Hindu residents attacked, women harassed and children threatened for wearing tilak by members of Muslim community in Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India 
30 December, 2024
Case Summary
In Kalana village of Sanand taluka, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, local Hindu residents faced prolonged intimidation, harassment, and restrictions on Hindu identity by members of the Muslim community. Hindu residents were assaulted, women were harassed, and children were threatened for wearing a tilak. Hindu women and families in the area stated that the members of the Muslim community have been targeting and harassing Hindu girls for the past year. They persistently make obscene gestures towards them, sexually and mentally harassing them. Describing the ordeal, a Hindu woman said, "When Hindu women and girls go out, Muslims stand in front of them in public wearing revealing clothes.” This harassment in public spaces has created an environment of fear, making Hindu women scared to step out of the house. Another Hindu woman said that her husband and other family members were physically attacked when they were returning from work. Furthermore, Hindu children were threatened for wearing tilaks, and Hindu residents were prevented from observing their festivals peacefully. Hindu wedding processions were routinely obstructed and were prohibited from passing near the local mosque, with threats being issued to the Hindu families. Hindu women of Kalana were demanding justice and urged Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi to take notice of the incident. They also sought the intervention of BJP MLA Alpesh Thakur, who belongs to the Thakur Hindu community, to prevent such incidents.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been documented under the selected primary category: Attack not resulting in death. Within it, the sub-category selected is - Attacked for Hindu identity. 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 the 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. The case has been added to the tracker because it has multiple religious markers that indicate targeted hostility toward Hindu identity, not a routine law and order issue. Firstly, Hindu children were explicitly threatened for wearing a tilak. This demonstrates the hate-driven nature of the crime. The tilak is not merely a decorative mark; it holds profound spiritual and cultural significance for Hindus. It represents religious identity, devotion, and affirmation of faith, often worn during prayers, rituals, and as a daily symbol of belief. By threatening children for wearing a tilak, the Muslims community carried out a symbolic attack on Hindu religious expression itself. This deliberate attempt to shame, suppress, and punish visible markers of Hindu faith reflected hostility towards Hindu practices and culture, transforming the intimidation of children into a direct attack on Hindu identity. Secondly, Muslim men sexually harassed the Hindu girls in the locality, engaging in obscene and intimidating behaviour in public spaces, leading to a hostile environment in which Hindu women felt unsafe leaving their homes. This harassment was not random or interpersonal in nature; it was a pattern of intimidation rooted in religious hostility, aimed at asserting dominance and instilling fear within the Hindu community. The physical attack on a Hindu man and his family members while they were returning from work further reinforced that the violence was directed at them because they were Hindus, not due to any personal dispute. Additionally, the obstruction of Hindu religious and social practices, including the prevention of peaceful festival observance and the stopping of Hindu wedding processions from passing near the mosque, underscored the communal nature of the hostility. Wedding processions or festivals are significant cultural and religious events within Hindu society, an outward expression of Hindu identity, and preventing them through threats served as a means of enforcing religious subordination. Such actions were intended to restrict Hindu presence, visibility, and dignity within the village, further demonstrating a pattern of discrimination based on religion. Taken together, the targeted harassment of Hindu women, the physical assaults on Hindu individuals, the intimidation of Hindu children for wearing religious symbols, and the systematic restriction of Hindu religious and cultural practices establish that the violence and intimidation were motivated by religious hostility. These acts were designed to silence, marginalise, and terrorise Hindus as a group. Since the Muslim community's actions were driven by animosity towards Hindu identity and aimed at enforcing fear and compliance, the case has been added to the tracker. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that none of the media sources covering this case have specified the exact date when the victim's ordeal began, though it is mentioned that the harassment had been going on for more than a year. Thus, to document this case, we have used an indicative date—31 December 2024—as a placeholder to represent the beginning of their suffering. While media coverage of the incident emerged on 31 December 2025, the Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began, not when it was reported.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
