Dalit wedding procession attacked as it passes through a 'Muslim area', identity based slurs hurled

Case ID : 7f64db1 | Location : Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India | Date of Incident : Mon, 20 February, 2023

Case ID : 7f64db1

Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India

20 February, 2023

Dalit wedding procession attacked as it passes through a 'Muslim area', identity based slurs hurled

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

A Dalit wedding procession (Baraat) in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur came under attack by Islamists as it passed through a Muslim colony. Stones were pelted and the attendees were attacked with sharp weapons and sticks. Casteist slurs were also hurled at them by the accused. Moreover, when the accused saw the photograph of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar in the procession, they threw it down and crushed it with their feet. A brawl started when Islamists objected to the DJ music playing during the procession. Together with the sticks and rods in their hands, the assailants also used sharp objects like axes to attack the Dalit attendees. Two of the attackers also stole money from the groom and the baaratis. The bride's brother Mukesh said in his complaint that the accused were well-equipped with sharp weapons and sticks. The vehicles in the procession had framed pictures of Baba Saheb Ambedkar, the miscreants attacked the photo as well. They crushed the frame, walked over it and passed the casteist slurs. “The DJ was playing on the Haldi, Mehendi and other functions as well but the attackers intentionally targeted the procession,” Mukesh said, adding that this was not the first time that these Muslims had attacked a Dalit procession. Asked about the demography of the village Mukesh lives in, he said, a rough prediction would be like 200 Hindu families in a village of 500 families. Rest are Muslims, he said. Both the bride and groom’s families sustained severe injuries. An FIR was filed against 15 individuals.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been placed under the prime category- Attack not resulting in death, of the hate tracker. Further, as per case details, the sub-category chosen here 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 Muslim men took offence to a wedding procession of a Dalit family. They viciously attacked the Dalit attendees for merely playing the DJ music as the procession passed through an area which they consider to be a Muslim area as it is predominantly occupied by people of their community. It is important to note that there was no initial provocation from the Hindu side. The violence itself is indicative of deep-seated hostility. Notably, since stones and sharp weapons were used by the Islamists it is obvious that the attack was premeditated and carefully planned. The use of such weapons requires preparation, acquisition of materials, and coordination among participants, all of which suggest a deliberate and organized effort rather than a spontaneous act of violence. Secondly, the use of caste slurs by Islamists in this context is more than just an expression of caste-based hatred; it becomes a marker of anti-Hindu sentiment. Here, it may be argued that a caste-specific slur is aimed at the victim's micro identity of belonging to the Dalit section of the Hindu community and not their Hindu identity itself. However, as far as Abrahamic religions are concerned, the micro identities of caste, region, and language are secondary. It is the religious identity that drives the animosity of the perpetrator against the Hindu victim. In this case, while the Muslim accused hurled caste abuses at the Dalits, the animosity was driven by his animosity towards Hinduism and Hindus. While the immediate trigger of the violence could be the "DJ music" as mentioned in reports, the fact that caste slurs were hurled at the victims by the perpetrators makes it a religiously motivated hate crime against the victims. The combination of physical violence and the use of casteist abuses suggest that the assault was not just a matter of caste-based discrimination but was fueled by a broader animosity towards Hinduism, which is why this case has been added to the tracker.