Hindu youth dragged into mosque and tortured for chanting Jai Shri Ram on Holi

Case ID : 5954bf1 | Location : Murshidabad, West Bengal, India | Date of Incident : Sun, 24 March, 2024

Case ID : 5954bf1

Murshidabad, West Bengal, India

24 March, 2024

Hindu youth dragged into mosque and tortured for chanting Jai Shri Ram on Holi

Attack not resulting in death

Attack against Hindu devotees

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

On the day of Holi, a Hindu youth in Sompara village, Murshidabad district, West Bengal, was tortured by a group of Islamists for chanting "Jai Shri Ram." The incident occurred under the jurisdiction of the Shaktipur Police Station. The attackers reportedly dragged the youth inside a mosque, where he was beaten. Upon being informed, the police responded promptly and rescued the youth from the mosque. Angered by the incident, local Hindus gathered around the police vehicle, demanding the immediate arrest of the perpetrators. However, no arrests had been made at the time of reporting.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category- Attack not resulting in death. The sub-category 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 other 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. In this case, the Hindu youth was targeted solely for chanting “Jai Shri Ram” on the day of Holi, a sacred festival for Hindus. He had not provoked the attackers in any manner other than expressing his Hindu religious identity. Chanting the name of Shri Ram is a core expression of devotion within Hinduism, and punishing a Hindu youth for such an act reflects religious hatred and hostility against his faith. The attack was not about any personal enmity, dispute, or crime—it was purely an assault on him for being Hindu and practising his religion openly. The act of dragging him inside a mosque and torturing him further underlines the intent to humiliate him for his Hindu identity in a place associated with the attackers’ faith, amplifying the message of religious domination. Such incidents are clear examples of religiously motivated violence driven by supremacy and thus constitute a hate crime against Hindus.