Ram Vivah procession attacked while crossing a mosque, Muslim mob pelts stones objecting to devotional music
Darbhanga, Bihar, India 
5 December, 2024
Case Summary
Ram Vivah procession was attacked in the district of Darbhanga, Bihar. A Muslim mob attacked the procession with stones and sticks as it passed by a mosque in Bajitpur on the occasion of Vivah Panchami. The attack led to chaos, leaving several devotees injured. The victims were rushed to hospital for treatment, and heavy police force was deployed in the area to control the law and order situation. The annual Vivah Panchami procession is a local tradition that has taken place for over three decades. On the day of the attack, the procession began in the village of Tarouni and was en route to Bajitpur. Violence erupted as the procession passed by a mosque. Locals alleged that objections were raised by a group of radicals before stones were thrown at the procession. According to eyewitnesses, some radicals also attacked the devotees with sticks, further escalating the violence. Speaking to Dainik Bhaskar, Nago Das, organiser of the annual procession, said that the devotees picked up the children and ran towards the Ram Janki temple to save themselves. The radicals pelted stones for 15 minutes. After the police arrived, the devotees resumed the procession. A local resident, Pinki, told the media that the radicals often create a ruckus during Hindu festivals, whereas Hindus have never interfered in their festivals. An eyewitness, Rajrani, said, “When the procession was passing through here, the other side [Muslims] objected to the music being played. They surrounded a boy and tried to drag him away to beat him. The participants of the procession saw this and rushed to save him, which led to a clash between them.”
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case is being added to the primary category 'attack not resulting in death'. Under this sub-category, there are three sub-categories selected. The first sub-category selected is 'attack on religious procession'. 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 this case is being added to is 'attack on 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. The third sub-category this case is being added to is 'attacked for crossing Muslim area'. One of the reasons that Hindus get attacked unprovoked specifically by Islamists is for crossing ‘Muslim areas’. Essentially, Muslim mobs often attack Hindus crossing or present in certain areas which have a majority Muslim population. It has often been cited as one of the reasons to blame Hindus for attacks against themselves, signalling that Hindus displaying religious symbols, taking our religious processions or crossing any area which is dominated by Muslim residents is a provocation in and of itself. These areas are mostly ghettoized areas where mobs mobilize quickly to attack Hindus for a variety of reasons like playing music during a religious procession, crossing a mosque, wearing a tilak or any other religious symbol in a Muslim-dominated area, praying at a local temple in that area etc. There have been cases where the few local Hindus of that area have been attacked on their way to the Temple for prayers as well, simply because the area is considered a Muslim-dominated area. Several times, it is entirely possible that the immediate trigger for the violence against Hindus was non-religious in nature, however, the violence became religiously motivated in nature because the area was Muslim dominated and the residents on the whole harboured animosity towards Hindus, evidenced from the actions of the mob, the slogans, and the nature of the attack. Such crimes are motivated by the religious identity of the victims and are therefore classified as hate crimes under this category. In this case, a decades long tradition of taking out the Ram Vivah procession was attacked while it was crossing a Muslim area. The Muslim mob first became irate about devotional music being played by the devotees in the procession because it was crossing an area where there was a majority Muslim population. This led to the Muslim mob attempting to drag and assault a Hindu boy from the procession. The information reveals that the Muslim mob pelting stones for 15 minutes straight, injuring several devotees. Such attacks are a result of inherent animosity and hostility towards Hindus, their faith and any manifestation of their faith. Religious processions and devotional songs are an important manifestation and representation of the faith of Hindus. The Muslim mob pelted stones and attacked the devotees because of their animosity towards the Hindus, who they consider inferior and antithetical to their faith. Such attacks are driven by religious hostility and is therefore added to the hate crime database.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
