Case Summary

In Nagpura village of Mahidpur, Ujjain, a Muslim school teacher targeted minor Hindu students for religious conversion by promoting Islamic beliefs while simultaneously belittling Hindu religious symbols, effectively attempting to indoctrinate and alienate them from their faith. According to reports, the Muslim teacher named Shakeel Mohammad used his position as a government teacher to force Hindu students of Class 6 to read Namaz and the Quran during class hours. He also burnt pictures of Hindu deities, including Lord Ganesha and Mata Saraswati, as well as a picture of Bharat Mata, in front of his students. He attempted to burn the national flag as well. He taught Hindu children about what Allah is and urged them to go to the mosque and worship Allah. These incidents took place on July 11, 2025, after school hours, where the Muslim accused not only desecrated religious symbols but also issued death threats to the students if they decided to tell anyone. He further used abusive language against the students’ parents and insisted that he would teach the Quran and Namaz in the school. He also told minor students that he ate buffalo meat, which is why he was strong. The matter came to light when a Hindu student, Anurag Rathod, informed his uncle, Rohit Rathod, about the teacher’s actions. Rohit visited the school on July 16 and spoke with other students, who corroborated the events. Burnt images of Hindu deities were found, after which a police complaint was filed by the victim's parents. It has also been reported that the Muslim also sexually molested minor girls in this class. A case was registered, and the Muslim accused was arrested by the police. Other Hindu students named Kamal, Bhola, Anushka, Pawan, Anjali, Pinky, Varsha, and Chetan have also come out and confirmed these events. It was also revealed that he had engaged in similar activities previously while working in a school in the Lasudiya Mansoor area.

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Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of: - Predatory Proselytisation. Within it, the sub-category selected is: - Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination, with the tertiary category being: - Conversion of minor and Pattern of targeting Hindus. Religious brainwashing essentially means the often subtle and forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up their religious beliefs to accept contrasting regimented ideas. Religious grooming or brainwashing also involves propaganda and manipulation. It involves the systematic effort, driven by religious malice and indoctrination, to persuade “non-believers’ to accept allegiance, command, or doctrine to and of a contrasting faith. Cases of such grooming or brainwashing are far more nuanced than direct threats, coercion, inducement and violence. In such cases, it is often seen that there is repeated, subtle and continual manipulation of the victim to induce disaffection towards their own faith and acceptance of the contrasting faith of the perpetrator. While subtle indoctrination is widely acknowledged as predatory, an element which is often understated in such conversions or the attempts of such conversion is the role of loyalty and trust which might develop between the perpetrator and the victim. Fiduciary relationships are often abused to affect such religious conversion. For example, an educator transmitting religious doctrine of a competing faith to a Hindu student. The Hindu student is likely to accept what the teacher is transmitting owing to existence of the fiduciary relationship. The exploitation of the fiduciary relationship to religiously indoctrinate victims would also be included in this category. Since the underlying animosity towards the victim’s faith forms the basis of predatory proselytization, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. The second sub-category selected is: - Attempting to convert/converting by denigrating Hinduism. In several cases, Hindus are converted or an attempt is made to convert Hindus by denigrating their faith, Hinduism. In such cases, the Hindus associate with the non-Hindu perpetrators often by choice and then, the attempt to convert them by insulting their faith, showing the faith down etc begins. An example of this would be a non-Hindu gathering where the Hindus are attending the gathering of their own free will. However, once they attend the gathering, there is an explicit attempt to convert them by abusing their faith and hailing the faith of the perpetrator. The denigration of the Hindu faith is often based on misrepresentation of the Hindu faith, its doctrine and scriptures and insult to espoused traditions if not blatant lies about Hindu beliefs and ways. Such conversions or attempts at conversions are driven by animosity towards the Hindu faith and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. The third sub-category selected here is: - Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion. Harassment covers a wide range of behaviours of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, including threats and coercion. Harassment and threats, in this case, find their