Hindu temple in Muslim-dominated area forcibly sealed, sacred rituals disrupted following threats from Muslim extremist group
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India 
23 November, 2025
Case Summary
The Aralummoodu Shivapuram Sree Mahadeva Temple in Balaramapuram town, located in the Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala, was targeted by a group of Muslim extremists associated with the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), a Muslim extremist political party involved in several anti-Hindu activities. The accused issued threats to temple officials, leading to the halting of renovation work and disruption of temple rituals. According to media reports, the temple is a place of worship established over 80 years ago by the ancestors of freedom fighter Ramanathan Nair. The temple was sealed, stopping the ongoing renovation work and disrupting daily rituals after SDPI activists threatened the temple officials. This action provoked fierce protests from Hindu organisations and raised serious concerns about the safety of the local Hindu minority community. The controversy began when renovation work started following the traditional ‘devaprasnam’ ritual. At this point, individuals identified as SDPI activists intervened, threatening the Balaramapuram municipal secretary and demanding the cessation of the temple work on the grounds that it was “illegal.” Intimidation extended further when a police officer from the Special Branch also called the temple committee, threatening them to halt the renovation. Under such pressure, the municipal secretary locked the temple's main gate and posted a notice declaring the land as municipal property, forbidding entry without permission and warning of prosecution. Hindu Aikya Vedi state secretary K. Prabhakaran, who is leading the protest at the temple site, said the municipal secretary admitted being threatened by four men from the SDPI. Prabhakaran noted that these men were outsiders and not local residents, and that the same group had previously targeted the old Gopan Swami Samadhi. Beyond municipal officials, even police officers faced threats, with a Special Branch officer pressuring the temple committee to stop the renovations. The lockdown of the temple created fear among the Hindu community, with protesters drawing stark comparisons, questioning whether the area resembled “Afghanistan,” “Taliban,” or “Pakistan” due to the targeting they face. Hindu organisations asserted that the Social Democratic Party of India’s actions enjoyed political backing, explicitly pointing to the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) as a key supporter in efforts to disrupt religious harmony. They emphasised the glaring double standard in enforcing encroachment laws, highlighting that numerous illegal settlements in nearby areas, such as Thakkapalli, remained untouched, while the ancient temple alone faced targeted action. In response, devotees and Hindu groups, including Hindu Aikyavedi, set up a continuous protest camp on the temple grounds, conducting chanting protests (namajapa) and vowing to continue their agitation until the temple was reopened. They issued a stern warning to the government and local authorities, holding them responsible for all consequences if the lock was not removed immediately and the injustice against the Hindu community was not addressed. Notably, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) serves as the political wing of the now-banned Muslim terror group Popular Front of India (PFI). Both the Popular Front of India and the SDPI are Islamic extremist organisations linked to numerous anti-Hindu and anti-India activities. These organisations have been involved in targeted murders of Hindus aimed at inciting communal tensions and terrorising Hindu organisations. For example, on 22nd September 2016, Sasikumar, a leader of the Hindu Munnani, was chased and brutally hacked to death by PFI members in Coimbatore. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) charged individuals linked to the PFI for the murder. Similarly, on 5th February 2019, Ramalingam, a worker of the Pattali Makkal Katchi, was hacked to death; the NIA attributed this crime to PFI activists. Additionally, RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) worker Rudresh was brutally murdered near Shivajinagar in Bangalore on 16th October 2016 by five Muslim assailants with known links to the PFI. These killings aimed to instil fear within Hindu communities and Hindu organisations like the RSS. Leaked documents such as 'Mission 2047,' seized from PFI leadership during NIA raids, revealed a strategic plan to transform India into an Islamic nation through systematic killings of Hindus, dismantling Hindu organisations, forced conversions to Islam, and desecration of Hindu temples. The blueprint explicitly aimed to destabilise Hindu societal structures and impose Islamic rule by manipulating democratic and secular institutions. The Hinduphobia Tracker has also documented previous crimes against Hindus by Muslim extremists linked to PFI and SDPI. For example, a Hindu film director, Kamal Chandra, along with colleagues including Annu Kapoor and Aditi Dhiman, received beheading threats from Muslim extremists for producing the film "Hum Do Hamare Barah," which depicted the struggles of Muslim women. During this period, Muslim extremists linked to SDPI in Mumbra, Thane, leaked the producer’s personal information, including phone numbers, email addresses, and IP details, to facilitate targeted online harassment and raids.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Restriction/ban on Hindu practices. The subcategory selected is- Restrictions on expression of Hindu identity. An example of the state-affected prejudicial and targeted orders against the Hindu community would be a government denying the right of a Hindu or a group of Hindus to hold a religious procession owing to the animosity of non-Hindu groups. Denial of the religious right of the Hindus to assuage the non-Hindu group which harbours animosity to a point where it could lead to violence against Hindus is not only a failure of law and order but is a prejudicial order against Hindus, denying them their fundamental rights to express their religious identity. An example of a hate crime against Hindus by a non-Hindu would be a non-Hindu institution forcing its Hindu employees to abandon religious symbols that a Hindu would wear as an expression of faith owing to inherent prejudice against the faith professed by the victim or a non-Hindu group of people restricting a Hindu group from constructing a place of worship simply because the demography of the area in which the temple is being built is dominated by non-Hindus. Such actions are driven by religious animosity and/or prejudice against Hindus and their faith and would therefore be categorized as a hate crime. Another primary category selected is- Attack on Hindu religious representations. The subcategory selected is- Attack on Temples. In Hinduism, a temple is the abode of the Deity. The Deity in the Temple is consecrated, thereby, making it a real, breathing entity. