Ganesh Visarjan procession attacked by Muslims, stones pelted

Case ID : b45f4d7 | Location : Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Fri, 13 September, 2024
Case ID : b45f4d7
location Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh, India
date 13 September, 2024
Ganesh Visarjan procession attacked by Muslims, stones pelted
Attack not resulting in death
Attack on religious procession
Communal clash
Attack against Hindu devotees

Case Summary

A Ganesh Visarjan procession in Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh, was attacked, leading to communal clashes. The incident occurred in the Kasauratori area of Kotwali police station. During the procession, a firecracker allegedly fell onto a kutcha house, causing a fire on the polythene covering the house. The house owner quickly extinguished the fire with water but then threw water on the Hindus in the procession, leading to objections from the participants. This escalated into a violent clash between the two sides. During the altercation, Hindus were attacked by Muslims with a bucket and stones. The police arrived promptly to restore order, and the situation was brought under control. Hindu organizations gathered outside the police station, demanding strict action against those responsible for attacking the procession. Vishwa Hindu Parishad District Head Manoj Shivhare condemned the attack and called for immediate action against the perpetrators. Meanwhile, members of the Muslim community accused the procession of playing objectionable songs, though the specifics of the songs were not clarified. The house owner, Akila, claimed that the firecracker had fallen on her house, and she had poured water to put out the fire. She stated that the clash began after this action.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added as a religiously motivated hate crime under the prime category of- Attack not resulting in death. Under this, 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 relevant here is- Attack against 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 selected is- Communal clash. Communal clash is a form of collective violence that involves clashes between groups belonging to different religious identities. For a communal clash between Hindus and non-Hindus to qualify as a religiously motivated hate crime, the trigger of the violence itself would have to be anti-Hindu in essence. For example, if there is a Hindu religious procession that comes under attack from a non-Hindu mob and after the initial attack, Hindus retaliate in self-defence, leading to a communal clash between the two religious communities. While at a later stage, both communities are involved in the clash/violence, the initial trigger of the violence was by the non-Hindu mob against the Hindus and therefore, it could safely be termed as an anti-Hindu violence. Further, the trigger would also have to be religiously motivated. In the cited example, the attack by the non-Hindu mob was against religious processions and therefore, can be concluded to be religiously motivated. In some cases, the trigger may be non-religious, however, it develops into religious violence against Hindus at a later stage. In such cases too, the foundational animosity towards Hindus becomes the motivating factor of the crime and therefore, it would be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus under this category. The actions of the Muslim mob during the Ganesh Visarjan procession can be interpreted as rooted in religious intolerance because they responded with violence disproportionate to the situation. The fire caused by the firecracker was minor, quickly extinguished, and caused no significant harm, yet the mob resorted to stone pelting and physical aggression. This suggests hostility not just toward the event but toward the religious identity of the participants. Such acts often aim to intimidate or disrupt religious practices, reflecting an underlying intolerance toward the community's faith and traditions. 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.

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Case Status


Unknown

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Perpetrators Details

Perpetrators


Muslim Extremists

Perpetrators Range


From 10 to 100

Perpetrators Gender


unknown

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