Hindu community and its sacred religious symbol ridiculed by Indian politician in West Bengal
West Bengal, India 
27 August, 2025
Case Summary
In West Bengal, the Hindu community was mocked and ridiculed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) politician and Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra. She not only targeted the Hindu community but also mocked sacred Hindu symbols such as the Kanthi Mala, traditionally worn by Vaishnav Hindus. According to media reports, the accused, Mahua, directly targeted the Hindus, particularly the Namasudra community. In a widely circulated video shared by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT Cell chief Amit Malviya, Mahua was seen mocking Hindus and saying in Bengali: “All year you are Trinamooli (supporter of TMC) and during elections Sanatani (Hindus)?”. In short, she suggested that one could not be both a Hindu and a supporter of TMC. She went further by ridiculing Scheduled Castes (SCs), Namasudras, and Matuas, and even mocked the Vaishnav community’s sacred Kanthi Mala, dismissing them as merely “wearing a wooden mala and coming to take doles”. While sharing the video on the social media platform X, Amit Malviya stated that the BJP strongly condemned the speech. He stated that Moitra was spreading anti-Hindu hatred and demanded that she be held accountable for her derogatory comments. He wrote on X: “This is pure anti-Hindu, casteist hate speech. There can be no forgiveness for such communal venom. The BJP has always stood firmly with the Namasudra, SC, and Matua communities. It is time for these communities to demand Mahua Moitra’s immediate resignation and launch a larger movement. She must be held to account for insulting SC, ST, and Hindu communities.” Previously, Moitra had also made controversial remarks against the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, where she called for his beheading.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Hate Speech against Hindus. Within this, the subcategory 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. In this case, Mahua Moitra's speech went far beyond political criticism and amounted to outright anti-Hindu hate speech. Most signifcantly, she went on to ridicule one of the most sacred religious symbols of the Hindu Vaishnav community, the Kanthi Mala, a garland made of Tulsi beads. This simple Tulsi bead mala is worn with devotion as a sign of allegiance to Lord Vishnu. By dismissing it as a “wooden mala used by people coming to take doles,” she desecrated a symbol central to Hindu Vaishnav practice and devotion. Such a statement was not a political argument; it was a deliberate insult to a sacred Hindu tradition and an attempt to belittle the faith of Hindus. Additionally, by mocking Hindus as “Sanatanis only during elections” while calling them “Trinamoolis” throughout the rest of the year, she ridiculed Hindu identity itself. Her words suggested that a practising Hindu had no rightful place within the Trinamool Congress, thereby creating an exclusionary divide between faith and political affiliation. This was an attempt to delegitimise Hindu identity in the political space and to sneer at those who sought to carry both together. Such speech demonstrates bias and animosity towards the Hindu community and their faith. The accused's attack did not stop at generalised mockery. She specifically singled out the Namasudra and Matua communities, both Scheduled Caste sections of Bengal’s Hindus. These communities have long endured marginalisation, yet instead of respecting their religious beliefs and struggles, she chose to reduce them to objects of derision. This was anti-Hindu in undertone and targeted some of the most vulnerable groups within Hindu society, amplifying the offensiveness of her words. Her tone and delivery further underlined the animosity inherent in the remarks. Rather than engaging ideologically, she chose to mock and scorn, exposing a deep-seated hostility towards Hindu identity and practices, making it a religiously motivated hate speech. An important point to note is that this was not the first time Mahua Moitra mocked Hindus and their religion. Previously, in 2021, she attacked Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, during his election campaigning in Bengal for the BJP. Yogi Adityanath had said that all political violence by TMC and their goons would end if the BJP were elected in Bengal. Angered by this statement, Mahua Moitra responded with anti-Hindu remarks, referring to Yogi Adityanath’s supporters as the ‘Vanar Sena commune’. She tweeted that his “thok do culture” from his “vanar sena commune” would not work in West Bengal. The Vanar Sena is a revered force in the Hindu epic Ramayana, fighting for dharma alongside Lord Ram. This shows a consistent pattern of anti-Hindu behaviour rather than a one-off lapse. Such denigrating speech towards Hindus and their faith showcases that the accused Moitra holds bias and animosity towards the Hindu community. Since this case meets the parameters of a religiously motivated hate speech, it is being added to the hate crime database.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
State and Establishment
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
female
Sources 