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the temple premises itself are sacred to Hindus since Hindus hold the faith that the entire Temple space is an amalgamation of the divine energy of the deity. Given the central significance of Temples in Hindu Dharma, any attack against a Hindu Temple or its peripheral premises is an attack on the faith itself and is born out of animosity towards the faith, of which, the Temple is a central tenet. Any manner of attack against a Temple and/or its premises would therefore be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. Another primary category selected is- Attack not resulting in death. The subcategory selected is- Attacked for crossing 'Muslim area'. One of the reasons that Hindus get attacked unprovoked specifically by Islamists is for crossing ‘Muslim areas’. Essentially, Muslim mobs often attack Hindus crossing or present in certain areas which have a majority Muslim population. It has often been cited as one of the reasons to blame Hindus for attacks against themselves, signalling that Hindus displaying religious symbols, taking our religious processions or crossing any area which is dominated by Muslim residents is a provocation in and of itself. These areas are mostly ghettoized areas where mobs mobilize quickly to attack Hindus for a variety of reasons like playing music during a religious procession, crossing a mosque, wearing a tilak or any other religious symbol in a Muslim-dominated area, praying at a local temple in that area etc. There have been cases where the few local Hindus of that area have been attacked on their way to the Temple for prayers as well, simply because the area is considered a Muslim-dominated area. Several times, it is entirely possible that the immediate trigger for the violence against Hindus was non-religious in nature, however, the violence became religiously motivated in nature because the area was Muslim dominated and the residents on the whole harboured animosity towards Hindus, evidenced from the actions of the mob, the slogans, and the nature of the attack. Such crimes are motivated by the religious identity of the victims and are therefore classified as hate crimes under this category. This incident is a clear instance of an anti-Hindu hate crime. The Muslim extremists linked with the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) threatened temple officials and forced the sealing of the Aralummoodu Shivapuram Sree Mahadeva Temple in Kerala. Temples like this are not mere buildings; they are the foundation of Hindu society, revered as the divine abodes of deities and the epitome of Hindu religious and cultural expression. The Aralummoodu Shivapuram Sree Mahadeva Temple, established over 80 years ago by the ancestors of freedom fighter Ramanathan Nair, holds immense religious and historical significance for the local Hindu community. By reaching the temple, threatening officials, and coercing the municipal secretary to seal the temple, the SDPI consciously sought to suppress the expression of Hindu identity. Since temples embody the collective faith, culture, and identity of Hindus, this act represents a deliberate and palpable attempt to restrict Hindu religious expression, plainly motivated by religious animosity and hatred towards Hinduism. Secondly, this incident also amounts to a direct attack on the temple itself as a sacred ecosystem. Temples are revered spaces where the divine is believed to reside continuously, maintained through daily poojas (worship rituals) and ceremonies that sustain spiritual life. The forcible closure of the temple halted ongoing renovation work and disrupted the sacred traditions and rituals within its premises. Such disruption is tantamount to desecration in the eyes of Hindus. This deliberate halting and sealing of the temple interfered with the spiritual and religious ecosystem that the community cherishes, amounting to an assault on the Hindu community’s religious practice and places of worship, marking it as a religiously motivated offence. The manner in which temple officials were threatened shows that they were targeted specifically because of their Hindu identity. The intimidation by SDPI members was an assault not just on individuals but on a community’s right to faith and religious stewardship. Threatening temple officials to provoke the shutdown of sacred spaces reflects a deep-seated religious animosity aimed at marginalising and silencing Hindus. Moreover, as per reports, this incident occurred in a Muslim-majority area where Hindus were a minority. In many such areas, Muslims assert a sense of religious ownership over their localities, often referring to these as “Muslim areas.” This represents a troubling expression of Islamic supremacy, wherein the perpetrators treat this predominantly Muslim region as an exclusive religious domain in which non-Muslims, especially Hindus, are considered unwelcome and unable to practice their religion freely. This mindset reveals an attempt to exert religious dominance over public spaces. In this case, the threats against Hindu temple officials and the municipal authority illustrate that this act was driven by an ideology that looks down upon the Hindu faith and seeks to control or suppress Hindus’ right to worship, embodying exclusion, intolerance, and religious animosity. Consequently, this case exemplifies a religiously motivated hate crime. Additionally, considering the Social Democratic Party of India’s (SDPI) documented history of violent actions against Hindus, including the targeted murders of Hindu activists, alongside its role as the political wing of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI), which had openly aimed to establish Islamic rule over India through the systematic elimination of Hindus and their activists, it is unequivocally clear that this attack was motivated by deep-seated religious hatred. The SDPI’s actions reflect a consistent pattern of hostility and aggression toward Hindus and their sacred places of worship. Given this context, the incident merits unequivocal categorisation as a hate crime. Consequently, this case is being formally added to the Hate Crime Database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records the dates of incidents based on when the crime actually occurs rather than when it is reported by the media. However, in this particular case, the media report has not specified the exact date of the crime. Therefore, for documentation purposes and accurate categorisation, we are using 24th November 2025—the date when the media report was published—as an indicative date. This is done solely for record-keeping and should be understood as an estimate in the absence of precise information. Additionally, the media report has also not specified the total number of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) workers involved in this incident. However, the municipal secretary admitted being threatened by four SDPI men to seal the temple. Therefore, for documentation purposes in the Hinduphobia Tracker, the perpetrator count has been recorded as '4' based on this admission.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
