Tensions flared in Bhadravati as pro-Pakistan slogans raised during Muslim religious procession
Shimoga, Karnataka, India 
7 September, 2025
Case Summary
In Bhadravati town of Shivamogga district, tensions flared after Muslim youths shouted pro-Pakistan slogans during an Eid Milad procession. According to reports, the incident took place at Gandhi Circle when the Muslim religious procession halted near Mani Stand, while a DJ system was playing religious songs. At this point, a group of Muslim youths began raising slogans of “Pakistan Zindabad.” This shocked and enraged the locals, who recorded the video and incident and circulated it on social media. Locals demanded immediate action from the police and questioned why the police failed to intervene despite anti-India slogans being raised openly. The matter provoked widespread outrage, with citizens condemning the act as treasonous and a direct insult to India’s sovereignty. The anger intensified as the slogans were raised just months after the Pahalgam Hindu massacre in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 Hindus were targeted and killed by Pakistani-backed terrorists. Against this backdrop, residents and political leaders described the act as a betrayal of the sacrifices of Indian soldiers and a dangerous outcome of government appeasement politics, demanding that strict sedition charges be filed against those involved. State BJP president B.Y. Vijayendra strongly condemned the incident, stating that “The anti-national miscreants, encouraged by Congress appeasement, who once dared to shout ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ in the Vidhan Sabha itself, are now bringing that treason onto the streets. Yesterday’s incident in Bhadravati is nothing less than sedition.” He further added that the government had made Karnataka into a safe haven for those who insult the nation and demanded the immediate arrest of the accused. Former Deputy Chief Minister K.S. Eshwarappa echoed a similar sentiment, questioning the loyalty of those who raised pro-Pakistan slogans and stating that Congress’s politics of appeasement had emboldened radical elements to act against the interests of the country.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker un the primary category of - Hate speech against Hindus. The sub-category selected here 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, the raising of pro-Pakistan slogans by Muslim individuals during the Eid Milad procession constituted not merely a display of pro-Pakistan sentiment but a clear act of anti-Hindu hate speech. While at surface level, such slogans may appear to be only anti-India, in reality they reveal deeper hostility. It is pertinent to note that Muslim extremists harbour specific animosity towards Hindus and their faith and also view India as a Hindu collectivity. The very basis of the partition of India was that Muslims believed that Islam was a nation unto itself, which could not survive with a Hindu collectivity like India. Further, Muslims often believe in transnational unity—the Ummah—which is a belief that all Muslims across the world are a nation unto themselves and therefore loyalty, as far as the nation-state is concerned, lies with the Muslim collectivity and not with a Hindu collectivity like India. The slogan “Pakistan Zindabad” is not merely a political chant but an expression of allegiance to a Muslim collectivity, carrying with it both transnational loyalty and anti-Hindu sentiment. Rooted in the idea of the Islamic Ummah, such slogans inherently stand against Hindus and the Hindu collectivity, which is embodied in the nation of India. In essence, shouting pro-Pakistan slogans is a way of glorifying Islamic supremacy while simultaneously rejecting and humiliating the Hindu community. These acts, therefore, are not neutral political expressions but clear demonstrations of religious hostility, intended to assert dominance and undermine Hindu identity, making them unmistakably religiously motivated crimes. The Hinduphobia tracker has also documented other similar cases where pro-Pakistan slogans were raised, showing that this is not an isolated incident. For example, in Haryana, a Muslim doctor, Mushtaq Ahmed, was arrested for posting videos glorifying Pakistan and mocking Prime Minister Modi in the wake of Operation Sindoor, drawing outrage from locals and BJP leaders. In Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, pro-Pakistan slogans were shouted during Muharram violence in which a Hindu trader’s shop was vandalised and threats of looting were issued, prompting mass protests. In Bahraich, two Hindu youths named Chandan and Mohit were abducted at gunpoint, brutally assaulted, stripped and forced to chant “Islam Zindabad” and “Pakistan Zindabad,” with the attackers even recording the act on video. These incidents demonstrate a recurring pattern of anti-Hindu hostility expressed through pro-Pakistan sloganeering, underscoring that the Bhadravati case forms part of a broader trend of religiously motivated aggression.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
