Hindus subjected to casteist slurs and physical assault by Muslims over minor road rage incident in Madhya Pradesh

Case ID : d327ba3 | Location : Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Mon, 9 March, 2026

Case ID : d327ba3

Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, India

9 March, 2026

Hindus subjected to casteist slurs and physical assault by Muslims over minor road rage incident in Madhya Pradesh

Attack not resulting in death

Communal clash/attack

Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim

Hate speech against Hindus

Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith

Case Summary

In Dewas district, Madhya Pradesh, Hindus belonging to the Kanjar community, a Dalit community, were abused with casteist slurs for objecting to the rash driving of two Muslim men. This further led to a group of Muslim men launching a physical attack on Hindus. The perpetrators stone-pelted the victims and attacked them with sticks. According to reports, the incident occurred in the Peeplarawa area near Kanjar Dera. Two Muslim youths, identified as Zuber and Saifuddin, were travelling on a two-wheeler when residents from the Kanjar community objected to their reckless driving in the locality. Hindu residents told them that children were playing in the lane and asked them to slow down. At this point, Zuber and Saifuddin abused them, used caste-based slurs, and threatened to kill them. As the altercation intensified, Zuber and Saifuddin called more individuals from their Muslim community, while members of the Hindu community also gathered in response. What began as a dispute between a few individuals soon escalated into a group confrontation. Tempers escalated quickly, and both groups began pelting stones and attacking each other with sticks. The violence spread across the locality, resulting in injuries to around 18 individuals. Among those injured were Rafiq Khan, Shabbir Khan, Irfan Khan, Salim Khan, Javed Khan from the Muslim community, and Ramesh Kanjar, Suresh Kanjar, Kailash Kanjar, and Mahesh Kanjar from the Kanjar community. Several others sustained minor injuries. During the clash, those who attempted to intervene were also attacked. Fulwanta, Renuka, Rajkunwar, Bhagwan, and Nitin were beaten when they tried to stop the violence. Within a short time, the situation turned violent as members of both groups began pelting stones and physically assaulting one another, transforming the dispute into a full-scale group clash. The violence left multiple individuals injured and created panic in the surrounding locality. Witnesses described how the clash spread rapidly, with groups gathering and attacking each other. Stones were thrown into houses, and several shops in the locality were damaged. Panic spread among residents, and families locked themselves indoors until police arrived. Police personnel were deployed in the area to bring the situation under control and prevent further escalation. Following the clash, the police registered a case against around 25 Muslim individuals. They confirmed that charges were filed under sections relating to rioting, assault, and the SC/ST Act. Police assured that strict action would be taken against those found guilty and initiated an investigation to determine the exact sequence of events and identify those responsible.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case is being added to the tracker under the primary category "Attack not resulting in death". The subcategory selected is- "Communal Clash/Attack". Communal clash is a form of collective violence that involves clashes between groups belonging to different religious identities. For a communal clash between Hindus and non-Hindus to qualify as a religiously motivated hate crime, the trigger of the violence itself would have to be anti-Hindu in essence. For example, if there is a Hindu religious procession that comes under attack from a non-Hindu mob and after the initial attack, Hindus retaliate in self-defence, leading to a communal clash between the two religious communities. While at a later stage, both communities are involved in the clash/violence, the initial trigger of the violence was by the non-Hindu mob against the Hindus and therefore, it could safely be termed as an anti-Hindu violence. Further, the trigger would also have to be religiously motivated. In the cited example, the attack by the non-Hindu mob was against religious processions and therefore, can be concluded to be religiously motivated. In some cases, the trigger may be non-religious, however, it develops into religious violence against Hindus at a later stage. In such cases too, the foundational animosity towards Hindus becomes the motivating factor of the crime and therefore, it would be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus under this category. The other sub-category selected is:" Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save a victim". In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. The other primary category selected is: 'Hate Speech against Hindus'. The sub-category 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 from 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. The incident demonstrated how a routine objection raised by local Hindu residents escalated into targeted hostility and violence. Members of the Kanjar community objected to the reckless driving of two Muslim men in a narrow residential lane where children were playing. Such objections fell within the normal expectations of neighbourhood conduct and civic responsibility. However, the response to this objection