‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ chants raised against Hindus saint
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India 
21 September, 2024
Case Summary
Ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly Elections, communal tensions escalated as Islamists, supported by political parties like AIMIM, NCP (Sharad Pawar), and Shiv Sena (UBT), rallied against Hindu Saint Ramgiri Maharaj. The unrest stemmed from remarks made by Ramgiri Maharaj about Islam, prompting murderous calls for his beheading. On 22nd September, a rally led by AIMIM’s state vice president, Syed Moin, marched from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to Mumbai, demanding severe punishment for the Hindu saint. The protestors were seen and heard in viral videos raising slogans like ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ (calling for beheading), along with chants of ‘Allah-hu-Akbar’ and 'La Ilaha Illallah.’ Despite claims by AIMIM that the rally would be peaceful, the inflammatory slogans sparked widespread outrage on social media. The march, dubbed ‘Chalo Mumbai,’ was intended to protest against Ramgiri Maharaj’s comments on Islam.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category- Hate speech against Hindus. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Violent threats. Violent threats, explicit, implicit or implied, are the most dangerous form of hate speech since it goes beyond discriminatory and prejudicial language to express the intent of causing harm to an individual or a group of people based on their religious identity and faith. There could be several different kinds of threats that are issued to Hindus based on religious animosity. An explicit threat would mean the direct threat of violence towards an individual Hindu, a group of Hindus or Hindus at large. Physical violence, death threats, threats of destruction of property belonging to Hindus and threats of genocide would mean explicit threats against Hindus for their religious identity. Implicit threats may not be a direct threat but implied through the use of symbols of actions – for example – in the Nupur Sharma case, other than explicit threats, there were also implicit threats when Islamists took to the streets to burn and beat her effigies. It implies that they want to do the same to Nupur Sharma – thereby is considered an implicit threat. Violent threats can be delivered in person, through letters, phone calls, graffiti, or increasingly through social media and other online platforms. It would be important to understand that a threat – explicit or implicit, online or offline – to an individual who happens to be a Hindu does not qualify as a religiously motivated threat. Such a threat, while vile and dangerous, could be owing to non-religious reasons and/or personal animosity. To qualify as a religiously motivated threat, it would need to exhibit an indication that the individual is being targeted for religious reasons and/or owing to his/her religious identity as a Hindu. Here, the Islamists called for violence against the Hindu saint Ramgiri Maharaj for a remark of his, that the Islamists deemed derogatory towards Prophet Mohammed. They demanded severe punishment, including calls for "Sar Tan Se Juda" (beheading). “Gustakh-e-Rasool ki Ek hi saza, sar tan se Juda, sar tan se Juda”, which translates to “There is only one punishment for being disrespectful to Rasool (Prophet Muhammad), their head separated from their torso, their head separated from the torso”, is an Islamist clarion call, that has become a staple feature of violent protests that have so far claimed the lives of at least 6 Hindus, including Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur and Umesh Kolhe in Amravati, after Muslim fundamentalists, egged on by the dog-whistling of Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair against former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, resorted to violence for what they perceived as ‘blasphemy’ against Prophet Muhammad. From Kanpur in India’s northern plains to the southern metropolis of Bengaluru, from Kolkata in the east to Hyderabad in the south, protests in the name of blasphemy have erupted in almost every corner of the country as Islamists took to the streets running amok and shouting “Sar Tan Se Juda” chants over the perceived belief of blasphemy against the Prophet. Though a radical Muslim outfit in Pakistan coined the slogan, it has gained popularity among Islamists in regions beyond its geographical origins. Over the years, we have seen large crowds of Islamists chanting the “Sar Tan Se Juda” slogan, which is nothing but a direct incitement to violence, leading to murders committed in the name of blasphemy. The radicalised outcry is not merely a statement of disapproval; it is a call for the execution of an individual through beheading, based on their religious identity. When this slogan is raised, it sends a clear and terrifying message not just to the individual targeted but also to anyone else who might share similar views or dare to express them. This tactic of intimidation aims to silence dissent and suppress freedom of expression, particularly in religious discourse. It aims to instil fear in the broader community. Islamists use this tactic to settle personal scores with Hindu and Christian families by levelling fabricated charges of blasphemy against them, which causes outrage and paints a target behind them. The underlying hatred and animosity toward non-Muslims, especially Hindus, drive these false blasphemy accusations as a means to subjugate and victimise them. As a result, this case is classified as a religiously motivated hate crime and has been documented accordingly.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
