Attack on Hindu sentiments: Muslim youth glorifies Islamic tyrant, mocks persecution of Hindus on social media
Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India 
20 January, 2026
Case Summary
In Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra, an anti-Hindu social media post was made by a Muslim youth named Armaan Badshah. The accused glorified Islamic tyrant Aurangzeb, emperor of the Mughal Empire, who persecuted Hindus, destroyed their temples and murdered several of them. The accused Badshah posted a video on his Instagram account in which he glorified Aurangzeb and his brutal massacres of Hindus and destruction of their temples. In the video, he said, "kill and assault someone (Hindus) so badly that it causes pain to their lineage for the next 350 years...#AurangzebAlamgir". This video went viral on social media, causing outrage among Hindu users. Some stated that it was a direct mockery of the plight of Hindus under Islamic invaders' rule, particularly Aurangzeb, and some called this an indirect insult to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, a revered Hindu Maratha king who was brutally murdered by Aurangzeb for refusing to convert to Islam. Several social media users tagged the local police on X (formerly Twitter), demanding action against the Muslim youth for his provocative speech targeting Hindus.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Hate Speech against Hindus. The subcategory selected is- Denial or mocking of genocide/large-scale persecution of Hindus. Denial or mocking of genocide/large-scale persecution/ethnic cleansing refers to the act of denying or minimizing the fact of the ethnic cleansing and/or genocide and/or religious persecution of Hindus. This often involves denying the scale, mechanisms, religious intent, or even the occurrence of the ethnic cleansing and/or genocide and/or religious persecution of Hindus. Hate speech of this kind involves the dissemination of falsehoods that deny or distort established historical facts or mock the suffering of Hindus by saying that they deserved the persecution, motivated by Hinduphobia. Denying such atrocities is not only about the denial of facts or rewriting/revising history, but it also delegitimises the religiously motivated persecution of Hindus, the religious hate/motivation/animosity that led to the persecution, and dehumanises Hindus as a religious group. Such denial of ethnic cleansing and/or genocide and/or religious persecution of Hindus not only denies the suffering but also paves the way for future/present atrocities and hate speech, inciting prejudice and violence against Hindus. It also provides a justification for violence by delinking religious animosity from religiously motivated crimes committed against Hindus. Since such denial and/or mocking of genocide/ethnic cleansing/atrocities motivated by religious animosity leads to present and future ramifications of creating more hate speech, violence, dehumanisation and delegitimisation, it would be considered hate speech under this category. This case constitutes a clear instance of religiously motivated hate speech, as the Muslim accused glorified the Islamic tyrant Aurangzeb, who historically persecuted and oppressed Hindus. Under his rule, numerous temples were desecrated, including the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi where a mosque was built atop the ruins, and the Keshav Dev Temple in Mathura which was razed to construct the Shahi Idgah mosque; Hindus endured brutal massacres, forced conversions through jizya tax impositions and executions for refusing Islam, with thousands killed in events like the massacre of Rajputs in Mewar and many more. In this case, the accused glorified and mocked this persecution of Hindus, rendering this a religiously motivated crime. Aurangzeb systematically targeted Hindus by imposing discriminatory policies, destroying over 1,000 temples as recorded in Mughal chronicles, and forcibly converting communities like Kashmiri Pandits under threat of death. By praising Aurangzeb's atrocities in his video, including the statement to "kill and assault someone so badly that it causes pain to their lineage for the next 350 years," the accused explicitly endorses generational violence against Hindus. This glorification mocks the historical suffering of Hindus under Aurangzeb's reign, celebrating an anti-Hindu tyrant whose legacy evokes deep trauma to the Hindu community. This provocation qualifies as hate speech aimed at inciting hatred by humiliating and targeting the Hindu community today, reopening wounds of temple desecrations and mass killings to disrupt communal harmony. The selective praise for Aurangzeb's brutality against Hindus, without equivalent endorsement of other historical figures, demonstrates intent to denigrate Hinduism and provoke sentiments among Hindus who still feel anguish over their ancestors' sufferings at Aurangzeb's hands. Such content fosters division, justifies past oppression, and signals ongoing animosity towards Hindus. Since this case demonstrates that the perpetrator's actions constituted a hatred-driven act, it is being added to the Hate Crime Database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incident dates based on when crimes occur, rather than when they are reported by the media. In this case, the media report does not specify the exact date of the crime. Henceforth, 21 January 2026, the date when the media reported this incident, is being selected as the indicative incident date. This date is selected for documentation purposes only.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
