Hindu sentiments outraged: Buddhist man misrepresents Hindu scriptures to claim beef consumption essential to Hinduism
Madhya Pradesh, India 
25 September, 2025
Case Summary
In Madhya Pradesh, Hindu religious sentiments were insulted after a Buddhist man named Buddha Prakash Bouddha, who operated a WhatsApp group titled “BP Bauddh Patrakar News Group”, circulated a message containing derogatory and misleading remarks about Hinduism and the Brahmin community. According to reports, the accused, Buddha Prakash Bouddha, shared a message on 26 September 2025 in the WhatsApp group titled “BP Bauddh Patrakar News Group”, which contained statements claiming that consuming beef was essential to being a good Hindu and referred to supposed ancient rituals involving bull sacrifices and obligatory meat consumption on certain occasions. The accused claimed, "consuming beef was essential to being a good Hindu and bull sacrifices and meat consumption were obligatory on certain occasions". He further alleged that "Brahmins regularly consumed bovine meat, and cows and bulls were allegedly slaughtered in various religious ceremonies." As the cow is revered and considered sacred in Hinduism, the contents of the message deeply hurt the religious sentiments of a member of the group, as well as other Hindus and members of the Brahmin community. Consequently, a complaint was filed against the accused, leading to the registration of an FIR against the petitioner under Sections 196(1)(b), 299, 353(1)(c), and 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which relate to promoting enmity between groups, deliberate acts intended to outrage religious feelings, and statements capable of causing public mischief. The accused challenged the FIR before the Madhya Pradesh High Court by filing a writ petition, arguing that the WhatsApp group functioned as a closed digital forum in which only he was authorised to post content and that it served as an informational platform for readers interested in journalistic discourse, current affairs, and counter-narrative discussions. He also claimed that the message shared in the group consisted of excerpts from scholarly literature taken from a book authored by Dr Surendra Kumar Sharma (Agyaat), which was not banned by either the central or state government. The case was heard by a Single Judge Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court presided over by Justice Milind Ramesh Phadke. On 4 December 2025, the court dismissed the petition and refused to quash the FIR, observing that the contents of the complaint and the material placed on record, when taken at face value, disclosed the ingredients of the offences invoked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. While delivering its decision, the court emphasised that questions regarding whether the accused acted with deliberate or malicious intention, whether the content had been quoted in good faith, whether it was merely academic in nature, or whether it had the potential to disturb public tranquillity were matters that required examination on the basis of evidence collected during investigation and could not be determined at the preliminary stage of proceedings. The Madhya Pradesh High Court held that the investigation should proceed unhindered and declined to interfere with the criminal proceedings initiated against the petitioner.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case is 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. The other sub-category selected is - Subversion of Scriptures. Subverting the religious scriptures of Hindus has particularly devastating consequences. Subversion of the scriptures of Hindus is often done to justify or promote hatred, discrimination, or violence against specific individuals or groups of Hindus. Religious scriptures are often nuanced and those who harbour religious animosity towards Hindus often misquote or misrepresent the scripture to legitimise their animosity and hate towards the faith and its adherents. Any such misquoting of scriptures or subversion to justify hate, violence and discrimination against Hindus owing to religious animosity is hate speech and is categorised as such. The case has been added to the tracker because of the statements the accused, Buddha Prakash Bouddha, circulated in the WhatsApp group, targeted core beliefs and sacred symbols of Hinduism in a manner that was deeply offensive to the Hindu community. By sharing messages that portrayed Hindu practices in a distorted and derogatory manner and presenting them as inherent elements of the religion, the accused disseminated content that demeaned Hindu traditions and beliefs. In Hinduism, the cow holds profound religious and cultural significance and is widely revered as sacred. For centuries, the cow has been regarded as a symbol of life, sustenance, and compassion, and it occupies an important place in Hindu scriptures, traditions, and social life. The cow is often associated with motherhood and abundance because it provides milk and sustenance without taking life. This reverence is reflected in numerous rituals, festivals, and cultural practices where the cow is honoured and protected. In many Hindu traditions, harming or killing a cow is considered deeply sinful and morally unacceptable to the point of being blasphemous. Because of this long-standing reverence, any statement suggesting disrespect towards the cow or normalising its slaughter or consumption directly touches upon deeply held religious sentiments of millions of Hindus. The statements circulated by the accused were highly misleading and misrepresented fundamental aspects of Hindu tradition. By claiming that consuming beef was essential to being a good Hindu and suggesting that bull sacrifices and meat consumption were obligatory in certain rituals, the message attempted to distort the understanding of Hindu practices. In Hindu society, the cow is widely regarded as sacred and worthy of protection. Presenting beef consumption as an integral part of Hindu religious identity was capable of confusing individuals about their own traditions and creating divisions within the Hindu community. Such narratives are promoted as an attempt to detach Hindus from their long-standing reverence for the cow and weaken the cultural and spiritual foundations that bind the community together. The message also claimed that Brahmins regularly consumed bovine meat and that cows and bulls were slaughtered during religious ceremonies. These statements are highly inaccurate and misleading in the context of mainstream Hindu practice. Across most Hindu traditions, particularly among Brahmins who traditionally serve as custodians of religious rituals and scriptures, the consumption of beef and the slaughter of cows are considered taboo. Ritual ceremonies in Hinduism are typically associated with offerings of grains, fruits, dairy products, and other vegetarian items. The portrayal of cow slaughter or bovine meat consumption as part of regular religious ceremonies, therefore, contradicts the widely recognised principles and customs that guide Hindu ritual practice. The seriousness of the statements was further reflected in the response of the judiciary. When the accused approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court seeking to quash the FIR registered against him, the court declined to intervene at the preliminary stage. The court held that the allegations contained in the complaint disclosed the ingredients of cognisable offences and that the matter warranted investigation. By refusing to quash the FIR, the court indicated that the statements circulated in the message were sufficiently serious to justify a full legal inquiry. This judicial response underscored the potential impact such statements can have on public order and religious harmony. This case reflects a wider pattern observed on social media platforms, where derogatory narratives about Hinduism frequently circulate. In many instances, online spaces have become hubs for content that mocks Hindu beliefs, sacred symbols, deities, and religious scholars through memes, posts, and comments designed to provoke outrage or ridicule. These coordinated assaults permeate platforms daily, transforming sacred icons into punchlines and caricatures. This pervasive pattern of anti-Hindu hate speech constitutes clear instances of online Hinduphobia, inflicting profound hurt on Hindu sentiments and rendering the community a perpetual target for ridicule and abuse. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incidents based on when an event occurred or when the victim's ordeal began. The message was shared on 26 September 2025; therefore, the date of the incident has been selected as such.
Case Status
Case sub-judice
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
