Hindu community denied permission to hold Hindu religious fair in Muslim-majority area as West Bengal police cite 'law and order' concern
West Bengal, India 
18 June, 2025
Case Summary
In Jalalpur town, in the Muslim-majority Malda district of West Bengal, permission for a 629-year-old Hindu village fair named Rath Mela was denied by the police. The administration cited 'law and order' concerns as an excuse to deny permission to Hindus to conduct their religious event. According to media reports, the Rath Mela was held each year adjacent to the Sri Mahaprabhu Mandir and lasted for about a week. It was traditionally preceded by the Rath Yatra. While the police allowed the Rath Yatra to proceed, they did not extend the same permission to the Mela, which was an integral part of the festivity. The West Bengal police turned down permission for this ancient Hindu fair on the grounds of 'law and order' issues. The police stated that Jalalpur had recently seen a rise in anti-social activities, including incidents of murder during the Rath Yatra, and therefore denied permission for the fair. This move by the police is an attempt to tarnish the reputation of the Hindu fair. It left the organisers shocked. They emphasised that the fair was vital to the local economy and welcomed people of all castes and religions. Faced with this situation, the organisers decided to approach the District Magistrate and subsequently the court for redress. The Secretary of the Rath Yatra Committee, Gautam Mandal, stated, “The Rath Mela has been organised even before Babur and other Mughals set foot on this soil. It is 629 years old. This ancient chariot fair is being stopped for a special vote bank.” The State General Secretary of TMC, Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury, sought to justify the decision of the local police. On the other hand, the local BJP leader Ajay Ganguly stated that the denial of permission for the Rath Mela demonstrated that the police were acting in the interests of the TMC government.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Restriction/ban on Hindu practices. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Administration restricting religious practice. In several cases, it is seen that the administration/state disallows a religious practice owing to prejudicial orders and concerns, targeted specifically against the Hindu community. Such restriction/prohibition would be considered documented as a hate crime because the orders are often a result of pressure by groups that harbour animosity towards Hinduism and Hindus. Often, the restriction by the authorities is driven by bias, hostility, or prejudice against the specific community being stopped from holding a religious practice, by pressure groups that harbour animosity towards Hindus, intrinsic to their faith. Since practices are intrinsic to the faith of the Hindus, such prejudicial restriction is considered a curtailing of the fundamental rights of the Hindu community. In several cases, for example, the authorities ban a Hindu religious practice due to pressure from groups opposed to the religion. In other instances the prohibition is selectively enforced against one religious group (Hindus) while others are allowed to proceed. There are still other cases where the authorities preemptively restrict a religious practice by Hindus because those who hold animosity towards Hindus may get “provoked” leading to them being violent, thereby assuaging the sentiments of those who hold animosity towards Hindus by curtailing the religious rights of Hindus. Such acts and orders are prejudiced, indicating discriminatory motives owing to the capitulation to groups that harbour animosity towards Hindus and therefore, would be categorized as a religiously motivated hate crime since the original pressure leading to the order itself is a result of hatred/bias/prejudice/religious hate against Hindus. The other sub-category relevant here 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. This case of the West Bengal police denying permission for the 629-year-old Rath Mela in Jalalpur, a Hindu religious fair, is a clear example of a hate crime against Hindus. This action goes beyond mere administrative decision-making; it directly targets the religious rights and cultural heritage of the Hindu community, especially in a Muslim-majority area where such restrictions take on a deeper discriminatory meaning. By preventing the fair from taking place, the authorities are not only disrupting a centuries-old tradition but also sending a message that Hindu practices and festivals can be curtailed at will, undermining the Hindu community’s sense of belonging and security. Such restrictions on Hindu religious events in Muslim-majority areas are a form of institutional discrimination. They create an atmosphere of fear and marginalisation for Hindus, making them feel like outsiders in their own homeland. The denial of permission for the Rath Mela, while allowing other aspects of the festival to proceed, exposes a double standard and selective targeting of Hindu traditions. This is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of hostility towards Hindu religious expression in West Bengal. This decision is an infringement on the constitutional rights to freedom of assembly and expression, which are fundamental in India. The move is also seen as politically and religiously biased, given the West Bengal government's history of opposing organisations associated with the Hindu nationalist movement. Further, from Hindus being arrested for chanting Jai Shri Ram slogans, to denying permissions for Hindu religious processions to her stoic silence whenever Hindus get attacked by Islamists in the state, there are several evidences to show that the Mamata Government in West Bengal has, in the past, passed umpteen prejudicial orders to clamp down on the religious rights of Hindus and show her affinity towards the Muslims in the state. By denying the Rath Mela, the West Bengal administration is actively participating in the suppression of Hindu culture and identity. Since this decision is discriminatory and indicative of religious bias, this incident is being categorised as a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
State and Establishment
Perpetrators Range
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Perpetrators Gender
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