Case Summary

Hindu religious sentiments were insulted after derogatory remarks were made targeting a Hindu deity by an Indian politician named Amit Baghel, a resident of Raipur, Chhattisgarh. According to reports, Amit Baghel, the president of the Chhattisgarhiya Kranti Sena as well as head of the Johar Chhattisgarh Party, made highly objectionable, provocative, and derogatory remarks on social media targeting Lord Jhulelal, the revered deity for the Sindhi Hindu community. The remarks were made during a media interaction on 29 October 2025, following the vandalisation of the statue of Chhattisgarh Mahatari at VIP Chowk in Raipur on 26 October 2025. During the interaction, Baghel used abusive and provocative language directed at Lord Jhulelal, referring to the Sindhi community as “Pakistani Sindhis” and saying, “Aur vo Sindhi Pakistani Sindhi, vo machari vala bhagwan … Chhattisgarh me Jhulelal ki badi murti nahi banegi,” (Those Sindhis are Pakistani Sindhis, that fish god of theirs … a big statue of Jhulelal would not be built in Chhattisgarh). He also questioned, “Who is Agrasen Maharaj? Is he a thief or a liar? What did Pakistani Sindhis know about the fish god?” His remarks were widely circulated through video clips on social media platforms, including YouTube and Instagram, causing widespread anger and emotional distress within the Sindhi community across several states. The statements were seen as a deliberate attempt to insult the religious sentiments of the Sindhi community and denigrate their faith. Baghel's language was intentionally inflammatory, intended to provoke hostility and disrupt communal harmony. Members of the Sindhi community stated that the remarks not only hurt their religious sentiments but also had the potential to incite communal unrest and disturb social harmony. In response, members of the Sohinda Sindhi Group and other community organisations submitted memoranda to the Kotwali police station in Katni, urging the registration of a formal case and strict legal action against Baghel. The memorandum emphasised that his conduct constituted a punishable offence under Sections 153A, 295A, and 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code, involving promotion of enmity on religious grounds and deliberate acts intended to outrage religious feelings. An FIR was subsequently lodged in Jagdalpur against him for making indecent and insulting remarks not only against Lord Jhulelal but also against Agrasen Ji Maharaj of the Agrawal community and Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, under Section 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Similar complaints were also filed in Raipur, Raigarh, and Surguja, while in Mumbai, a written complaint was submitted at the Ulhasnagar police station by Kailash Mahesh Sukhramani, stating that Baghel’s statements had caused immense distress to the Sindhi community and demanded police intervention. In Lucknow, the Sindhu Sabha sent a memorandum to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh seeking strict action, asserting that the Sindhi community had made immense contributions to India’s integrity and nation-building and that such indecent remarks not only insulted their faith but also disrupted social harmony. Despite the widespread outrage and multiple FIRs, Baghel publicly refused to apologise for his remarks, saying, “Whatever you do, so shall you reap,” subtly implying that the statue of Chhattisgarh Mahatari was vandalised by the Sindhi community.

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Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of - Hate speech against Hindus. Within it, the sub-category 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. This case has been added to the tracker because the accused, Amit Baghel, made objectionable and derogatory comments against Lord Jhulelal, a revered deity of the Sindhi Hindu community. His remarks, which included mocking the Hindu deity and branding Sindhi Hindus as “Pakistani Sindhis,” were not mere expressions of dissent but amounted to hate speech that directly targeted Hindu religious identity and a revered Hindu deity. By using explicitly derogatory language such as “Pakistani Sindhis” and mocking Lord Jhulelal as a “fish god,” Baghel intentionally dehumanised and humiliated the faith of millions of Sindhi Hindus. His remarks invoked ridicule and contempt toward a Hindu deity and his devotees, directly striking at the spiritual and cultural core of an entire community. Hindu deities occupy an immensely important and sacred position in Hinduism and are deeply revered by the Hindu community. Targeting them in a derogatory and abusive manner is not merely offensive; it reflects direct religious animosity towards Hinduism and its followers. By publicly maligning a revered Hindu deity, the accused not only disrespected the faith but also incited hostility, making this a clear example of a religiously motivated crime. Such actions are consistent with hate speech, as they were designed to provoke hostility, offend religious sentiments, and spread contempt for Hinduism and its adherents. The fact that multiple FIRs were filed under sections dealing specifically with promoting enmity and outraging religious feelings underscores the severity of his statements as an act of religious hatred rather than a mere lapse in judgment. Furthermore, the accused refused to apologise for his statements further underscoring the deliberate nature of the whole act. The accused attempted to justify his remarks by claiming that they stemmed from anger over the vandalisation of the Chhattisgarh Mahatari statue at VIP Chowk in Raipur. However, without any evidence, he implied that members of the Sindhi community were responsible for the act. Instead of confining his outrage to the vandalism, he directed abusive and communal language toward a Hindu community and its revered deity. This shift from political anger to communal vilification demonstrates that his actions were driven by religious hatred rather than genuine grievance. Regardless of any perceived provocation, targeting and abusing a Hindu deity constitutes a hate crime, as it deliberately seeks to insult and denigrate the faith of an entire religious group. Lord Jhulelal, also known as Uderolal or Varuna Dev, holds a central place in the faith and cultural identity of the Sindhi Hindus. He is worshipped as the divine protector who appeared to save Hindus in Sindh from religious persecution, symbolising courage, righteousness, and the triumph of faith over tyranny. Sindhi Hindus across India and the diaspora revere Lord Jhulelal as the embodiment of justice and divine compassion, and his festival, Cheti Chand, marks the Sindhi New Year. Therefore, by insulting Lord Jhulelal, the accused did not merely mock a religious figure; he attacked the collective spiritual heritage of an entire community. His remarks, therefore, go beyond the realm of free speech or political expression, they represent hate speech designed to demean Hindu beliefs, offend religious sentiments, and provoke division. In recent times, social media has increasingly become a platform for anti-Hindu hate, with derogatory memes, videos, and messages targeting Hindu religious symbols, practices, and deities. Such content is recognised as part of a broader pattern of Hinduphobia and religious hate crimes online. This deliberate targeting of revered religious icons firmly establishes this act as a religiously motivated hate crime; therefore, it is being categorised under the hate crime database.