Hindus targeted by Muslim mob raising 'Sar Tan Se Juda’ and 'Allahu Akbar' slogans in Indore, Madhya Pradesh
Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India 
24 January, 2023
Case Summary
The Hindu community faced targeting through "Sar Tan Se Juda" slogans—direct Islamic beheading threats—raised by Muslims in the Badwali Chowk area of Indore city, Madhya Pradesh. As per reports, on 25th January 2023, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) national spokesperson Vinod Bansal shared two videos on Twitter (now X), showing a Muslim mob, including men, women and young children, shouting the Islamic extremist slogan "Gustakh-e-Rasool ki Ek hi saza, sar tan se Juda, sar tan se Juda", meaning, "The only punishment for insulting the Prophet is beheading". The mob also shouted slogans of "Allahu Akbar", meaning, ''Allah is the greatest''. These videos captured the Muslims openly calling for violence against those perceived to disrespect Prophet Muhammad. The slogans arose in response to demonstrations by certain organisations in parts of Madhya Pradesh protesting the premiere of Shah Rukh Khan’s film Pathaan. VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal tagged Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Home Minister Narottam Mishra in the tweet, stating that the "sar tan se juda" gang had been activated in Indore that day and demanding urgent action against these Muslim extremists. "Our high-level state delegation will meet the highest police authority in Indore tonight to ensure stern action against the jihadi gang immediately," Bansal added in another tweet. A local VHP delegation met City Police Commissioner Harinarayanchari Mishra and submitted a memorandum regarding the incident. Mishra confirmed that police registered a case under Section 505 and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code at Sadar Bazar police station for objectionable sloganeering in the Badwali Chowki area.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case is being added to the tracker under the primary category- Hate speech against Hindus. The subcategory selected is- Violent Threats. Violent threats, explicit, implicit or implied, is the most dangerous form of hate speech since it goes beyond discriminatory and prejudicial language to express the intent of causing harm to an individual or a group of people based on their religious identity and faith. There could be several different kinds of threats that are issued to Hindus based on religious animosity. An explicit threat would mean the direct threat of violence towards an individual Hindu, a group of Hindus or Hindus at large. Physical violence, death threats, threats of destruction of property belonging to Hindus and threats of genocide would mean explicit threats against Hindus for their religious identity. Implicit threats may not be a direct threat but implied through the use of symbols of actions – for example – in the Nupur Sharma case, other than explicit threats, there were also implicit threats when Islamists took to the streets to burn and beat her effigies. It implies that they want to do the same to Nupur Sharma – thereby is considered an implicit threat. Violent threats can be delivered in person, through letters, phone calls, graffiti, or increasingly through social media and other online platforms. It would be important to understand that a threat – explicit or implicit, online or offline – to an individual who happens to be a Hindu does not qualify as a religiously motivated threat. Such a threat, while vile and dangerous, could be owing to non-religious reasons and/or personal animosity. To qualify as a religiously motivated threat, it would need to exhibit an indication that the individual is being targeted for religious reasons and/or owing to his/her religious identity as a Hindu. This case stands as a clear example of anti-Hindu hate speech, where a Muslim mob—including children—targeted Hindus with Islamic slogans openly calling for beheading in response to protests against the release of Shah Rukh Khan's Pathaan film. Firstly, it's important to state that the ''Sar Tan Se Juda" slogan constitutes an explicit and religiously motivated threat directed at Hindus. “Gustakh-e-Rasool ki Ek hi saza, sar tan se Juda, sar tan se Juda”, which translates to “There is only one punishment for being disrespectful to Rasool (Prophet Muhammad), their head separated from their torso, their head separated from the torso”, is an Islamist clarion call, that has become a staple feature of violent protests that have so far claimed the lives of at least 6 Hindus, including Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur and Umesh Kolhe in Amravati, after Muslim fundamentalists, egged on by the dog-whistling of Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair against former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, resorted to violence for what they perceived as ‘blasphemy’ against Prophet Muhammad. From Kanpur in India’s northern plains to the southern metropolis of Bengaluru, from Kolkata in the east to Hyderabad in the south, protests in the name of blasphemy have erupted in almost every corner of the country as Islamists took to the streets running amok and shouting “Sar Tan Se Juda” chants over the perceived belief of blasphemy against their Prophet. Though a radical Muslim outfit in Pakistan coined this slogan, it has gained popularity among Islamists in regions beyond its geographical origins. Over the years, we have seen large crowds of Islamists chanting the “Sar Tan Se Juda” slogan, which is nothing but a direct incitement to violence against Hindus, leading to murders committed in the name of blasphemy. The radicalised outcry is not merely a statement of disapproval; it is a call for the execution of an individual through beheading, based on their religious identity. When this slogan is raised, it sends a clear and terrifying message not just to the individual targeted but also to anyone else who might share similar views or dare to express them. This tactic of intimidation aims to silence dissent and suppress freedom of expression, particularly in religious discourse. It aims to instil fear in the broader community. Islamists use this tactic to settle personal scores with non-Muslims, particularly Hindus, by levelling fabricated charges of blasphemy against them, which causes outrage and paints a target on them. The underlying hatred and animosity toward non-Muslims, especially Hindus, drive these false blasphemy accusations as a means to subjugate and victimise them. The appearance of this slogan in Indore demonstrates how deeply this violent rhetoric has permeated. The repetition of it in public settings functions as a call for execution and sends a chilling warning to anyone, particularly Hindus, who might be perceived as dissenting or unwilling to submit to Islamist diktats. The very utterance of the slogan transforms public space into a theatre of intimidation, where Hindus are reminded that their lives could be taken for resisting Islamist assertions in civic disputes. The slogan’s danger lies not merely in its verbal content but in its historical and contemporary consequences. Across South Asia, including India, there are multiple recorded cases where individuals accused of blasphemy have been murdered after such chants were raised by Muslim crowds. From school teachers to political leaders, victims have been executed in acts directly linked to the “Sar Tan Se Juda” call. It therefore serves as a bridge between verbal incitement and physical violence, collapsing the distance between threat and action. The slogan is not a matter of community pride or protest; it is an explicit incitement to religiously motivated killing. Its use in Indore underscores the vulnerability of Hindu communities to targeted intimidation. It also illustrates the broader pattern where Islamist groups use blasphemy allegations, fabricated or exaggerated, as tools to victimise Hindus and silence expressions of Hindu identity in public life. Additionally, the chanting of “Allahu Akbar” played a central role in this crime. While it is traditionally a religious chant of glorification, Muslim extremists have repeatedly weaponised it as a battle cry to intimidate Hindus and project Islamic supremacy. It is not incidental that mobs raise this slogan at the very moment they launch attacks, pelt stones, or vandalise property. This pattern has been observed repeatedly: during the Delhi riots of 2020, when Hindu homes and temples were attacked, during the Karauli violence in Rajasthan in 2022, when Hindu shops were set ablaze, and during the Jahangirpuri riots in Delhi, where Muslim mobs assaulted Hindu processions while chanting the same slogan. In Indore too, the slogan functioned as both justification and intimidation, sanctifying the threats issued by Muslims while instilling fear in Hindu communities. Given that this case meets the parameters of an anti-Hindu hate speech, it is being added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker.
Case Status
Complaint registered
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
