Hindu youth targeted for expression of Hindu identity, asked to remove 'Hindu' sticker from bike

Case ID : 59548f1 | Location : Chandigarh, India | Date of Incident : Wed, 11 December, 2024

Case ID : 59548f1

Chandigarh, India

11 December, 2024

Hindu youth targeted for expression of Hindu identity, asked to remove 'Hindu' sticker from bike

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

A video went viral in which a woman was seen schooling a Hindu youth for having a sticker which read 'Hindu' pasted on his bike. The woman who was standing on a footpath waiting for her car approached the biker, only to ask him to remove the sticker placed on his two-wheeler. "Aap Hindu thodi na ho? Aap universal being ho...isko hatao (You aren't a Hindu. You are a universal being...take it (sticker) off)", the woman was heard telling the youth. She added, "remove all this, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, all these are things created by politics. If you were such a great Hindu, God would have sent you with Om etched on your forehead.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Attack not resulting to death and within this, the sub-category selected is- 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, the woman admonished a Hindu youth for displaying a "Hindu" sticker on his motorcycle. This incident qualifies as a religiously motivated hate crime, as it targeted the individual specifically for his Hindu identity. The woman’s comments, including dismissive remarks like "You aren't a Hindu; you are a universal being," directly challenged the youth's right to express his religious affiliation. By insisting that he remove the sticker and attributing religious identity to political manipulation, the woman not only disrespected the youth’s faith but also attempted to delegitimize his personal beliefs. Such incidents contribute to an atmosphere of hostility, where individuals are discouraged from proudly affirming their faith. Since this incident was motivated by the religious identity of the victim it has been classified as a hate crime under the above-mentioned category of the tracker.