Muslim man arrested for posting Pro-Pakistan and anti-India content on Instagram
Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India 
26 May, 2025
Case Summary
In Haridwar, a Muslim man posted pro-Pakistan and anti-India content on Instagram. He was arrested by the police. The complaint was filed at Pathri police station by Jitendra Tomar, a resident of Bahadurpur Jat village. He reported that an individual named Wasim had uploaded content on his Instagram status that glorified Pakistan while disparaging Bharat. The video, which circulated among local residents, raised serious concerns about its potential to disturb national unity and social harmony. Following the complaint, the police acted swiftly and arrested Wasim. The mobile phone used to upload the video was seized during the arrest. The police impressed upon him the gravity of his actions. During the interrogation, Wasim was seen with folded hands, tearfully apologising for what he had done. Senior Superintendent of Police Pramendra Dobal stated that due to the seriousness of the matter, a special police team was formed immediately. The team was directed to apprehend the accused without delay, and the arrest was carried out promptly.
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, a Muslim man named Wasim uploaded pro-Pakistan and anti-India content on Instagram. Here, one could argue that posting pro-Pakistan content can be considered anti-India and pro-Pakistan, but not anti-Hindu. However, it not only shows pro-Pakistan sentiments but also anti-Hindu sentiments. 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 the 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 - or 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. This would also mean that the pro-Pakistan post is about hailing a Muslim collectivity and an expression of transnational loyalty and anti-Hindu sentiments. For that reason, any slogan which expresses transnational loyalty, faith in the Ummah, is automatically a slogan against Hindus and the Hindu collectivity. Thus, this case is added to the hate crime database. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that the report does not specify the exact date when the pro-Pakistan content was posted on Instagram. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have recorded the date based on when the incident was reported in the media.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
