Muslim residents stop Hindus from celebrating Navratri, remove religious flags, dump iron sheets, stop water supply
Palghar, Maharashtra, India 
7 October, 2024
Case Summary
In Palghar, Maharashtra, tensions flared in the Nallasopara area when Hindu residents were barred from celebrating the Navratri festival. The conflict arose in Orange Heights, a society in the Yashwant Gaurav area, where both Hindu and Muslim families reside. Muslim residents had been consistently obstructing the Hindus' religious activities. They stopped the installation of Navratri pandals and Lord Ganesh idols, while an illegal madrasa was set up within the society where prayers were conducted regularly. Videos of Hindus expressing their frustration and detailing their struggles were widely shared on social media. Hindu residents, planning to hold Mata ki Chowki and Garba during Navratri, were met with resistance. Protesters from the Hindu community gathered at the society to organise puja, but were blocked by Muslim residents who dumped iron sheets and other items to prevent access to the event venue. Hindus also complained that Muslim residents had blocked access to certain areas by stopping the water supply and clogging the drainage system with bricks and stones. Muslims were further attempting to build a wall that would prevent access to parts of the society. They called the police to stop the Hindus from performing the rituals. In a video, a Hindu woman showed a madrasa, named "Faizan-e-Quran Jaaye Namaz Madrasa," which was built illegally in the society’s parking lot. She explained that the madrasa had been operating for two years, with five prayers held daily using loudspeakers. However, when the Hindus tried to organise a Mata ki Chowki for just nine days, they were denied permission. According to Ashutosh Dubey, Head of the BJP Maharashtra Social Media Legal and Advisory Department, Islamic flags are placed throughout the society, but Hindu religious flags are promptly removed. Dubey called for police intervention, accusing local authorities of ignoring the plight of Hindus.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case can be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus under two categories of the tracker. The first is- Restriction/ban on Hindu practices. Under this, the sub-category chosen is- Restriction on expression of Hindu identity. An example of the state-affected prejudicial and targeted orders against the Hindu community would be a government denying the right of a Hindu or a group of Hindus to hold a religious procession owing to the animosity of non-Hindu groups. Denial of the religious right of the Hindus to assuage the non-Hindu group which harbours animosity to a point where it could lead to violence against Hindus is not only a failure of law and order but is a prejudicial order against Hindus, denying them their fundamental rights to express their religious identity. An example of a hate crime against Hindus by a non-Hindu would be a non-Hindu institution forcing its Hindu employees to abandon religious symbols that a Hindu would wear as an expression of faith owing to inherent prejudice against the faith professed by the victim or a non-Hindu group of people restricting a Hindu group from constructing a place of worship simply because the demography of the area in which the temple is being built is dominated by non-Hindus. Such actions are driven by religious animosity and/or prejudice against Hindus and their faith and would therefore be categorized as a hate crime. The second category under which this case has been placed is- Attack on Hindu religious symbols and within this category, the sub-category selected 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 actions taken by Muslim residents to block Hindu religious practices—such as obstructing the installation of Navratri pandals, preventing the setting up of Lord Ganesh idols, and hindering the organization of Mata ki Chowki and Garba during Navratri—amount to a direct attack on the Hindu community’s ability to freely express their religious identity. Additionally, the removal of Hindu religious flags while allowing Islamic flags to remain is a form of symbolic aggression against the Hindu community, further desecrating Hindu religious symbols and their rightful place within the society. Given that the fundamental motivation behind these actions is contempt for the Hindu religion, this instance has been added to the tracker under the following category.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
both
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