Muslim minors pelt stones at Hindu women going for Puja in Nuh, Haryana

Case ID : 456fad2 | Location : Nuh, Haryana, India | Date of Incident : Wed, 15 November, 2023

Case ID : 456fad2

Nuh, Haryana, India

15 November, 2023

Muslim minors pelt stones at Hindu women going for Puja in Nuh, Haryana

Attack not resulting in death

Attack against Hindu devotees

Communal clash/attack

Attacked for crossing 'Muslim area'

Case Summary

In Haryana’s Nuh, a group of Hindu devotees, primarily women, was attacked by individuals from a nearby madrasa while en route to the ‘Kuan Pujan’ ritual on the night of November 16. More than six women sustained injuries, along with some children. The incident occurred as the women were heading to Kailash Mandir around 8:30 pm, where stones were thrown at them. Upon their return from the temple, the attackers resumed pelting stones, escalating tensions in the area as members from both communities confronted each other.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This particular case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under two subcategories of the prime category 'Attack not resulting in death' because of the various distinct components that demonstrate the perpetrator's bias against the Hindu faith and their deliberate attempt to harm the Hindus. The first sub-category under 'Attack not resulting in death' relevant in this case is 'Attack 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. The second sub-category under which this case has been listed is, 'Communal clash'. Communal clash is a form of collective violence that involves clashes between groups belonging to different religious identities. For a communal clash between Hindus and non-Hindus to qualify as a religiously motivated hate crime, the trigger of the violence itself would have to be anti-Hindu in essence. For example, if there is a Hindu religious procession that comes under attack from a non-Hindu mob and after the initial attack, Hindus retaliate in self-defence, leading to a communal clash between the two religious communities. While at a later stage, both communities are involved in the clash/violence, the initial trigger of the violence was by the non-Hindu mob against the Hindus and therefore, it could safely be termed as an anti-Hindu violence. Further, the trigger would also have to be religiously motivated. In the cited example, the attack by the non-Hindu mob was against religious processions and therefore, can be concluded to be religiously motivated. In some cases, the trigger may be non-religious, however, it develops into religious violence against Hindus at a later stage. In such cases too, the foundational animosity towards Hindus becomes the motivating factor of the crime and therefore, it would be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus under this category. Here, the religious angle of the crime in evident by the fact that the Muslim children attacked Hindu women with stones while they were on their way to perform Kuan Pujan, a traditional Hindu ceremony. The disconcerting aspect of this case is that the perpetrators here were minors. Children's minds are indeed highly impressionable, and they often internalize the attitudes and beliefs of those around them. When exposed to hatred and prejudice against a particular religion, they are likely to adopt these views, which can lead to a cycle of intolerance and bigotry. The fact that the Muslim children in this instance attacked Hindu devotees highlights the intolerance and bias that has been ingrained in them since childhood, which, in this case, catalyzed the crime they committed. Since disrespect for the Hindu religion is the primary purpose behind this incident, this case has been added to the hate tracker. The third sub-category this case has been added to is 'Attacked for crossing Muslim area'. One of the reasons that Hindus get attacked unprovoked specifically by Islamists is for crossing ‘Muslim areas’. Essentially, Muslim mobs often attack Hindus crossing or present in certain areas which have a majority Muslim population. It has often been cited as one of the reasons to blame Hindus for attacks against themselves, signalling that Hindus displaying religious symbols, taking our religious processions or crossing any area which is dominated by Muslim residents is a provocation in and of itself. These areas are mostly ghettoized areas where mobs mobilize quickly to attack Hindus for a variety of reasons like playing music during a religious procession, crossing a mosque, wearing a tilak or any other religious symbol in a Muslim-dominated area, praying at a local temple in that area etc. There have been cases where the few local Hindus of that area have been attacked on their way to the Temple for prayers as well, simply because the area is considered a Muslim-dominated area. Several times, it is entirely possible that the immediate trigger for the violence against Hindus was non-religious in nature, however, the violence became religiously motivated in nature because the area was Muslim dominated and the residents on the whole harboured animosity towards Hindus, evidenced from the actions of the mob, the slogans, and the nature of the attack. Such crimes are motivated by the religious identity of the victims and are therefore classified as hate crimes under this category. Here, it is important to note that the attack on the Hindu devotees was an unprovoked one. The trigger for the attack was the Hindu women's participation in a religious activity. There is a strong element of the devotees coming under attack because they were crossing a Muslim-dominated area for the purpose of a Hindu puja. It was only after the Muslim children launched an attack on the Hindu women did members of the Hindu community retaliated. They were not the ones to start the violence. The Hindus acted merely in reprisal, leading to a communal clash.