Hindus threatened from celebrating Mahashivratri; Christians vandalise religious flags and puja materials in Assam
Baksa, Assam, India 
13 February, 2026
Case Summary
In the Baksa district of Assam, Hindu devotees were threatened not to celebrate Mahashivratri, a revered Hindu festival dedicated to Lord Shiva, by members of the local Christian community. When the Hindu locals did not listen, the perpetrators vandalised puja items and Hindu religious symbols a day before the Mahashivratri puja on 15 February 2026. According to media reports, this incident occurred in Bhelabasti, Baganpara, of Baksa district. Some local Christians warned Hindus not to observe Shivratri and warned against laying red cloth below the Bel tree on the Mahashivratri puja. They intimidated Hindus, stating that there should be no red cloth, no flag, and no celebrations visible, and left after threatening them. However, Hindus remained resistant and went ahead preparing for the puja. On the night of 14 February 2026, the puja venue was vandalised by the perpetrators. Sacred religious clothes, Hindu flags, and puja items were scattered, desecrated, and torn by the accused. This resulted in outrage among local Hindus against the Christian perpetrators. Hindus demanded strict administrative action against them. They also demanded legal action and justice. They stated that the attack hurt their religious sentiments.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Restriction/ban on Hindu practices. The subcategory selected is- Restriction on expression of Hindu identity. An example of the state-affected prejudicial and targeted orders against the Hindu community would be a government denying the right of a Hindu or a group of Hindus to hold a religious procession owing to the animosity of non-Hindu groups. Denial of the religious right of the Hindus to assuage the non-Hindu group which harbours animosity to a point where it could lead to violence against Hindus is not only a failure of law and order but is a prejudicial order against Hindus, denying them their fundamental rights to express their religious identity. An example of a hate crime against Hindus by a non-Hindu would be a non-Hindu institution forcing its Hindu employees to abandon religious symbols that a Hindu would wear as an expression of faith owing to inherent prejudice against the faith professed by the victim or a non-Hindu group of people restricting a Hindu group from constructing a place of worship simply because the demography of the area in which the temple is being built is dominated by non-Hindus. Such actions are driven by religious animosity and/or prejudice against Hindus and their faith and would therefore be categorized as a hate crime. Another primary category selected is- Attack not resulting in death. The subcategory selected 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. Another primary category selected is- Attack on Hindu religious representations. The subcategory selected is- Desecration of Hindu religious symbols. Icons and symbols or a religious representation of a spiritual ideal are widely revered in Hinduism. Iconography is of vital significance in the Hindu milieu. It helps connect people’s spiritual beliefs with the real world. Iconography within the Hindu faith takes several shapes and forms. Murtis are of most significance to Hindus, to which daily rituals, prayers and offerings are done. Besides the murtis, there are several other symbols which have deep significance in the Hindu faith – the Om and Swastika for example. Since these Hindu religious symbols hold paramount importance in Hinduism, any desecration of symbols, icons, murtis, religious representations and manifestations, is driven by animosity towards the faith itself which manifests itself through these murtis, icons and symbols. Therefore, any desecration of these Hindu religious symbols and representations is considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. This incident constituted a clear instance of a religiously motivated hate crime by Christian perpetrators, who sought to prevent Hindu devotees from celebrating Mahashivratri. They threatened Hindus against observing the festival and, upon resistance, vandalised puja items and Hindu religious symbols. Such religiously motivated intimidation amounted to a hate crime, driven by deep-seated hatred for Hinduism and its followers. The deliberate targeting of Hindu religious practices exposed an intent to suppress and restrict Hindu expression through religious animosity. The attack stemmed not from any other reason but specifically because the perpetrators harboured grave hatred for public expressions of Hindu faith and festivals, making it a religiously motivated crime. Mahashivratri holds profound significance for Hindus as one of the most sacred festivals dedicated to Lord Shiva, marking cosmic creation and spiritual renewal through all-night vigils, fasting, and temple rituals that foster communal devotion. The Christian perpetrators' threats against laying red cloth under the Bel tree, followed by vandalism of sacred religious clothes, Hindu flags, and puja items on 14 February 2026, revealed their aim to stifle public Hindu identity. These actions desecrated core elements of Hindu worship, rendering the attack a direct assault on Hindu sanctity. This demonstrated deliberate efforts to halt Hindu festivities through religious animosity. In this case, Hindu devotees provoked no one; they peacefully prepared for Mahashivratri when Christians confronted them with threats and subsequent vandalism. For Hindus, puja items, flags, and sacred clothes embody devotion and ritual purity. They constitute religious symbols that Hindus highly revere and hold sacred, and their desecration amounts to grave religious sacrilege. This calculated intimidation and subsequent vandalism exploited Hindu reverence to terrorise devotees and halt the festival, making it a religiously motivated crime. Such attacks targeted Hindu devotees solely for their religious identity. Mahashivratri faced opposition driven purely by religious hostility, with Hindus facing threats, intimidation, and vandalism from the Christians. This marked a blatant assault on Hindu religious freedoms and intimidation against the community for observing a revered festival. Since this case met the parameters of a religiously motivated hate crime, it was added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
