Muslim youths assault Hindu youth over Diwali celebrations

Case ID : a037847 | Location : Sonipat, Haryana, India | Date of Incident : Fri, 1 November, 2024

Case ID : a037847

Sonipat, Haryana, India

1 November, 2024

Muslim youths assault Hindu youth over Diwali celebrations

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Attack against Hindu devotees

Case Summary

On Diwali in Sonipat, Haryana, a young man named Vinod was attacked by individuals belonging to the Muslim community, following a dispute over Diwali celebrations. Vinod and his family members and neighbours celebrated Diwali by bursting green crackers on October 31, when Prince, Ashu, Bobby, Sunny, and Sameer, all of the Muslim community, opposed the celebrations. Initially, a temporary truce was reached with police and community intervention. However, the following day, November 1, Vinod was ambushed by the same group, led by Prince and his companions, who assaulted him with sticks and iron rods. In an attempt to escape, Vinod locked himself in a room within his nursery, but the attackers broke down the iron door, dragged him out, and inflicted further injuries, fracturing his leg and damaging property in the room. The assailants attempted to abduct him but fled upon the arrival of the Sarpanch and Vinod’s family. While fleeing, the assailants threatened to kill Vinod. Police registered a case against the accused following a medical report.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the hate tracker under the prime category of '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 other sub-category selected is 'Attack against Hindu devotee'. Hindu devotees are a few of the easiest targets of religiously motivated hate crimes because during the festival/procession/puja etc, for non-Hindus it is easy to profile their victims on the basis of religion. Hindu devotees come under attack on several occasions by individual non-Hindus or mobs of non-Hindus owing to their animosity against Hinduism, its symbols and tradition/practices. There are several instances of Hindu devotees being attacked while they worship in temples or temporary religious structures, during religious processions, doing bhajan/kirtan/puja in their own homes, in the residential society etc. These attacks are perpetrated by non-Hindus primarily because of their animosity towards Hindus and their faith. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, there are two elements that make these hate crimes. First, the Hindus who come under attack are attacked violently while indulging in religious activity. Whether they are in a place of worship or not is immaterial to the crime. When individuals are attacked while indulging in religious practices, the attack in itself is a hindrance to their freedom to practice religion and therefore constitutes a hate crime. Secondly, religious supremacist doctrines and ideologies deem religious practices of Hindus to be offensive ab initio since they are considered “sinful” by these ideologies, worthy to be annihilated by force or coercion. Driven by these religious supremacist ideologies and doctrines, the attacks against Hindu devotees stem from intrinsic animosity towards Hinduism. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, it develops into a religiously motivated crime during the course of the violence. Since these attacks stem from animosity towards Hindus and Hinduism, they are considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. Here, the attack on the Hindu youth, Vinod was clearly driven by animosity toward his Hindu identity, as he was targeted simply for celebrating Diwali, one of the most significant Hindu festivals. The attackers' actions were unprovoked, and the dispute stemmed from the victim's religious observance, which was met with hostility from the Muslim youths. The assault, coupled with the damage to his property and the attempt to kidnap him, underscores the religious hatred behind the attack and this is why this case has been added in the tracker as a religiously motivated hate crime.