Hindu family’s ancestral farm invaded by Muslim mob from a dargah, attackers throw stones and use sticks to attack Hindus

Case ID : b507442 | Location : Etah, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Sat, 23 November, 2024

Case ID : b507442

Etah, Uttar Pradesh, India

23 November, 2024

Hindu family’s ancestral farm invaded by Muslim mob from a dargah, attackers throw stones and use sticks to attack Hindus

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

On the 24th of November, a Muslim mob invaded a Hindu family’s farm, claiming it to be Waqf property, in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah district. Three members of the Hindu family were injured during the incident. Out of the 15 named attackers, the police arrested Farman and Rafiq. The victim, Sunil Kumar Upadhyay filed a complaint with the police in which he stated that he owns 24 Bigha land near Vasant Talkies. A dargah is located close to the road from this land. People linked with the dargah were clashing over Sunil’s ancestral land. The Dargah committee claimed that the land belonged to the Waqf. After this, on the 6th of November, the local authorities measured the land and settled the issue. During the measurement, representatives from the Waqf Board were present. To avoid any further dispute, Sunil and his family had the administration mark the boundaries of their land on Sunday. Suddenly, a Muslim mob arrived at the site at 4:30 p.m. carrying stones and sticks in their hands. When one of the mob attackers saw Sunil’s family, he shouted, “Kill these bastards today.” Subsequently, the violent mob attacked the Upadhyay family with lathis and stones were pelted. Some of the attackers also demolished the boundary wall built by Sunil. The number of attackers arriving from the direction of the nearby Dargah is said to be around 150. Along with demolishing the boundary wall, the attackers also vandalised the vehicles, tables and chairs parked there.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been classified as a religiously motivated crime under the prime category of- 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. This incident stemmed from an ongoing dispute over land that the Hindu family has owned for generations, which was falsely claimed as Waqf property by individuals associated with a nearby dargah. Despite administrative intervention and a resolution marking the land boundaries, the Islamist mob of approximately 150 launched a violent assault on the family, demolishing the boundary wall, vandalising vehicles, and injuring three members of the family. The scale of their aggression proves that this attack was not merely a property dispute. It clearly suggests targeting based on the victims’ Hindu identity. The violent and organized nature of the attack, along with the association with the dargah, points to a deep-seated animosity towards Hindus, making this a hate crime rooted in religious prejudice. Waqf property essentially means that the land, claimed to be Waqf, belongs to Allah. The entire premise and foundation of Waqf property itself is deeply religiously rooted. In this case, the Muslim mob falsely claimed that the ancestral land and property of a Hindu was the property of Allah. The foundation of the conflict, in this case, itself is religious where the Hindu family was attacked because they were non-Muslims on a land that the Muslims had unilaterally and falsely deemed the land of Allah. The religious hostility rooted in theological and scriptural hostility towards Hindus manifested in the violent and therefore, this is being categorised as a religiously motivated hate crime.