quickly shifted from a verbal disagreement to identity-based hostility and organised violence as the Muslim side raised caste-based slurs at Hindus, showcasing their religious hostility and calling upon a larger group of Muslims, which further escalated into a communal clash between Hindus and Muslims. The raising of caste-based slurs clearly demonstrated the religious hostility at play. Some may argue that a caste-specific slur targeted the micro identity of the victims belonging to the Dalit section of the Hindu community and not their Hindu identity itself. However, as far as Abrahamic religions are concerned, the micro identities of caste, region, and language are secondary. It is the religious identity that drove the animosity of the perpetrators against the Hindu victims. In this case, while the accused hurled caste-based abuses at the victims, the animosity stemmed from hostility towards Hinduism and Hindus. The fact that caste slurs were hurled at the victims by the perpetrators made it a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus. The use of such language was significant because it indicated that the confrontation was no longer limited to a dispute over rash driving. Instead, it moved into the realm of identity-based abuse, where the victims were targeted and humiliated based on their religious identity. Derogatory language directed at Hindus in this manner reflected underlying religious and social hostility that often accompanied communal confrontations. The violence also intensified after the two individuals involved in the initial dispute called more Muslims to the location. This act transformed what began as a minor disagreement into a coordinated confrontation involving multiple individuals. The escalation suggested that the perpetrators' intention shifted from resolving the dispute to asserting religious dominance through collective intimidation and physical aggression. Such tactics frequently resulted in Hindus being attacked for speaking up against misconduct or attempting to maintain order in their own localities. In many communal flashpoints, conflicts began with seemingly ordinary disagreements but escalated rapidly once religious identity became a focal point. When Hindus resisted aggression, objected to misconduct, or attempted to intervene in a dispute, they often became the targets of retaliation. The violence in this case followed a similar trajectory, where individuals who initially raised a civic concern were subjected to abuse and then drawn into a broader violent confrontation. Such incidents also revealed a pattern seen in several localised communal tensions. Repeated confrontations, aggressive behaviour, and organised intimidation in residential areas created an atmosphere of fear among local Hindu populations. When these conflicts occurred frequently, they contributed to a climate where residents felt unsafe in their own neighbourhoods. Over time, this sustained pressure could push communities into silence or even compel families to consider leaving the locality altogether. Another important aspect of the incident was the participation of multiple individuals once the dispute escalated. The gathering of groups from both sides indicated how quickly communal tensions could be mobilised around identity lines. The resulting violence injured numerous individuals and disrupted the entire neighbourhood, demonstrating how a single confrontation could evolve into a larger communal disturbance when identity-based hostility was introduced. The presence of verbal abuse targeting the Hindu community, combined with physical violence that followed when Hindu residents objected to the behaviour of the accused individuals, showed how the victims were not only attacked for raising a legitimate concern but also subjected to hostility tied to their Hindu identity. Such incidents of communal violence against Hindus over minor non-religious pretexts showcased how religious hostility masqueraded under the guise of non-religious disputes. Such attacks on Hindus for their faith identity showcased the religious motivations behind this crime, making it a hate crime. Taken together, the sequence of events indicated that the incident could not be viewed merely as a spontaneous neighbourhood dispute. The use of derogatory anti-Hindu language directed at Hindu residents, the mobilisation of additional Muslim individuals, and the escalation into collective violence pointed towards a pattern where intimidation and confrontation were used to assert religious dominance within mixed localities. Such behaviour contributed to an atmosphere of communal tension and reinforced fear among Hindu residents who attempted to resist or question such actions. Given that this case met the parameters of a hate crime, it was added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incidents based on when an event occurred or when the crime occurred, rather than when it is reported by the media. However, in this case, none of the media sources has specified the exact date when the crime occurred. Therefore, for documentation purposes, the date when the news was reported in the media, 9 March 2026, is selected as the indicative incident date. This is recorded for documentation purposes only. Media reports stated that multiple Hindu victims were targeted by Muslim perpetrators; however, the total number of victims was not specified. Only nine victims were named. Therefore, these nine were recorded as the victims, with the victim count kept at nine (9). This is a conservative estimate, as the total number of victims could be higher.