Hindu family puts up posters of migration owing to harassment by Muslims

Case ID : a0377b9 | Location : Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Thu, 31 October, 2024

Case ID : a0377b9

Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India

31 October, 2024

Hindu family puts up posters of migration owing to harassment by Muslims

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked to induce migration from non-Hindu dominated area

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

In Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu family put up a poster announcing their intention to migrate, citing harassment by Muslim neighbours. On November 1, Sachchidanand Pandey, a resident of Bansgaon Khas village, placed a poster outside his home stating he was “suffering from the atrocities of Muslims” and planned to sell his property and leave. The poster, which featured the word "Migration" in large letters, included Sachchidanand’s contact information and a photo of him with his family. According to Sachchidanand, issues arose when a drain was being constructed by the Gram Panchayat in front of his house, marking his agricultural land for drainage. When he opposed this, he allegedly began receiving threats. He also complained against the village head’s representative, Zainuddin Ansari, for threatening his family. Furthermore, Sachchidanand claimed that his Muslim neighbours frequently threw garbage in front of his house and threatened him when he protested. Despite his repeated complaints to authorities, no action was taken, prompting him to make a public declaration of migration. The incident quickly gained attention, prompting local officials to investigate. The Kushinagar police classified the matter as a “drain dispute” and stated it had been resolved, assuring that peace had been restored in the area.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case is being added to the primary category 'attack not resulting in death' under the sub-category 'attacked to induce migration from non-Hindu dominated area'. There have been cases where the Hindus living in an area, often with a majority dwelling belonging to non-Hindus or those harbouring animosity towards the Hindu faith, the Hindu residents experience threats and violence. The violence is employed with the aim of making the Hindus leave the area and relocate, so the area could be turned into an exclusive ghetto for adherents of the non-Hindu faith or those who harbor animosity towards the Hindu faith. In several cases, the aim of exodus is explicit. However, in several cases, the demand for exodus of Hindu residents is not explicit, however, violence by non-Hindu residents leaves the Hindu residents no option but to leave the area, thereby, turning the area into an exclusive ghetto of non-Hindu residents. In such cases, there are instances violence against the Hindu residents explicitly. For example, in the Hauz Qazi case of 2019, the Muslim residents claimed that mob violence against the Hindu residents had been triggered by a parking dispute. However, the violence did turn religious with a temple being desecrated and was directed specifically against the Hindu residents. The Hindu residents of the area were clear that the violence was religiously motivated and one of the motives was to affect an exodus of the Hindu residents. In such cases, even though the perpetrators have not explicitly expressed the aim of affecting exodus, the given circumstances and violence and precedent point to the intention of exodus and therefore would be categorized under this sub-category. Such crimes are religiously motivated and therefore are hate crimes. In this case, the area was one with a dominant Muslim population. The Hindu family was being repeatedly threatened and harassed by the Muslim village head. Further, the local Muslims were repeatedly harassing the Hindu family, throwing garbage in his house etc and then, threatening him when he protested their acts. Eventually, he put up a poster saying that he would leave the area. Such attacks in Muslim dominated areas are usually done to affect migration and exodus of Hindu families so the area can be turned into a "Muslim area" with the population made up of Muslims. For that reason, this case is being added to the hate crime database.