Hindu students thrashed for chanting "Jai Shri Ram", Hindu gods abused by school teacher
Korba, Chhattisgarh, India 
10 November, 2024
Case Summary
A government school in Korba, Chhattisgarh, became the centre of controversy when teacher Rajkumar Ogre assaulted two Hindu students, Narayan Patel and Onkar Patel, for chanting “Jai Shri Ram.” The students chanted the slogan in response to derogatory comments made by the teacher about Hindu deities, where he claimed that they were unworthy of worship and suggested that he, as their teacher, deserved to be worshipped instead. Jeevan Patel, a resident of Sonpuri and father of Narayan Patel (16), lodged a complaint at the local police station. He said that Rajkumar Ogre had made offensive remarks in class, dismissing Hindu scriptures like the Bhagawat Geeta as false and calling deities such as Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Shankar, and Goddess Saraswati illiterate. Ogre stated that since people were uneducated during those times, such figures were wrongly elevated to godhood, and he, being educated, was more deserving of reverence. The incident escalated when Narayan Patel greeted the teacher with “Jai Shri Ram” instead of “Good Morning.” Ogre became infuriated, rebuked Narayan for defying his instructions to stop worshipping “corrupt gods,” and struck him on the back of the head. Narayan and his classmate Onkar narrated the incident to their families, explaining how the teacher’s comments and actions offended their religious sentiments. An FIR was subsequently filed under Section 299 of the BNS Act and Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under two primary categories. The first is- Attack not resulting in death. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Attacked for Hindu identity. In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime under this category. The second prime category under which this case has been placed is- Hate speech against Hindus. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith. Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. In this case, the Hindu students were physically assaulted for chanting "Jai Sri Ram," a slogan deeply tied to their Hindu identity and devotion. This action was a direct response to the teacher's derogatory remarks about Hindu deities, marking the students as targets for their religious beliefs. The teacher questioned the worth of Hindu deities, calling them unworthy of worship. The teacher not only belittled Hindu deities but also suggested the students should instead worship him, further mocking their religious practices. These combined elements of physical assault, verbal degradation, and disregard for Hindu religious symbols justify the incident's inclusion in the Hinduphobia Tracker.
Victim Details
Total Victim
2
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 2
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 2
Age Group
- Minor 2
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Case sub-judice
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Others
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
