Hindu student thrashed by Christian Missionary School principal for sporting tilak
Bhilwara, Rajasthan, India 
13 July, 2023
Case Summary
A Hindu student in Bhilwara City, Rajasthan, faced disciplinary action and physical punishment at St. Anselm School for applying a tilak on his forehead on July 14, 2023. Kishan Mali, the student, was reprimanded by the principal, who slapped him and instructed him to stand outside his office. Following the incident, Kishan's family members and Hindu organisations protested outside the school, demanding an apology. The principal eventually apologised, resolving the situation. Kishan and his family members asserted mistreatment, stating that the principal called for Kishan's transfer certificate due to the tilak. The principal denied the allegations but acknowledged the apology. The ABVP warned of school closure if similar incidents recurred in the future.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The first sub-category relevant in this case is 'Restriction on expression of Hindu identity' under the prime category, 'Restriction/ban on Hindu practices' of the hate tracker. 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. The second sub-category relevant in this case is 'Attacked for Hindu identity' under the prime category, 'Attack not resulting in death' of the hate tracker. In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime under this category. Here, the Hindu student faced disciplinary action and physical punishment for sporting a Tilak at the Christian Missionary school he was studying in. In Hinduism, the Tilak holds deep religious, cultural, and spiritual significance. It symbolizes protection, blessings, unity, and commitment to spiritual and ethical principles. Its use across various rituals and ceremonies underscores its importance in the Hindu way of life and by forcefully removing the tilak, the Missionary school insulted the Hindu faith and displayed their deep disdain towards Hinduism. Furthermore, the Hindu student was physically assaulted for openly displaying his Hindu identity. This type of attack involves not just physical violence but also the intent to demean or suppress the student's religious identity, which is a clear violation of their right to freely express their faith. Though the principal of the school did apologise after facing protests from the victim's family members and Hindu organisations, the assault was motivated by prejudice against the victim's Hindu identity, indicating a deep-seated intolerance and animosity the principal of the Christian Missionary school harboured against the Hindu faith. Since the central motivation, in this case, is religion, this case has been added as a hate crime. Another primary category that the case is being added to is 'Predatory Proselytisation' under the sub category 'Proselytisation by brainwashing, grooming, manipulation or subtle indoctrination'. 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 case reveals that the Hindu victims were minors, indicating a lack of consent and genuine change of conscience. 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 matured, making them more vulnerable to influence and less capable of critically evaluating information. Moreover, subtle manipulation tactics can be difficult to detect, especially when employed by trusted authority figures in positions of influence. This makes it challenging for parents, to identify and address instances of religious manipulation in schools. In this case, the accused, teachers in a position of trust, demonstrated a clear animosity towards Hinduism by indulging in violence against the minor students for sporting tilak - a manifestation and expression of his Hindu identity. The teachers essentially covertly tried to push the children towards Christianity by distancing them from their religion and practices. This sort of harassment is rooted in animosity towards the victim’s religious identity and is therefore documented as a religiously motivated hate crime in this Hindu hate tracker.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 1
Age Group
- Minor 1
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Complaint not filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
