Case Summary

An anti-Hindu tweet denigrating Diwali and Hindus was posted on X by a Christian extremist named Nate. The derogatory post was supported by Trinamool Congress (TMC) Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra, known for her anti-Hindu stance. Mahua Moitra responded to the hate-filled post by writing, “I agree,” to a tweet that incited hatred against Hindus and described Diwali as “ret*rded.” The original tweet by a Christian extremist account stated: “Just like that, we’ve let braindead f*cking Indians turn our beautiful Western countries into total shitholes with their retarded Diwali garbage that has zero to do with us.” Moitra’s agreement with such content drew widespread outrage for endorsing explicit abuse directed at Hindus and their revered festival. It is also important to note that Moitra’s response came amidst an alarming surge in online efforts to vilify Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. Across social media platforms, particularly X (formerly Twitter), self-proclaimed Christian nationalists and white supremacists unleashed a barrage of hateful comments targeting Hindus and Diwali, exposing a deep current of religious intolerance and animosity towards Hinduism. This was not the first instance of Mahua Moitra engaging in acts of Hinduphobia. The Hinduphobia Tracker had previously documented a separate incident of anti-Hindu mockery by her. In August 2025, during a public event in West Bengal, Moitra ridiculed the Hindu community and mocked sacred Hindu symbols such as the Kanthi Mala, traditionally worn by Vaishnav Hindus. In a widely circulated video posted by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT Cell chief Amit Malviya, Moitra was heard saying in Bengali: “All year you are Trinamooli and during elections Sanatani?”—suggesting that a person could not be both a practising Hindu and a supporter of the TMC. She went further by mocking Scheduled Castes (SCs), Namasudras, and Matuas, and ridiculing members of the Vaishnav community for wearing the sacred Kanthi Mala, dismissing them as people “wearing a wooden mala and coming to take doles.” Her repeated remarks demonstrated a consistent pattern of contempt towards Hindu beliefs and communities.

Case Images

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Hate Speech against Hindus. The subcategory selected is- Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith. Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. In this case, Mahua Moitra agreeing to an anti-Hindu post, where the accused denigrated the revered Hindu festival, Diwali, and abused Indians — in this context, Hindus — in explicit and derogatory language, revealed clear anti-Hindu bias. The fact that Mahua Moitra, a Member of Parliament, chose to endorse such content exposed her deep-seated religious animosity towards Hindus. Diwali is one of the most sacred Hindu festivals, symbolising the victory of light over darkness and good over evil. Despite knowing the profound religious and cultural significance of Diwali, Moitra’s public agreement with a Christian extremist who abused both Hindus and their holy festival underscored her hostility towards the Hindu faith and traditions. Such remarks and endorsements have far-reaching consequences for the Hindu community. When public figures like Moitra amplify anti-Hindu hate speech, it normalises prejudice and fosters negative stereotypes against Hindus. This creates a hostile environment that breeds discrimination, social exclusion, and even physical violence against Hindus for their religious identity. It also perpetuates the narrative that attacking Hindu beliefs and festivals is acceptable, eroding the principle of equal respect for all faiths. Furthermore, as a sitting Member of Parliament, Moitra’s endorsement of such hate content raises serious concerns about her impartiality and fairness towards the Hindu community. Her open display of religious bias questions her commitment to representing all citizens equally, regardless of faith. This conduct aligns with her past pattern of anti-Hindu remarks documented by the Hinduphobia Tracker. In August 2025, Moitra mocked the Hindu community, their sacred Kanthi Mala worn by Vaishnav devotees, and other religious symbols, openly ridiculing Hindu voters during an event in West Bengal. These repeated incidents illustrated her entrenched prejudice, contempt, and animosity towards Hindus, their festivals, and their faith practices. This cumulative pattern of behaviour established clear evidence of religiously motivated hate speech against Hindus. Given that this case fulfilled the parameters of a religiously motivated crime — targeting Hindus, insulting their sacred festival, and displaying consistent prejudice — it is being recorded and added to the Hate Crime Database of the Hinduphobia Tracker.