Hindus by erecting a mosque on top of an already existing temple. However, Muslim mobs, owing to their animosity towards Hinduism, Hindu religious places and especially the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya which has special spiritual, cultural and religious significance, launched unbridled attacks against Hindu devotees celebrating the Ram Mandir Pran Prathishtha event. The attacks, like this one, were rooted in religious bias or hatred against Hindus. Moreover, the flags of Bhagwan Ram and Bhagwan Hanuman were desecrated. It is seen as an insult to the Hindu faith to desecrate such flags or any other Hindu religious symbol, and anyone who engages in such criminal activity would only do so out of hatred for Hinduism. It is important to note here that the Hindus testified that they were taking out a peaceful march, which means that the Muslim perpetrators attacked the victim without any provocation from the victim's side. Such acts of violence are driven by intolerance and a desire to intimidate or harm individuals based on their religious identity and qualify as a hate crime.
Case Status
Case sub-judice
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
