Hindu youths attacked by Muslim mob for chanting Jai Sri Ram during Ram Mandir pran pratishtha celebration
Birbhum district, West Bengal, India 
21 January, 2024
Case Summary
In the Muhammad Bazaar area of Birbhum district, West Bengal, local Hindu youths of Jethupara village had organised a Puja and a rally to celebrate Ram Mandir's Pran Prathishtha ceremony. When they were about to start the rally, some Islamists attacked them, threatening not to chant Jai Sri Ram slogans. They also threatened them to stop the music. When the youths refused to do so, they were beaten and punched in the face. Several Hindus were injured in the process. The Police force controlled the situation before the clash turned worse. Hindu youths filed a written complaint, post which two Muslim perpetrators were arrested.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category- Attack not resulting in death. The sub-category relevant in this case 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 other 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. In this case, the Hindu youths were participating in a religious activity—organising a Puja and a rally to celebrate the Ram Mandir’s Pran Pratishtha ceremony. The fact that they were specifically attacked while chanting Jai Sri Ram and playing devotional music makes it evident that the violence was directed at their religious expression. The assailants did not object to the youths as individuals but to their Hindu religious practices—chanting slogans, playing music, and celebrating their deity. The Hindu youths did not provoke the assailants in any manner other than being visibly identifiable as Hindus engaged in a Hindu religious ceremony. The attackers threatened them not to chant Jai Sri Ram, which shows that the violence was directed not against individuals for personal reasons but against them for their Hindu religious identity. The motivation was purely religious, driven by supremacist hostility to Hindus and the Hindu faith. Therefore, this incident is documented in the hate crime database.
Case Status
Case sub-judice
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
