Mohd Bilal abuses Lord Ram and Hinduism on Instagram, hurls casteist slurs when confronted
Madhya Pradesh, India 
30 September, 2024
Case Summary
Mohammed Bilal uploaded anti-Hindu content on Instagram abusing Lord Ram and Hinduism. Complainant Sujan said that after seeing the offensive post, he and his friend confronted Bilal, who instead of explaining the situation, abused them using casteist slurs and further hurt their religious sentiments. On October 1, 2024, the Madhya Pradesh High Court dismissed Mohammed Bilal's plea to quash an FIR filed under Section 153A IPC for uploading anti-Hindu content on social media. Bilal claimed that a hacker uploaded the offensive post. The court ruled that Bilal’s conduct suggested his defence of a hacked account was unconvincing. Justice GS Ahluwalia stated that whether the allegations are true or not will be determined later, but the FIR showed sufficient evidence of a cognizable offence.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
As per the details, this case has been placed under two prime categories of the tracker. The first prime category selected here is- Hate speech against Hindus. Under this, the sub-category selected 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. The second category selected here is- Attack on religious symbols and the sub-category chosen within this 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. Bilal's social media post targeting Lord Ram, a revered figure in Hinduism, constitutes a blatant act of religious desecration, directly offending and violating the sanctity of Hindu symbols. Such actions are aimed at insulting the religious sentiments of Hindus, provoking outrage and emotional harm among followers of the faith. Additionally, Bilal's response when confronted by the complainant shows an added layer of religious intolerance, as he resorted to anti-Hindu slurs and caste-based insults, further denigrating the faith. One can argue here that a caste-specific slur is aimed at her micro identity of belonging to the Dalit section of the Hindu community and not her Hindu identity itself. However, as far as Abrahamic religions are concerned, the micro identities of caste, region, and language are secondary. It is the religious identity that drives the animosity of the perpetrator against the Hindu victim. In this case, while Bilal hurled caste abuses at the victim, the animosity was driven by his animosity towards Hinduism and Hindus. So, the fact that caste slurs were hurled at the victim by the perpetrator makes it a religiously motivated crime against the victim.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 1
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 0
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 1
Case Status
Case sub-judice
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
