Hindu family attacked by mob led by Muslim village head, victim says the attack's objective was to effect a demographic change

Case ID : 7f64d75 | Location : Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Sat, 4 February, 2023

Case ID : 7f64d75

Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, India

4 February, 2023

Hindu family attacked by mob led by Muslim village head, victim says the attack's objective was to effect a demographic change

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked to induce migration from non-Hindu dominated area

Case Summary

In the Hardoi area of Uttar Pradesh, a mob of roughly 30 Muslim attackers broke into Mashal Singh’s home on Sunday, February 5. The mob attacked with sticks and rods and hurled stones as well. The attackers were also allegedly carrying licensed firearms and pistols. Five members of one local Hindu Mashal Singh’s family suffered injuries from the attack. A woman was also injured. Reportedly, the prime accused Aseer Ahmed is the head of the village (Gram Pradhan). The victim, Mashal Singh said his village is 20 per cent Hindu and 80 per cent Muslim and the Muslims want them to leave as they are the only Kshatriya family in the village. Mashal Singh also asserted that local Muslims often harassed the members of the OBC and SC communities.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

There have been cases where the Hindus living in an area, often with a majority dwelling belonging to non-Hindus or those harbouring animosity towards the Hindu faith, the Hindu residents experience threats and violence. The violence is employed with the aim of making the Hindus leave the area and relocate, so the area could be turned into an exclusive ghetto for adherents of the non-Hindu faith or those who harbor animosity towards the Hindu faith. In several cases, the aim of exodus is explicit. However, in several cases, the demand for exodus of Hindu residents is not explicit, however, violence by non-Hindu residents leaves the Hindu residents no option but to leave the area, thereby, turning the area into an exclusive ghetto of non-Hindu residents. In such cases, there are instances of violence against the Hindu residents explicitly. For example, in the Hauz Qazi case of 2019, the Muslim residents claimed that mob violence against the Hindu residents had been triggered by a parking dispute. However, the violence did turn religious with a temple being desecrated and was directed specifically against the Hindu residents. The Hindu residents of the area were clear that the violence was religiously motivated and one of the motives was to affect an exodus of the Hindu residents. In such cases, even though the perpetrators have not explicitly expressed the aim of affecting exodus, the given circumstances and violence and precedent point to the intention of exodus and therefore would be categorized under this sub-category. Such crimes are religiously motivated and therefore are hate crimes.