Religious procession taken out by Hindu devotees attacked when it crossed a mosque

Case ID : b7c3ec8 | Location : Bagaha, Bihar, India | Date of Incident : Sun, 20 August, 2023

Case ID : b7c3ec8

Bagaha, Bihar, India

20 August, 2023

Religious procession taken out by Hindu devotees attacked when it crossed a mosque

Attack not resulting in death

Attack on religious procession

Attacked for crossing 'Muslim area'

Attack against Hindu devotees

Case Summary

On the occasion of Nagpanchami, Hindu religious processions by the Mahaviri Akhada came under vicious attacks in Bihar’s Bagaha, Motihari and other districts. As per reports, severe stone pelting, vandalism, and clashes have been reported in these areas. Videos of the incident showed mobs, standing on rooftops and in the middle of the road, pelting stones at the procession. At least a dozen people, including three policemen and a journalist, were injured in the attack. The procession was heading along its scheduled path. Muslims in the neighbourhood of Ratanmela began to outrage as the procession passed by a mosque. They said that the Mahaviri flag cannot pass through the area. This enraged the Hindus and an altercation broke out between the two sides. Soon thereafter, stones started raining at the procession from the roofs and across the road. Meanwhile, the Bagaha police had confirmed that neither any mosque nor any member belonging to the particular community had been attacked in this clash. To delve further into the details of the incident, OpIndia spoke to a Bajrang Dal activist from Bagaha in Bihar. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he also confirmed that the procession being taken out by the Hindu outfit was attacked when it was passing the mosque in the Ratanmela area in the Bagaha district.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

The outward celebration and display of religious symbols in an intrinsic part of Hinduism. Religious processions on various festivals are age-old traditions and a way to manifest faith and form a part of the religious practices of Hindus. On several occasions, such religious processions come under attack by non-Hindu mobs, in a manifestation of their animosity towards Hinduism and their practices. The reasons cited for such violent attacks are many and range from crossing a non-Hindu resident-dominated area to playing loud music, crossing from an area where there is a religious structure of another faith etc. The violent attacks are triggered by the outward display of religiosity by Hindus. The attacks are mainly a manifestation of religious supremacist doctrine which believes that idolatry, essentially the Hindu faith, is one that deserves to be annihilated since the very tenets of Hinduism, its practices and traditions are considered a sin in those doctrines. Since these attacks emanate from intrinsic and doctrinal animosity towards Hindus and Hinduism, it is considered a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. One of the reasons that Hindus get attacked unprovoked specifically by Islamists is for crossing ‘Muslim areas’. Essentially, Muslim mobs often attack Hindus crossing or present in certain areas which have a majority Muslim population. It has often been cited as one of the reasons to blame Hindus for attacks against themselves, signalling that Hindus displaying religious symbols, taking our religious processions or crossing any area which is dominated by Muslim residents is a provocation in and of itself. These areas are mostly ghettoized areas where mobs mobilize quickly to attack Hindus for a variety of reasons like playing music during a religious procession, crossing a mosque, wearing a tilak or any other religious symbol in a Muslim-dominated area, praying at a local temple in that area etc. There have been cases where the few local Hindus of that area have been attacked on their way to the Temple for prayers as well, simply because the area is considered a Muslim-dominated area. Several times, it is entirely possible that the immediate trigger for the violence against Hindus was non-religious in nature, however, the violence became religiously motivated in nature because the area was Muslim dominated and the residents on the whole harboured animosity towards Hindus, evidenced from the actions of the mob, the slogans, and the nature of the attack. Such crimes are motivated by the religious identity of the victims and are therefore classified as hate crimes under this category. In this instance, the Muslim mob launched a vicious attack on a religious procession taken out by Hindu devotees on the occasion of Nagpanchami, a traditional Hindu festival dedicated to the worship of Nagas, or serpent deities. The procession was attacked when it was passing by a mosque. Notably, there was no provocation from the Hindu side. The police also confirmed that neither any mosque nor any member belonging to the Muslim community had been attacked in this clash. It was the Muslims in the neighbourhood who began to outrage as the Hindu procession passed by a mosque. They objected to the Mahaviri flag passing through the area. When the Hindu side objected to this behaviour, the Muslim mob launched an unbridled attack on the Hindus by raining stones at them from the rooftops of their houses. Such attacks are a form of symbolic aggression against the Hindu community that stems from an innate hatred for Hinduism. Given that the fundamental motivation behind these actions is contempt for Hindus and their religion, this instance has been added to the tracker under the following category.