Minor Hindu student of Missionary school harassed, stopped from writing exams for greeting with ‘Jai Shri Ram’

Case ID : b45f713 | Location : Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Wed, 15 January, 2025

Case ID : b45f713

Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh, India

15 January, 2025

Minor Hindu student of Missionary school harassed, stopped from writing exams for greeting with ‘Jai Shri Ram’

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Restriction/ban on Hindu practices

Restriction on expression of Hindu identity

Case Summary

A minor Hindu student studying at a Missionary school named St. Thomas Senior Secondary School in Karvi town, Chitrakoot district of Uttar Pradesh, was punished by his teacher for greeting someone at the school with ‘Jai Shri Ram’. His school administration barred the victim from writing exams. The victim was identified as Harsh Pandey, a student of Class 10. The victim's father filed a complaint against the school administration with the police. Following this, the Hindu boy was allowed to write his papers. Upon learning about the incident, Hindu students associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) staged a protest outside the school. The principal of the convent school issued an apology in response to the widespread outrage.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added as a religiously motivated crime under two prime categories of the tracker. The first category selected 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 category under which this case has been placed is- Restriction/ban on Hindu practices. Under this, the sub-category chosen is- Restriction on expression of Hindu identity. An example of the state-affected prejudicial and targeted orders against the Hindu community would be a government denying the right of a Hindu or a group of Hindus to hold a religious procession owing to the animosity of non-Hindu groups. Denial of the religious right of the Hindus to assuage the non-Hindu group which harbours animosity to a point where it could lead to violence against Hindus is not only a failure of law and order but is a prejudicial order against Hindus, denying them their fundamental rights to express their religious identity. An example of a hate crime against Hindus by a non-Hindu would be a non-Hindu institution forcing its Hindu employees to abandon religious symbols that a Hindu would wear as an expression of faith owing to inherent prejudice against the faith professed by the victim or a non-Hindu group of people restricting a Hindu group from constructing a place of worship simply because the demography of the area in which the temple is being built is dominated by non-Hindus. Such actions are driven by religious animosity and/or prejudice against Hindus and their faith and would therefore be categorized as a hate crime. The religious markers in this incident that categorise it as a religiously motivated hate crime stem from the discriminatory action taken against the Hindu student, Harsh Pandey, for using the holy Hindu chant "Jai Shri Ram." The teacher's punitive response, coupled with the school administration's decision to bar the student from writing his exams, directly targeted his expression of Hindu religious identity. The phrase "Jai Shri Ram" is deeply rooted in Hindu devotion and cultural ethos, making the punishment for using it an act of religious intolerance. The school's response reflects a broader pattern of bias against Hindu expressions within the missionary institution. By penalising a student for a harmless religious greeting, the administration not only infringed on his freedom of expression but also conveyed a message of disdain for Hindu traditions. The apology issued by the school following public outrage does not diminish the gravity of the discriminatory act. This deliberate suppression of a Hindu religious expression demonstrates animosity toward the faith, highlighting the religious bias at the core of this incident. Since such actions stem from an intrinsic animosity for Hindus and their beliefs, this case has been categorised as a hate crime and included in the tracker.