Hindus celebrating India's victory over Pakistan in cricket match attacked with stones by Muslim mob

Case ID : 90a08b0 | Location : Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India | Date of Incident : Sun, 23 February, 2025

Case ID : 90a08b0

Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

23 February, 2025

Hindus celebrating India's victory over Pakistan in cricket match attacked with stones by Muslim mob

Attack not resulting in death

Communal clash/attack

Case Summary

On 23rd February 2025, in the Khokhara area of Ahmedabad, Hindus celebrated the victory of the Indian team over Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. India won the match and defeated Pakistan by 6 wickets with Virat Kohli's unbeaten century, after which Hindus celebrated the victory of India by bursting crackers and raising slogans near Anupam Cinema located in Khokhara area of Ahmedabad. During this, a mob of 15-20 Muslims came and started pelting stones at the Hindus. Two Muslim bike riders argued over crackers, then they left the spot. However, after a while, they returned with a mob and started pelting stones at the Hindus. A local said that 6-7 people were injured in this attack, which included a young man who suffered a serious head injury. He was taken to the hospital. The attackers on the other hand fled from the spot. The police deployed heavy force to handle the situation. No arrest or FIR had been filed by the police.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the category- Attack not resulting in death and within this, the sub-category selected is- Communal clash/attack. Communal clash is a form of collective violence that involves clashes between groups belonging to different religious identities. For a communal clash between Hindus and non-Hindus to qualify as a religiously motivated hate crime, the trigger of the violence itself would have to be anti-Hindu in essence. For example, if there is a Hindu religious procession that comes under attack from a non-Hindu mob and after the initial attack, Hindus retaliate in self-defence, leading to a communal clash between the two religious communities. While at a later stage, both communities are involved in the clash/violence, the initial trigger of the violence was by the non-Hindu mob against the Hindus and therefore, it could safely be termed as an anti-Hindu violence. Further, the trigger would also have to be religiously motivated. In the cited example, the attack by the non-Hindu mob was against religious processions and therefore, can be concluded to be religiously motivated. In some cases, the trigger may be non-religious, however, it develops into religious violence against Hindus at a later stage. In such cases too, the foundational animosity towards Hindus becomes the motivating factor of the crime and therefore, it would be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus under this category. The defining point that justifies this incident as a communal attack is that the violence was not random but deliberately targeted at Hindus to celebrate India's victory over Pakistan. The sequence of events and the nature of the attack establish the communal motive behind it. Firstly, the Hindus were simply celebrating India's victory in the Champions Trophy by bursting crackers and raising slogans. The initial confrontation happened when two Muslim men objected to the celebration, indicating resentment toward Hindus expressing national pride. They did not engage in a spontaneous argument but instead left the scene and returned with a premeditated mob, suggesting intent to attack Hindus collectively. The return of the two Muslim individuals with a larger mob demonstrates a planned communal response rather than a spontaneous reaction. The attackers were 15-20 in number, meaning there was mobilisation and coordination, which is a key marker of a communal attack. The mob resorted to stone pelting, a form of targeted aggression, instead of merely objecting verbally. The premeditated, organised, and targeted nature of the attack against Hindus, the communal resentment towards their celebration and the use of violence, all confirm that this was not a mere altercation but a religiously motivated communal attack.