Hindu temple vandalised; Muslim miscreants pelt stones and hurl abuses at devotees, threaten them with death

Case ID : b45f64b | Location : Etah, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Wed, 8 January, 2025
Case ID : b45f64b
location Etah, Uttar Pradesh, India
date 8 January, 2025
Hindu temple vandalised; Muslim miscreants pelt stones and hurl abuses at devotees, threaten them with death
Attack on Hindu religious representations
Attack on Temples
Breaking rules of place of worship
Defiling religious customs
Attack not resulting in death
Attack against Hindu devotees
Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim

Case Summary

In Barabhodela village of Etah, Uttar Pradesh, a temple was attacked by 15-20 Muslim men. Pieces of stones were found scattered inside the temple premises and on the road. Several devotees were injured and parts of the temple's roof were damaged in the attack. According to a written complaint by Rajkumar Sharma, a local resident, the incident occurred around 7:30 AM when he was performing puja and cleaning the temple. The attackers, armed with sticks and guns, reportedly stormed the temple premises, hurled abuses, and issued death threats. As others arrived in response to the commotion, the situation escalated, leading to stone-pelting and physical assaults. Several villagers, including Sharma, sustained injuries, and parts of the temple's roof were damaged. The attackers fled the scene, waving their weapons. Villagers, supported by local organisations, gathered at Awagarh police station to demand action against the perpetrators. Awagarh police confirmed they were probing the incident, including allegations of stone-pelting, threats, and damage to religious sentiments.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

Since distinct elements in this particular case demonstrate that the Muslim perpetrator committed the crime while harbouring a bias against the Hindu faith, it has been added to the tracker under two prime categories. The first is- Attack on Hindu religious representations. Under this, the first sub-category selected is- Attack on Temples. In Hinduism, a temple is the abode of the Deity. The Deity in the Temple is consecrated, thereby, making it a real, breathing entity. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the temple premises itself are sacred to Hindus since Hindus hold the faith that the entire Temple space is an amalgamation of the divine energy of the deity. Given the central significance of Temples in Hindu Dharma, any attack against a Hindu Temple or its peripheral premises is an attack on the faith itself and is born out of animosity towards the faith, of which, the Temple is a central tenet. Any manner of attack against a Temple and/or its premises would therefore be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. The second sub-category selected under the above mentioned category is- Breaking rules of place of worship. Sanatan Dharma is not a religion of one book, which is to say that while it has religious scriptures that form the central tenets of the faith, there are several traditions followed through thousands of years, mostly passed from generation to generation orally. One of these oral traditions or written traditions is the rules of specific temples. Certain temples have rules which are traditional rules, dependent on the worship of the presiding deities. These rules and traditions have been followed for thousands of years whether they find scriptural mention or not. Such traditions are based on the nature and rules of worship of the presiding deity of that temple. Any non-compliance of these traditions owing to animosity towards the faith or for the sake of activism stems not only from the lack of faith in the presiding deity but also disregard for the faith of the devotees of that deity/temple and implicit bias against the faith, the tradition and the deity itself. Since these specific traditions are central to the faith of the devotees of that specific temple and presiding deity, any non-compliance with these traditional rules would be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. The third sub-category relevant here is- Defiling religious customs. Sanatan Dharma is not a religion of one book, which is to say that while it has religious scriptures that form the central tenets of the faith, there are several traditions followed through thousands of years, mostly passed from generation to generation orally. There are several such customs and traditions that are followed by various Hindus and Hindu sects. Defiling of these traditions and customs is a breach of an individual or group’s religious practices. Such practices can range from dietary restrictions like not eating non-vegetarian food for a certain period of the year, not eating non-vegetarian food at all, not eating beef since the cow is considered holy in Hinduism, the sanctity of religious customs followed in the house (like many ISCKON devotees), etc. Any malicious action leading to the breach of such traditions or defilement of these traditions owing to animosity towards the faith or for the sake of activism stems not only from the lack of faith in the religion itself but also from disregard for the faith of the devotees who follow the customs/traditions and implicit bias against the faith, the tradition itself. Since these specific traditions are central to the faith of the devotees of that specific sect of Hindus, any non-compliance with these traditional rules would be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. The second category under which this case has been placed is- Attack not resulting in death. Within this, the first sub-category selected 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 second sub-category selected under the above-mentioned category is- Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. In this case, despite understanding that Hindu temples are centres of worship and sanctity, the Muslim perpetrators barged into the temple premises with guns and sticks. They not only vandalised the temple but also abused and threatened a Hindu devotee present there. When more devotees arrived, the Muslim perpetrators attacked them with stones. Firstly, entering the Hindu Temple with guns is a grave violation of religious sanctity and customs. It's a clear example of disrespect for religious spaces and practices. By entering the temple armed and with malicious intent, the perpetrators defiled the religious customs and traditions held sacred by the Hindu community. Such actions represent a blatant disregard for the faith and beliefs of others, contributing to an atmosphere of animosity and tension. Moreover, the Muslim accused vandalised the temple and threatened the devotee who was cleaning the temple premises. They further assaulted the other devotees who voiced their opposition to the radical actions of the accused. This violent response not only underscores the blatant disrespect for Hindu religious sentiments but also highlights the aggression and hostility faced by those who stand up against such acts of vandalism and violence. Such attacks on the premises of a temple or its devotees demonstrate the inherent Hinduphobia that radical Muslims harbour inside them. Consequently, this incident warrants inclusion in the hate tracker database as a clear instance of religiously motivated hostility.

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Case Status


Complaint filed

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Perpetrators Details

Perpetrators


Muslim Extremists

Perpetrators Range


From 10 to 100

Perpetrators Gender


unknown

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