Pandal attacked, religious offerings thrown, Hindu girls harassed during Saraswati Puja celebrations in West Bengal's Bankura district
Bankura, West Bengal, India 
1 February, 2025
Case Summary
Muslim youths attacked a Puja pandal at Patrahati High School in Onda block, Bankura district, West Bengal, during the Saraswati Puja celebrations. They also harassed Hindu girls present at the event and disrespected the religious offerings. After taking the prasad, they threw it on the ground, causing outrage among the devotees. Despite the incident unfolding in front of school authorities, including the headmaster and teachers, none of them intervened. Their inaction led to growing resentment among the local Hindu community. In response, a large number of Hindus gathered at the school, demanding immediate action against those responsible. They insisted that an FIR be lodged against the accused. The incident created tension in the area as locals sought justice for the insult to their religious observance.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the Hinduphobia tracker under three primary categories. The first is- Attack on Hindu religious representation. Within this, the first sub-category selected is- Violence against religious structures and centres. In Hinduism, a religious structure is also considered divine. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the religious structure itself is sacred. In this sub-category, we would document attacks against religious structures which are not consecrated temple spaces. Such religious spaces could be temporary in nature – for example – the religious spaces erected specifically for festivals like Durga Puja etc. This category would also document cases of attacks against religious centres. These spaces in their own right may not be ‘sacred’ per se, however, are often spaces where religious gurus live, religious teaching is imparted, or belong to religious institutions. Any attack against religious structures is a result of animosity towards the religion itself, which manifests itself through the religious spaces and therefore, such attacks are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. Religious centres are also manifestations of the religion, its teachings or gurus and therefore, attacks against such centres would be considered religiously motivated hate crimes. The second sub-category selected here is- Desecration of Hindu religious symbol. Icons and symbols or a religious representation of a spiritual ideal are widely revered in Hinduism. Iconography is of vital significance in the Hindu milieu. It helps connect people’s spiritual beliefs with the real world. Iconography within the Hindu faith takes several shapes and forms. Murtis are of most significance to Hindus, to which daily rituals, prayers and offerings are done. Besides the murtis, there are several other symbols which have deep significance in the Hindu faith – the Om and Swastika for example. Since these Hindu religious symbols hold paramount importance in Hinduism, any desecration of symbols, icons, murtis, religious representations and manifestations, is driven by animosity towards the faith itself which manifests itself through these murtis, icons and symbols. Therefore, any desecration of these Hindu religious symbols and representations is considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. The second primary category under which this incident has been placed is- Attack not resulting in death and within this, the sub-category selected is- Attack against Hindu devotees. Hindu devotees are a few of the easiest targets of religiously motivated hate crimes because during the festival/procession/puja etc, for non-Hindus it is easy to profile their victims on the basis of religion. Hindu devotees come under attack on several occasions by individual non-Hindus or mobs of non-Hindus owing to their animosity against Hinduism, its symbols and tradition/practices. There are several instances of Hindu devotees being attacked while they worship in temples or temporary religious structures, during religious processions, doing bhajan/kirtan/puja in their own homes, in the residential society etc. These attacks are perpetrated by non-Hindus primarily because of their animosity towards Hindus and their faith. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, there are two elements that make these hate crimes. First, the Hindus who come under attack are attacked violently while indulging in religious activity. Whether they are in a place of worship or not is immaterial to the crime. When individuals are attacked while indulging in religious practices, the attack in itself is a hindrance to their freedom to practice religion and therefore constitutes a hate crime. Secondly, religious supremacist doctrines and ideologies deem religious practices of Hindus to be offensive ab initio since they are considered “sinful” by these ideologies, worthy to be annihilated by force or coercion. Driven by these religious supremacist ideologies and doctrines, the attacks against Hindu devotees stem from intrinsic animosity towards Hinduism. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, it develops into a religiously motivated crime during the course of the violence. Since these attacks stem from animosity towards Hindus and Hinduism, they are considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. The third category under which this case has been placed is- Restriction/ban on Hindu practices. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Restriction 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. This incident clearly qualifies as a religiously motivated hate crime due to the targeted nature of the attack against a Hindu religious gathering and its participants. The Muslim youths deliberately disrupted the Saraswati Puja, a sacred Hindu festival dedicated to the goddess of knowledge, by attacking the Puja pandal, disrespecting the prasad, and harassing Hindu girls attending the celebration. Their actions were not random but were aimed specifically at humiliating and intimidating members of the Hindu community during a moment of spiritual observance. Throwing prasad on the ground and desecrating the Puja site are acts that symbolise contempt and hostility toward Hindu beliefs and practices. Moreover, the timing of the attack, during a religious function, along with the lack of provocation from the victims, further underscores the intent to target a particular community based on their religion. Such deliberate attempts to violate sacred symbols and disrupt religious events reflect deep-seated intolerance and are intended to create fear and marginalise the targeted faith. Therefore, this incident has been rightly categorised under the above-mentioned categories in the Hinduphobia Tracker. Further, it is important to mention here that the silence of the school authorities during the attack on the Saraswati Puja pandal at Patrahati High School is not just an act of negligence but a telling reflection of the growing institutional apathy towards Hindus in West Bengal. When Muslim youths disrupted a peaceful religious celebration, harassed Hindu girls, and desecrated sacred offerings, the teachers and headmaster stood by without intervening. This inaction sent a distressing message that Hindu religious sentiments and safety can be disregarded without consequence. Such silence from authority figures indicates a failure to uphold basic principles of justice and secularism. It reveals a climate where appeasement or fear of political backlash often takes precedence over protecting the rights and dignity of the Hindu community. In a state where Hindus are frequently at the receiving end of religiously motivated hostility, the refusal of officials to act emboldens the perpetrators and alienates the victims. This incident is emblematic of a broader pattern in West Bengal, where state and institutional silence in the face of attacks on Hindu faith and identity contributes to a culture of impunity.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
