Minor Hindu student thrashed by Muslim teachers for writing "Jai Shri Ram" on blackboard

Case ID : b7c3ee2 | Location : Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir, India | Date of Incident : Thu, 24 August, 2023

Case ID : b7c3ee2

Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir, India

24 August, 2023

Minor Hindu student thrashed by Muslim teachers for writing "Jai Shri Ram" on blackboard

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

In Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, a Class 10 student at HSS Bani was beaten by the school principal, Mohammed Hafiz, and lecturer Farooq Ahmed for writing "Jai Shri Ram" on the blackboard on August 25, 2023. The incident resulted in the student being hospitalised. His father later filed a complaint. The Kathua Police confirmed the assault and filed an FIR against the accused under IPC Sections 323, 342, 504, and 506, as well as Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act. In response, the Jammu and Kashmir government formed a three-member inquiry committee led by the SDM of Bani, along with the Deputy Chief Education Officer of Kathua and the principal of HSS Kharote.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

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, a Hindu minor was thrashed by his Muslim teacher and principal for writing Jai Shri Ram on the blackboard. The Jai Shri Ram slogan is an expression of the religious identity and devotion of Hindus towards one of their most revered gods- Lord Ram. If an individual is attacked merely for writing this phrase, it indicates that the attack is not just about the act of writing on a blackboard but is directly linked to the religious significance of the phrase. In this case, the attack on the Hindu student reflects the bias and prejudice of the Muslim teachers against the student’s religious beliefs. They tried to intimidate and punish the Hindu student for his religious expression. Such actions stem from an intrinsic animosity for Hindus and their beliefs and for this reason, this case has been categorised as a hate crime and included in the tracker.