Muslim politician launched hate-filled attack on sacred Kanwar Yatra, labelled Shiva devotees as ‘hooligans’ and demanded ban on Kanwar Yatra
Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, India 
19 July, 2025
Case Summary
Iqbal Mehmood, Samajwadi Party MLA from Sambhal, targeted the sacred Kanwar Yatra, a deeply revered annual pilgrimage undertaken by Shiva devotees across Bharat. In a media interaction, Mehmood launched a vitriolic attack against the yatra and its participants, branding the pilgrimage as dominated by “hooligans” rather than devotees. Mehmood declared that those participating in the Yatra are “not true Shiva devotees,” and went as far as saying they deserve to be in jail. He made sweeping remarks about the entire community of Kanwariyas, accusing them of creating “chaos” and engaging in vandalism. He referred to a recent incident in Muzaffarnagar where kanwariyas allegedly damaged a school van carrying children. He said such actions would push kanwariyas to hell and demanded that the government take strict action. His comments did not stop at criticism; he openly called for the Yatra to be stopped altogether.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Hate Speech against Hindus. Within this, 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 remarks made by Samajwadi Party MLA Iqbal Mehmood constitute hate speech and qualify as a hate crime against Hindus because his sweeping attack on the Kanwar Yatra — one of the most sacred and widely observed religious pilgrimages in Hinduism — was not a critique of an isolated incident, but a wholesale denigration of the Yatra and its participants based on their Hindu identity and religious expression. By branding Shiva devotees as “hooligans” and declaring that they deserve jail and hell, Mehmood has used deeply offensive language aimed at mocking and criminalising a sacred tradition of the Hindu faith. His demand that the Kanwar Yatra be stopped entirely further reflects an intent to suppress and delegitimise Hindu religious practices. This goes beyond political rhetoric — it targets a specific religious community and their rituals with disdain and hatred. Furthermore, Mehmood’s assertion that the Kanwariyas are not “true devotees” is an arrogant overstep that seeks to police and delegitimise the spiritual authenticity of Hindu bhaktas. This is akin to the mocking of Hindu worship seen in supremacist ideologies that equate faith with backwardness or violence, ignoring the profound religiosity and discipline involved in such pilgrimages. In sum, Iqbal Mehmood’s comments fall squarely within the framework of hate speech against Hindus. They involve targeted verbal attacks on a sacred Hindu ritual, mockery of the devotees’ faith, and a clear demand to curtail Hindu religious expression — all of which amount to a hate crime driven by religious prejudice.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
