Hindus accused of performing ‘Hare Krishna’ kirtan outside Church on Christmas, debunked as misinformation

Case ID : b45f505 | Location : Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Wed, 25 December, 2024
Case ID : b45f505
location Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
date 25 December, 2024
Hindus accused of performing ‘Hare Krishna’ kirtan outside Church on Christmas, debunked as misinformation
Hate speech against Hindus
Anti Hindu subversion and prejudice
Anti-Hindu Fake News or Downplaying

Case Summary

A video depicting Hindus, led by the ISKCON group, performing a kirtan in Lucknow’s Hazratganj area went viral online, leading to a wave of controversy. The video showed devotees chanting “Hare Rama Hare Krishna” and dancing. Several media outlets and social media users claimed that the kirtan was conducted outside St. Joseph’s Cathedral to disrupt Christmas and New Year celebrations. However, these claims were later proven to be unfounded. Prominent media houses, including Navbharat Times, and individuals such as Darab Farooqi and Siddharth, shared the video, alleging that the kirtan was a deliberate attempt by Hindus to disturb the Christmas festivities. TRT World accused the ISKCON group of targeting Christian celebrations, while Congress leader Surendra Rajput called the act a disgrace to Lucknow’s tradition of inclusivity and mutual respect. However, these allegations were thoroughly debunked by ground reports. Investigative journalist Ashish Shrivastava of UP Tak visited the location and confirmed that the kirtan was held at the Royal Café, a venue situated about 100–200 meters away from the cathedral. Speaking to the café’s security guard and reviewing the site, Shrivastava established that the kirtan was not conducted near the church. Further evidence revealed that a brightly lit building seen in the viral video, purported to be the cathedral, was actually the Divisional Railway Manager’s office. TV9 journalist Padmaja Joshi added credibility to the refutation, highlighting inconsistencies in the edited video used to propagate the misinformation. She pointed out that the camera angle shifted at the 0:30 mark, clearly showing no church in proximity to the kirtan location. Joshi, who had lived in the area for over a decade, stated that the ISKCON group had no intention of interfering with Christian celebrations. She criticised the deliberate dissemination of false narratives against Hindus and urged the ISKCON group to clarify their position publicly to mitigate communal tensions.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the Hinduphobia tracker under the prime category- Hate speech against Hindus. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Anti Hindu subversion and prejudice. Further, a tertiary category named- Anti-Hindu fake news or downplaying as also been selected, based on case details. Hate speech is defined as any speech, gesture, conduct, writing, or display that is prejudicial against a specific individual and/or group of people, which is leading to or may lead to violence, prejudicial action or hate against that individual and/or group. Media plays a specific and overarching reach in perpetuating prejudicial attitudes towards a community owing to unfair, untrue coverage and/or misrepresentation/misinterpretation, selective coverage and/or omission of facts of/pertaining to issues affecting a specific religious group. This type of bias can dehumanise the victim group, making it easier for others to justify harmful actions against them, which aligns with the objectives of hate speech laws aimed at preventing such harm. It is often observed that the media takes a prejudicial stand against the Hindu community driven by their need to shield the aggressor community which happens to be a numeric minority, however, is the one perpetrating violence against Hindus. For example, the media is often quick to contextualise religiously motivated crimes against Hindus, omit or misrepresent facts that point towards religiously motivated hate crimes, justify and/or downplay religiously motivated hate crimes or simply present fake news to stereotype Hindus. Such media bias leads to the denial of persecution and is often used to dehumanise Hindus, leading to justification for violence against them. For example, the media covered several fake allegations of Hindus targeting Muslims and forcing them to chant Jai Shree Ram. Most of these cases were proved false and fabricated after police investigation. These fake news reports were subsequently never retracted or clarified. Such fake news led to the justification of violence and dehumanisation of Hindus based on the argument that since Hindus targeted Muslims and forced them to chant Jai Shree Ram, the dehumanisation of Hindus and violence against them was par for the course and merely a retaliation. Such media bias leads to prejudicial portrayal of Hindus and offers a justification for violence against them and therefore, is considered hate speech under this category. Here, attempts were made to tarnish the image of Hindus through misinformation. The viral video falsely portrayed the ISKCON kirtan as a deliberate disruption of Christian celebrations, framing it as an act of communal provocation. This narrative was amplified by some leftist media outlets, reinforcing stereotypes against Hindus. Such claims, later debunked by ground reports, highlight a pattern of anti-Hindu bias, where baseless accusations were used to sow discord and prejudice against the community. The misinformation not only misrepresented an act of religious devotion but also attempted to frame Hindus as aggressors. This case underscores the broader issue of targeted disinformation campaigns aimed at vilifying Hindu practices and promoting a divisive narrative. In fact, such narratives qualify as a form of hate speech because they deepen prejudice and propagate a distorted view of Hinduism. This is why the case has been appropriately added to the Hinduphobia tracker under "Hate speech against Hindus," underscoring its role in perpetuating bias and discord.

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