Mocking of Hindu sentiments; Muslim woman shares social media post promoting cow slaughter on Eid
Delhi, Delhi, India 
6 June, 2025
Case Summary
An inflammatory post mocking Hindu sentiments was made on social media by a Muslim female advocate and Indian National Congress leader, Aarfa Khanam, on the occasion of Eid. The individual posted a picture featuring a cow with a Muslim boy and extended Eid greetings to her followers. The image showed a Muslim boy leading a cow to be sacrificed. This was deeply offensive to Hindu sentiments and caused social media outrage. The post was swiftly deleted by Khanam, but not before screenshots had circulated widely across social media platforms. The image triggered a wave of public outrage, with the hashtag '#ArrestAarfaKhanam' trending online. Hindus said that Khanam deliberately stoked religious tensions under the guise of festival greetings and demanded legal action, describing the incident as a calculated provocation. After the post went viral, Aarfa Khanam issued a public apology on social media. In a video statement, she claimed that she did not intend to hurt anyone’s sentiments. She also made a claim and stating, “I fully respect all religions and beliefs. As soon as I realised my mistake, I immediately deleted the post. My intention was only to share festival wishes and not to hurt anyone’s religious sentiments. Let us all come together and promote harmony, peace, and mutual respect.” This incident drew sharp comparisons to the recent case involving Sharmistha Panoli, a social media user who was arrested over a post that Islamists claimed offended their sentiments. Despite her public apology, Panoli was taken into custody, prompting many online users to question perceived double standards in the legal responses. The sentiment, “If an apology couldn’t protect Panoli, why should it protect Aarfa Khanam?” was widely echoed on social media.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category, that is- Attack on Hindu religious representations. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith. Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. In this case, the Muslim woman shared a post on Eid featuring a cow being taken for sacrifice by a Muslim boy, while extending greetings to her followers. This act clearly demonstrates an attempt to mock Hindu religious sentiments, given the sacred status of the cow in Hinduism. For Hindus, the cow is not merely an animal; it is revered as a symbol of life, purity, and non-violence, and is regarded as a motherly figure in Hindu tradition. Any depiction of a cow in a context that is disrespectful is deeply hurtful to Hindus, as it directly contradicts their religious beliefs and cultural values. The incident occurred during Eid, highlighting behaviour of Islamic religious supremacy, where Muslims use imagery of cow sacrifice to provoke and offend Hindu sentiments. Historically, there have been instances where cows have been killed by Muslim extremists to mock Hindus, demoralise the Hindu community, and desecrate religious shrines, sometimes as part of broader efforts to assert Islamic dominance or force conversion. In many cases, Indian Muslims have slaughtered cows, knowing it would offend Hindu sensitivities, viewing such acts as justified or even noble within their religious framework. Such instances of mocking Hindu beliefs demonstrate a profound disregard for Hindu traditions and values. This stems from deep-seated religious animosity within the Islamic theology that advocates for the complete subjugation and denigration of non-Muslims, especially the Hindus. Such actions glaringly demonstrate efforts to assert Islamic supremacy over Hindus. Here, it is important to highlight that the post came from a politically affiliated figure further underscoring its seriousness. When leaders or influencers knowingly share content that can incite religious tension, it transcends mere personal expression and enters the realm of deliberate incitement. Despite her post being deleted after public backlash and her subsequent apology, the initial damage was done. Public outrage and the '#ArrestAarfaKhanam' trend reflect how widely it was perceived as a targeted attack on Hindu sentiments, especially when juxtaposed against the recent case of Sharmistha Panoli, a Hindu woman arrested despite issuing an apology for a post deemed offensive to Muslims. The contrasting responses highlight a concerning double standard in legal and public treatment of hate speech and hurt sentiments across religious lines. This selective tolerance fuels feelings of alienation among Hindus and emboldens recurring patterns of Hinduphobic expression under the shield of minority protection or secularism. Therefore, Khanam’s act cannot be dismissed as a mere error in judgment. It was a deliberate provocation, rooted in contempt for Hindu sacred symbols, and qualifies under the ambit of hate speech and religiously motivated incitement as outlined in frameworks tracking hate crimes against Hindus. Since this case fits the category of a religiously motivated crime, it is being added to the hate crime database.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
female
Sources 
