Hindu sentiments insulted: ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ slogans raised outside temple during Muslim religious procession
Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, India 
3 September, 2025
Case Summary
In Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, communal tensions erupted when the violent Islamist slogan “sar tan se juda” — a call for beheading — along with other Islamic slogans was raised in front of a Hindu temple by Muslim youths. These violent calls were made during a Muslim religious procession. According to reports, on the occasion of Eid-Milad-un-Nabi, a religious procession in the form of a bike rally was organised by Muslim politicians, Pamma Kasai, Firdaus Qureshi and Shahbaz Qureshi, who were associated with the Congress party. It included Muslim youths carrying different flags on two-wheelers along with a DJ setup. When the religious procession reached the Hanuman temple in the Teen Batti area, the procession was stopped, and Islamic slogans were raised. Muslim youths shouted “Nara-e-Takbir, Allahu Akbar” (Call to proclaim the greatness of Allah, Allah is great) and, most provocatively, “Gustakh-e-Rasool ki ek hi saza, sar tan se juda, sar tan se juda” (There is only one punishment for disrespecting the Prophet: beheading). The raising of the “sar tan se juda” slogan, which directly incites beheading and has been linked to previous killings of Hindus, was shouted openly outside the Hindu temple and in the presence of a large crowd. Video footage of the incident went viral on social media the next day, sparking outrage and a formal complaint by the Hindu Jagran Manch. Umesh Saraf of the organisation submitted the video to the Kotwali police station and demanded strict action against those responsible for disturbing the communal atmosphere. Acting on the complaint, the police registered an FIR against the Muslim politicians and others under sections 353, 351(2), 299 and 196 for conspiring to disturb peace and harmony. The police began examining CCTV footage to identify additional individuals who had raised the slogans, with the names of the accused to be added as they were identified. The investigation was ongoing, and the police stated that those who had raised the slogans would be arrested soon.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Attack on Hindu religious representations. The sub-category selected is- Abrahamic religious chanting outside Hindu religious places and/or during Hindu activities. In Hinduism, a temple is the abode of the Deity. The Deity in the Temple is consecrated, thereby, making it a real, breathing entity. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the temple premises itself are sacred to Hindus since Hindus hold the faith that the entire Temple space is an amalgamation of the divine energy of the deity. Similarly, religious activities hold deep significance for Hindus, as they are intricately connected to their spiritual, cultural, and social lives. These practices encompass rituals, festivals, prayers, and pilgrimages that celebrate and honour various deities, fostering a sense of spiritual connection, community, and cultural continuity. Given the central significance of Temples and religious activities in Hindu Dharma, any aggressive Abrahamic chanting outside Temples or during religious activities negates the divinity of the religious space because the chanting itself negates the existence of any other God other than the God of the Abrahamic faith. Such chanting is specifically done to negate the faith of Hindus, establish religious supremacy, intimidate the devotees and mock the faith. Besides temples, such Abrahamic chanting outside any Hindu place of worship or religious structure or during any religious activity has the same effect. Since such acts are rooted in an inherent religious supremacist mentality driven by religious animosity, such crimes would be considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. The other sub-category relevant here is - Attack on temples. In Hinduism, a temple is the abode of the Deity. The Deity in the Temple is consecrated, thereby, making it a real, breathing entity. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the temple premises itself are sacred to Hindus since Hindus hold the faith that the entire Temple space is an amalgamation of the divine energy of the deity. Given the central significance of Temples in Hindu Dharma, any attack against a Hindu Temple or its peripheral premises is an attack on the faith itself and is born out of animosity towards the faith, of which, the Temple is a central tenet. Any manner of attack against a Temple and/or its premises would therefore be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. The second primary category selected here is - Hate speech against Hindus. Within it, the sub-category selected is - Violent threats. Violent threats, explicit, implicit or implied, is the most dangerous form of hate speech since it goes beyond discriminatory and prejudicial language to express the intent of causing harm to an individual or a group of people based on their religious identity and faith. There could be several different kinds of threats that are issued to Hindus based on religious animosity. An explicit threat would mean the direct threat of violence towards an individual Hindu, a group of Hindus or Hindus at large. Physical violence, death threats, threats of destruction of property belonging to Hindus and threats of genocide would mean explicit threats against Hindus for their religious identity. Implicit threats may not be a direct