Hindu youth attacked for chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' after his exam by Muslim men because the exam centre was in a 'Muslim area'
Amreli, Gujarat, India 
19 March, 2024
Case Summary
In Gujarat's Amreli, a 12th-grade Hindu student was assaulted after his board exam went well and he exclaimed "Jai Shri Ram" in joy. Atiq and Alfaz Qureshi, claiming the area belonged to Muslims, attacked him outside the exam centre. The incident occurred at SMGK High School, run by Faiz-e-Muhammadi Educational Welfare and Charitable Trust in Savarkundla. The victim's father intervened but was also mistreated. An FIR was filed, detailing how the Hindu student, after performing well in his exam, chanted "Jai Shri Ram" in gratitude, which Atiq Qureshi objected to, leading to a physical altercation. The police initiated an inquiry and filed a case against Atiq and Alfaz Qureshi under relevant sections of the IPC.
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. This case is also being added to the sub-category 'attacked for crossing Muslim area'. While the boy wasn't particularly 'crossing' a Muslim area, he was assaulted for chanting Jai Shri Ram in a Muslim dominated area. Which is why, this sub-category is pertinent to this case. 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 case, the Hindu boy was brutally attacked by Islamists for raising 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans, a devotional chant expressing reverence and devotion to Lord Rama, a major deity in Hinduism. It is important to note that in this case, there was no sort of provocation from the Hindu side. In fact, the Muslims took offence to the chanting of Jai Shri Ram slogans and attacked the Hindu boy because the exam centre was in an area which was Muslim dominated. It can thus be safely said that the attack was motivated by hostility or prejudice against Hindus and their religious practices. Such acts are driven by intolerance and a desire to intimidate or harm individuals based on their religious identity and qualify as a hate crime.
Victim Details
Total Victim
2
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 2
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 2
Age Group
- Minor 1
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Complaint registered
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
