Hindu vendor and his mother beaten for selling food in an Urdu-labeled paper bag, Muslim accused called it 'blasphemy'

Case ID : b45f4ac | Location : Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Fri, 20 December, 2024

Case ID : b45f4ac

Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, India

20 December, 2024

Hindu vendor and his mother beaten for selling food in an Urdu-labeled paper bag, Muslim accused called it 'blasphemy'

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked over 'Blasphemy'

Case Summary

In UP's Pratapgarh district, a Hindu vendor was brutally thrashed by a Muslim man. The victim's mother was also beaten when she came to rescue her son. The incident happened when the Hindu vendor sold lentils to the accused in an Urdu-labeled paper bag. This miffed the Muslim customer, who called the act 'blasphemous'. Accusing the Hindu vendor of insulting Islam, the Muslim customer started hitting the vendor. Seeing him being assaulted, the victim's mother rushed to save her son. However, the accused started hitting her also. The Pratapgarh police took cognisance of the incident and registered a case based on a complaint filed by the vendor's mother.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the database under the prime category of- Attack resulting in death. Under this, the sub-category chosen is- Attacked for 'Blasphemy'. Blasphemy essentially refers to the desecration of anything which is held sacred/holy to a group of people. However, for religious supremacist groups, the elements of ‘blasphemy’ are ever-changing, shifting and expanding – leading to infringement on the rights of other religious groups, freedom of speech and expression, threats and even physical violence. There are instances where blasphemy is also used as a dog whistle to target Hindus owing to intrinsic animosity towards Hinduism. There are several instances where stating truths as mentioned in the non-Hindu doctrine itself has led to unmitigated violence against Hindus. There have also been instances where non-Hindus have themselves created a ‘blasphemous’ situation, like placing a Quran in a temple, to use it as an excuse to attack Hindus. Essentially, Blasphemy charges are often made up and/or are used to shut down any form of criticism of non-Hindu faiths and as a tool to target Hindus. Any physical violence over Blasphemy charges against Hindus are foundationally based on animosity for Hindus and their faith owing to religious supremacist ideologies, therefore, such attacks would be documented as religious motivated hate crimes under this category. In this case, the Hindu vendor and his mother were attacked over blasphemy. As seen in several cases, this law is often used as a tool of oppression and violence, leading to false accusations, mob justice, and social ostracisation of Hindus. This law, which is liberally used in Muslim-majority countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh to attack minority Hindus residing there, has become increasingly common in India too, where bloodthirsty Islamists often twist and use these laws to settle their scores with Hindus. The misuse of blasphemy laws against Hindus is often motivated by religious prejudice. Hindus are targeted because of their religious identity. Here too, a Hindu was falsely accused of blasphemy because he was raising his voice against the atrocities being committed against his fellow Hindus making it a clear act of religious intolerance and hatred, which is why this case has been included in the tracker.