Hindu men beaten, Hindu women molested during Holi celebrations amid chants of 'Allah hu Akbar'
Tamluk, West Bengal, India 
13 March, 2025
Case Summary
In Tamluk town, in the Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal, on the night of Holi, Hindus were attacked by Muslims amid chants of Islamic slogans such as 'Allah Hu Akbar'. Hindu men, both young and elderly, were brutally beaten, while Hindu women were reportedly molested. According to media reports, Hindus in Tamluk town experienced violence and harassment at the hands of Muslims. The attackers assaulted Hindu men and women while chanting 'Allah Hu Akbar' and 'Joy Bangla'. Witnesses claimed that the police did not intervene and merely stood by as spectators during the attacks. A Hindu woman described her ordeal, stating, “Almost 100 Muslim youths arrived at the market on more than 50 motorcycles, all wearing skull caps. Right in front of me, they asked a Hindu boy whether he was Hindu or not. Upon learning his identity, they began beating him. He is now undergoing treatment in a nursing home. They were chanting slogans like ‘Allah Hu Akbar’ and ‘Joy Bangla’. The police did nothing to stop them; they just stood there as mute spectators.” Another elderly woman said, “They suddenly started beating my son for no reason.” Outraged by the attack, hundreds of Hindu men and women gathered in the market area, demanding the arrest of the perpetrators. The police arrived at the scene and assured the Hindus that the accused would be apprehended. Suvendhu Adikari, the leader of the opposition party in West Bengal, also supported the Hindus of Tamluk and assured them help to seek justice. He joined the protest of Hindus who were demanding the arrest of the accused.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added as a religiously motivated hate crime under three prime categories of the tracker. The first is- Attack not resulting in death, and under this, the sub-category selected is- Attacked for Hindu identity. In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime under this category. The second category selected here is Attack on Hindu religious representations. Within this, the sub-category selected is- Abrahamic religious chanting outside Hindu religious places and/or during Hindu activities. 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. Similarly, religious activities hold deep significance for Hindus, as they are intricately connected to their spiritual, cultural, and social lives. These practices encompass rituals, festivals, prayers, and pilgrimages that celebrate and honour various deities, fostering a sense of spiritual connection, community, and cultural continuity. Given the central significance of Temples and religious activities in Hindu Dharma, any aggressive Abrahamic chanting outside Temples or during religious activities negates the divinity of the religious space because the chanting itself negates the existence of any other God other than the God of the Abrahamic faith. Such chanting is specifically done to negate the faith of Hindus, establish religious supremacy, intimidate the devotees and mock the faith. Besides temples, such Abrahamic chanting outside any Hindu place of worship or religious structure or during any religious activity has the same effect. Since such acts are rooted in an inherent religious supremacist mentality driven by religious animosity, such crimes would be considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. The third sub-category selected is- Restriction/ban on Hindu practices. Within 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. The attack in Tamluk town, West Bengal, constitutes a religiously motivated hate crime under multiple religious markers. The perpetrators, a mob of over 100 Muslim men, targeted Hindus specifically based on their religious identity, as witnessed in their act of questioning a Hindu boy about his faith before assaulting him. Moreover, the attackers were chanting ‘Allah Hu Akbar’ while carrying out the assault, a clear indication of an intent to assert religious dominance by disrupting Hindu festivities and intimidating the local Hindu community. The deliberate molestation of Hindu women and physical attacks on Hindu men further demonstrate an attempt to humiliate and suppress Hindu presence in the area, particularly on a religious occasion such as Holi. Furthermore, the apparent inaction of the police, who merely stood as silent spectators rather than intervening to prevent the violence, highlights systemic apathy towards Hindu concerns and rights in the state. This incident aligns with an ongoing trend in West Bengal, where Hindus increasingly face restrictions on expressing their religious identity, while similar curbs are not imposed on other religious communities. From Hindus being arrested for chanting Jai Shri Ram slogans, to denying permissions for Hindu religious processions to her stoic silence whenever Hindus get attacked by Islamists in the state, there are several evidences to show that the Mamata Government in West Bengal has, in the past, passed umpteen prejudicial orders to clamp down on the religious rights of Hindus and show her affinity towards the Muslims in the state.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