threat but implied through the use of symbols of actions – for example – in the Nupur Sharma case, other than explicit threats, there were also implicit threats when Islamists took to the streets to burn and beat her effigies. It implies that they want to do the same to Nupur Sharma – thereby is considered an implicit threat. Violent threats can be delivered in person, through letters, phone calls, graffiti, or increasingly through social media and other online platforms. It would be important to understand that a threat – explicit or implicit, online or offline – to an individual who happens to be a Hindu does not qualify as a religiously motivated threat. Such a threat, while vile and dangerous, could be owing to non-religious reasons and/or personal animosity. To qualify as a religiously motivated threat, it would need to exhibit an indication that the individual is being targeted for religious reasons and/or owing to his/her religious identity as a Hindu. This case has been added to the tracker because Islamic slogans were raised in front of a Hindu temple during a Muslim religious procession. The Muslim religious procession halted near the Hindu temple, and Muslim youths raised slogans such as “Nara-e-Takbir, Allahu Akbar” and “Gustakh-e-Rasool ki ek hi saza, sar tan se juda, sar tan se juda.” These acts were deliberately designed to intimidate the Hindu community, threaten Hindu devotees, and symbolically assert control over the Hindu site, undermining the sanctity of the temple. A temple is an institution that holds immense spiritual importance in the Hindu faith. For Hindus, temples are not mere physical structures; they are sanctified spaces that embody the divine presence of Hindu deities. Acts of violence or disrespect against such spaces are not isolated incidents but reflect underlying hostility towards Hindu beliefs and identity. Such acts communicated the message that Hindu customs and faith had no value in that space, while signalling an attempt to establish Islamic superiority. This behaviour was not incidental or merely provocative; it reflected deliberate aggression intended to instil fear, enforce religious hostility, and convey Islamic supremacy over Hindus. “Gustakh-e-Nabi ki ek saja, sar tan se juda”, which translates to “There is only one punishment for being disrespectful to Rasool (Prophet Muhammad): beheading.” This is not an ordinary chant but an Islamist clarion call that has become a staple feature of violent protests, which have already claimed the lives of at least six Hindus, including Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur and Umesh Kolhe in Amravati, after Muslim fundamentalists, egged on by the dog-whistling of Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair against former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, resorted to violence for what they perceived as ‘blasphemy’ against Prophet Muhammad. Similarly, “Nara-e-Takbir, Allahu Akbar”, though in other contexts might be considered a general Islamic chant, was here deployed as a tool of intimidation to bolster the “sar tan se juda” cry and amplify the assertion of Islamic supremacy. Another point to note is that although the “sar tan se juda” slogan originated with a radical Islamist group in Pakistan, it has spread beyond its geographical origins and is now often used by Muslims in violent demonstrations in India. The slogan constitutes an explicit call for execution based on religious identity and communicates a direct threat not only to the targeted individual but also to the wider Hindu community, aiming to suppress dissent, silence expression, and instil communal fear. This tactic has been repeatedly employed by Islamist actors to enforce compliance, intimidate non-Muslims, and amplify religious hostility, often through fabricated blasphemy claims against non-Muslims, particularly Hindus, thereby legitimising violence under the guise of religious offence. The radicalised outcry is not merely a statement of disapproval; it is a demand for execution by beheading, based explicitly on religious identity. When this slogan is raised, it sends a clear and terrifying message not just to the individual targeted but also to anyone else who might share similar views or dare to express them. This tactic of intimidation aims to silence dissent and suppress freedom of expression, particularly in religious discourse. It seeks to instil fear in the broader community. Islamists have used this tactic to settle personal scores with Hindus by levelling fabricated charges of blasphemy against them, which creates outrage and paints a target on their backs. The underlying hatred and animosity toward non-Muslims, especially Hindus, drive such false accusations as a means to subjugate and victimise them. It is also important to note that the Hindu conception of God welcomes the idea of one supreme divinity manifesting in many forms, allowing individuals the freedom to worship according to their own beliefs and traditions. By contrast, the Abrahamic perspective asserts that there is only one God, who alone is worthy of worship, and condemns the beliefs of other faiths. It is evident, therefore, that the Muslim perpetrators’ actions stemmed from doctrinal hostility towards Hindus and their sacred spaces. The act of chanting violent Islamic slogans outside a Hindu temple constituted religiously motivated intimidation, hate speech, and an attack on the faith itself. This case has therefore been added to the hate crime database in the Hinduphobia Tracker.
Case Status
Complaint registered
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
