Hindus targeted with derogatory remarks and violent rhetoric by Ambedkarite politician
India 
28 February, 2026
Case Summary
Hindus were targeted with derogatory remarks by an Indian politician named Sunil Astay, an Ambedkarite and a member of the anti-Hindu organisation Bhim Army. He raised violent slogans targeting manuvadis (Hindus) in a public gathering, thereby employing rhetoric invoking violence and humiliation. Sunil Astay, Founder Member of the Azaad Samaj Party and former State President and State In-Charge of the Bhim Army, delivered a speech at a public gathering, which was subsequently uploaded from his official Twitter account. Astay, who was also an Ex-MLA candidate from Agar, Madhya Pradesh, uploaded a video on his X (formerly Twitter) account in which he was heard addressing the crowd in an aggressive and confrontational tone. In the speech, he stated in Hindi, “Suno Manuvaadiyon tum bandook se nahi daroge, tum talwaro se nahi daroge, daroge toh chamaron ke juto se,” which translates to a warning directed at so-called ‘Manuvaadis’ that they would not fear guns or swords but would fear the shoes of Chamars. He further declared that “we will come in 1 lakh members and install Ambedkar's statue in High Court,” signalling a mass mobilisation plan involving one lakh supporters. In another tweet dated 1 March 2026, another video of Sunil Astay was uploaded where he was in a public gathering raising provocative slogans. Slogans included “मनुवाद की छाती पर बिरसा फुले आंबेडकर,” which translated to “On the chest of Manuvaad stand Birsa, Phule and Ambedkar.” The slogan invoked the names of Birsa Munda, Jyotiba Phule, and B. R. Ambedkar in direct opposition to what was claimed as ‘Manuvaad’, framing the chant as an assertion of ideological confrontation. The speech and accompanying slogans, disseminated through his verified social media platform, projected a combative tone in a public setting and were circulated widely online following their upload.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case is being added to the tracker under the primary category- Hate Speech against Hindus. 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. This case has been added to the tracker because Hindu religious sentiments were insulted after provocative statements targeting manuvadis/Hindus were delivered in a public gathering by Sunil Astay, an Ambedkarite and a member of Bhim Army. The deliberate use of derogatory and inflammatory expressions was aimed at a Hindu religious community, combined with rhetoric that normalised symbolic violence and collective intimidation. The term "Manuvadi", used by Sunil Astay in his speech, functions as a loaded slur deployed by anti-Hindu elements to invoke Manusmriti, a text selectively quoted out of context to depict Hindus as caste-obsessed followers of an allegedly oppressive code, despite Manusmriti not being a central or authoritative scripture in mainstream Hinduism like the Vedas, Upanishads, or Gita. Ambedkarites like Sunil Astay, alongside leftist and anti-Hindu Ambedkarite groups, routinely apply this label to smear all Hindus as casteists, fostering a divisive narrative that pits communities against each other under the guise of social justice. This tactic erodes Hindu unity by creating false binaries, upper caste oppressors versus others, while collectively targeting Hindus regardless of caste, as evidenced by the broad-brush attack on Gita proponents. The misuse of "Manuvadi" here reveals not genuine reformism but entrenched hostility towards Hindu identity, constituting clear anti-Hindu hate speech designed to demean and isolate the community. It was important to note that the accused, Sunil Astay, had longstanding associations with the Bhim Army and was a functionary of the Azaad Samaj Party. The rhetoric employed in his public address, particularly the reference to making “Manuvaadis” fear “the shoes of Chamars” and the call to mobilise one lakh supporters to assert symbolic dominance at a High Court, went beyond political dissent and entered the realm of targeted humiliation framed along religious and caste lines. The repeated invocation of ‘Manuvaad’ functioned not as a critique of a specific legal or philosophical doctrine but as a sweeping epithet directed at sections of Hindu society, thereby collectivising blame and portraying Hindu identity through a hostile and reductionist lens. While the Bhim Army presents itself as a champion of Dalit rights, its actions and affiliations often contradict this claim. Dalits are very much Hindus, yet the Bhim Army frequently targets Hindu symbols, festivals, and practices, including those held sacred by Dalits themselves. This pattern suggests that the organisation’s agenda is less about genuine Dalit upliftment and more aligned with broader anti-Hindu narratives that seek to divide and weaken Hindu society from within. This becomes particularly apparent when the Bhim Army aligns with leftist and Islamist platforms, where identity politics is weaponised against Hindus. In such spaces, the micro identities of caste, region, and language are secondary; what matters most is religious identity. It is the Hindu identity, regardless of caste, that often becomes the target of animosity. As seen in cases where Dalit families were attacked for displaying Hindu symbols or worshipping deities, the hostility stems not from caste differences, but from a disdain for Hindu religiosity. For example, on May 19, 2020, reports emerged in which a Dalit family in Bihar’s Kishanganj district accused the local Bhim Army unit of attacking them for their beliefs, desecrating a temple as they objected to their reverence for Hindu deities and saffron flags. Similarly, on June 29, 2021, in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu named Saurabh Sharma was reportedly attacked by Bhim Army members over political differences. The assailants used swords and rods, causing severe injuries, and threatened to eliminate the Brahmin community from the area. Moreover, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad has repeatedly made statements and taken positions that reflect his anti-Hindu stance. For instance, he has publicly endorsed conversion as a political weapon, invoking B.R. Ambedkar’s decision to leave Hinduism, and has actively supported movements that call for a rejection of Hindu festivals and practices. In fact, Chandrashekhar Azad's political trajectory has strongly focused on building a Dalit-Muslim alliance, a strategy that became particularly visible during his active participation in the anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protests that culminated in the Delhi anti-Hindu Riots 2020. His brand of politics, under the banner of Dalit-Muslim unity, has contributed to narratives that vilify Hindu traditions and exacerbate targeted attacks against Hindus. Thus, by targeting Hindu with a violent rhetoric and aligning with forces hostile to Hinduism at large, the Bhim Army effectively turns against the cultural and spiritual traditions of the Dalit community itself. In doing so, it reinforces the very forces of division and religious antagonism that marginalise Dalits, not as a caste, but as Hindus. This contradiction reveals that, despite its stated mission, the Bhim Army’s trajectory increasingly serves an anti-Hindu, rather than a pro-Dalit, agenda. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incidents based on when an event occurred or when the victim's ordeal began. The earliest tweet, containing anti-Hindu remarks, was dated 1 March 2026. Therefore, the date of the incident has been recorded as 1 March 2026.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Others
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