root on discriminatory grounds which has the effect of nullifying a person’s rights or infringing upon his freedom to exercise his right specifically owing to the victim’s religious identity. Verbal and physical threats and psychological or physical harassment are often used against Hindu victims because they choose to practice their professed religion. Religious harassment also includes forced and involuntary conversions by harassment, threats or coercion. Coercion includes intimidatory tactics like force-feeding a Hindu victim beef to convert to another religion, forceful circumcision etc. In several cases documented, non-Hindu perpetrators or those who harbour specific animosity towards Hinduism, harass victims simply based on their religious identity. Such cases often also include harassment to ensure the Hindu victim abandons his/her professed religion and adopts the religion of the perpetrator. Such cases where Hindu victims are harassed to convert to the perpetrator’s religion are rooted in animosity towards the victim’s religious identity and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. The other primary category selected here is: - Attack on Hindu religious representations. Within it, the sub-category selected is: - Desecration of Hindu religious symbol. 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 case has been added to the tracker because minor Hindu students were deliberately targeted for religious conversion by the Muslim school teacher. He desecrated Hindu religious symbols and images of Hindu deities in front of the minor Hindu students. The intent behind this was to make the Hindu students feel inferior about their religion and create a sense of shame or self-rejection. The purpose of such denigration is to make the victim feel that their own religion is unworthy and must be abandoned. This method is based on contempt and ideological hostility toward Hinduism, which qualifies as hate speech and religious humiliation. It turns the conversion attempt into a discriminatory act rooted in hatred for the Hindu faith. Such actions are done to draw Hindu students away from their own religion, making their future conversion much easier. The act of burning images of Hindu deities further reflects the perpetrator’s animosity towards the Hindu religion. In Hinduism, idols of Hindu deities are not just artistic representations but are deeply revered manifestations of the divine. Their desecration is seen as a direct affront to the religious sentiments of Hindus and an act of profound disrespect. It is an act of violence against the religious sentiments of the Hindu community, which derives spiritual, cultural, and collective meaning from these divine representations. Furthermore, the accused also burnt the image of Bharat Mata and attempted to desecrate the national flag. It is pertinent to note that Muslim extremists harbour specific animosity towards Hindus and their faith and also view India as a Hindu collectivity. The very basis of the partition of India was that the Muslims believed that Islam was a nation unto itself, which could not survive with a Hindu collectivity like India. Therefore, when an Islamist burns the national flag or the image of Bharat Mata, it is not just an act of provocation; it is a rejection of the Hindu civilizational identity of India. The accused also threatened minor Hindu students not to reveal these incidents to anyone, and also professed that he would teach Quran and Namaz to minor students. Such kind of behaviour stems from inherent hostility towards the victim's professed faith, since Abrahamic faiths believe that any non-adherent to the faith is subject to being dehumanised till they convert. Thus, the conversion efforts here were not just normal proselytisation efforts; instead, they were rooted in religious hatred. It is important to note here that all the victims were minors and incapable of providing informed consent to such conversion activities. It is a well-established fact that children are more susceptible to manipulation since they are still developing emotionally, cognitively, and socially. Their brains are not fully mature, making them more vulnerable. This case demonstrates a calculated strategy of targeting those who are less able to resist or understand the long-term implications of conversion, making it a significant case of religious-motivated hate crime. Such acts are not merely criminal in nature; they are ideologically charged, revealing religious prejudice and a calculated intent to alter the religious identity of a minor without her volition. The use of grooming, where trust is built only to exploit, is an insidious method that exploits the child’s naivety and dependence. In this context, the testimony of the family, especially that of a close relative like the brother, holds considerable weight. Disclaimer: The details of this case reveal that multiple Hindu students were targeted for conversion and were forced to read Namaz and Quran by the accused. However, since only nine students have come forward and confirmed the events, we have conservatively recorded the victim count as 9 in the database for accuracy and consistency.