Muslim mob crashes Hindu wedding procession in Buldana, pelts stones for playing songs about Lord Ram, raises "Pakistan Zindabad" slogans

Case ID : c7b8bbc | Location : Buldana, Maharashtra, India | Date of Incident : Tue, 16 May, 2023

Case ID : c7b8bbc

Buldana, Maharashtra, India

16 May, 2023

Muslim mob crashes Hindu wedding procession in Buldana, pelts stones for playing songs about Lord Ram, raises "Pakistan Zindabad" slogans

Attack not resulting in death

Attack against Hindu devotees

Hate speech against Hindus

Violent threats

Case Summary

In the Sailani Nagar area of Chikhli, Buldana district, Maharashtra, a Hindu wedding procession faced violent opposition from a group of individuals from the Muslim community. The conflict erupted when songs depicting Lord Ram were played on the DJ system, triggering objections and stone-pelting by the group. Slogans of 'Pakistan Zindabad' were raised before the procession was attacked. Thirteen participants in the procession sustained injuries, necessitating their transfer to the hospital for treatment. Subsequently, the situation escalated into a confrontation between members of both communities, requiring police intervention and lathi charge to restore order. The police reacted promptly, registering a rioting case against approximately 30 individuals and apprehending 15 suspects for their involvement in the violence. Law enforcement authorities are currently conducting investigations into the matter. In response to the incident, local political figures, including BJP MLA Shweta Mahale, Sanjay Gaikwad of the Shinde faction, and Buldhana MP Prataparao Jadhav, visited the site of the violence, urging citizens to maintain peace.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the hate tracker under two prime categories. First is 'Attack not resulting in death, under which the sub-category chosen 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. Like wise, the sub-category chosen under 'Hate speech' is- Violent threats- Violent threats, explicit, implicit or implied, is the most dangerous form of hate speech since it goes beyond discriminatory and prejudicial language to express the intent of causing harm to an individual or a group of people based on their religious identity and faith. There could be several different kinds of threats that are issued to Hindus based on religious animosity. An explicit threat would mean the direct threat of violence towards an individual Hindu, a group of Hindus or Hindus at large. Physical violence, death threats, threats of destruction of property belonging to Hindus and threats of genocide would mean explicit threats against Hindus for their religious identity. Implicit threats may not be a direct threat but implied through the use of symbols of actions – for example – in the Nupur Sharma case, other than explicit threats, there were also implicit threats when Islamists took to the streets to burn and beat her effigies. It implies that they want to do the same to Nupur Sharma – thereby is considered an implicit threat. Violent threats can be delivered in person, through letters, phone calls, graffiti, or increasingly through social media and other online platforms. It would be important to understand that a threat – explicit or implicit, online or offline – to an individual who happens to be a Hindu does not qualify as a religiously motivated threat. Such a threat, while vile and dangerous, could be owing to non-religious reasons and/or personal animosity. To qualify as a religiously motivated threat, it would need to exhibit an indication that the individual is being targeted for religious reasons and/or owing to his/her religious identity as a Hindu. The incident in Buldana, where a Muslim mob attacked a Hindu wedding procession, is a clear example of a religiously motivated hate crime. The attack was triggered by the playing of songs about Lord Ram, a revered Hindu deity, during the procession. The mob's violent response—pelting stones and creating chaos—was not only an assault on the individuals present but also an attack on their religious practices. By raising slogans like "Pakistan Zindabad," the mob invoked a hostile and divisive sentiment, further deepening the religious tension. This act of aggression, targeting Hindu devotees during a cultural and religious celebration, demonstrates animosity rooted in religious intolerance. The violent threats and disruption of a peaceful wedding procession were aimed at intimidating the Hindu community and asserting dominance through fear. Such actions are emblematic of religious hate crimes, where violence is used to suppress or demean another religion and its followers and this is why this case has been added to the hate tracker.