Saraswati idol immersion procession attacked by Muslim mob, idol desecrated in stone pelting

Case ID : a4aec82 | Location : Bhagalpur, Bihar, India | Date of Incident : Thu, 15 February, 2024

Case ID : a4aec82

Bhagalpur, Bihar, India

15 February, 2024

Saraswati idol immersion procession attacked by Muslim mob, idol desecrated in stone pelting

Attack not resulting in death

Attack on religious procession

Attack against Hindu devotees

Attack on Hindu religious representations

Desecration of Hindu religious symbol

Case Summary

Violent clashes erupted between two communities in Bihar's Bhagalpur district's Lodipur village. It started when a Muslim mob damaged a Saraswati idol being taken for immersion. This led to arguments and escalated into stone pelting and gunshots. Police said that one person was injured in the incident. In contrast, ABP News cited Saurabh Kumar, who was a participant in the Hindu procession, as confirming that 10 to 12 devotees were injured in the ensuing attack. The Saraswati idol was broken, and Hindus were attacked while taking the idol from Sabalpur village to the Ganga river bank. The head of Tabalpur village and his associates hurled stones, injuring many. Clashes ensued, with gunshots and vandalism of shops reported.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

Distinct elements in this particular case demonstrate that the crime was committed while harbouring a bias against the Hindu faith. Because of the case's specifics, we have put this case under two prime categories: 'Attack on Hindu religious symbols' and 'Attack not resulting in death'. To narrow down the search further the sub-category 'desecration of Hindu religious symbol' has been selected under the first core category whereas 'attack on religious processions' and 'attack against Hindu devotees' have been selected under the second primary category. The sub-category under the first prime category relevant in this case is, 'Desecration of Hindu religious symbol'. Icons and symbols or a religious representation of a spiritual ideal are widely revered in Hinduism. Iconography is of vital significance in the Hindu milieu. It helps connect people’s spiritual beliefs with the real world. Iconography within the Hindu faith takes several shapes and forms. Murtis are of most significance to Hindus, to which daily rituals, prayers and offerings are done. Besides the murtis, there are several other symbols which have deep significance in the Hindu faith – the Om and Swastika for example. Since these Hindu religious symbols hold paramount importance in Hinduism, any desecration of symbols, icons, murtis, religious representations and manifestations, is driven by animosity towards the faith itself which manifests itself through these murtis, icons and symbols. Therefore, any desecration of these Hindu religious symbols and representations is considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. The first sub-category selected under the second prime category is 'attack on religious processions' The outward celebration and display of religious symbols in an intrinsic part of Hinduism. Religious processions on various festivals are age-old traditions and a way to manifest faith and form a part of the religious practices of Hindus. On several occasions, such religious processions come under attack by non-Hindu mobs, in a manifestation of their animosity towards Hinduism and their practices. The reasons cited for such violent attacks are many and range from crossing a non-Hindu resident-dominated area to playing loud music, crossing from an area where there is a religious structure of another faith etc. The violent attacks are triggered by the outward display of religiosity by Hindus. The attacks are mainly a manifestation of religious supremacist doctrine which believes that idolatry, essentially the Hindu faith, is one that deserves to be annihilated since the very tenets of Hinduism, its practices and traditions are considered a sin in those doctrines. Since these attacks emanate from intrinsic and doctrinal animosity towards Hindus and Hinduism, it is considered a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. The second sub-category selected under the second prime category is 'attack against Hindu devotees' 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. In this case, the Islamists attacked a religious procession taken out during the Hindu festival of Saraswati puja. The idol of Maa Saraswati was damaged and the Hindu devotees were brutally attacked without any sort of provocation from their side. Such an unprovoked attack against Hindus and their religious symbols demonstrates the inherent Hindumisia that radical Muslims harbour inside them. For this reason, this case qualifies for inclusion in the hate tracker database.