Lord Hanuman idol vandalised, uprooted, Shivling, Trishul and Nandi statue broken in a temple in Varanasi

Case ID : 7f64d6b | Location : Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Sun, 5 February, 2023

Case ID : 7f64d6b

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

5 February, 2023

Lord Hanuman idol vandalised, uprooted, Shivling, Trishul and Nandi statue broken in a temple in Varanasi

Attack on Hindu religious representations

Desecration of Hindu religious symbol

Case Summary

Unknown miscreants broke into a Hanuman temple in Narapat Pur village, Chairaigaon Block, Varanasi district, Uttar Pradesh, and vandalised the Lord Hanuman idol. A Shivling, Trishul, and a Nandi idol were also found to be uprooted and desecrated. The donation box was also broken and looted. In the morning, when a local villager named Sitaram Yadav arrived at the temple to pay his obeisance, he was horrified to see the temple vandalised. In no time several other devotees gathered at the temple. Angered by the vandalism at the place of worship, the locals protested and demanded strict action against the unknown accused.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

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, despite understanding that Hindu temples are centres of worship, the miscreants vandalised the temple, uprooted the Shivling and Trishul; and also broke the Nandi statue kept in the premises. It is important to mention here that though the last update was that the miscreants were unknown, regardless, the action stemmed out of hatred against Hinduism and resulted in the desecration of the sacred temple and would therefore be considered a religiously motivated hate crime.