Ganpati Visarjan procession passing through Muslim dominated area attacked with acid

Case ID : e97a132 | Location : Mothihari, Bihar, India | Date of Incident : Thu, 28 September, 2023

Case ID : e97a132

Mothihari, Bihar, India

28 September, 2023

Ganpati Visarjan procession passing through Muslim dominated area attacked with acid

Attack not resulting in death

Attack on religious procession

Attacked for crossing 'Muslim area'

Case Summary

A chaotic incident occurred during the Ganpati Visarjan procession in Motihari, Bihar. In the midst of the procession, unidentified individuals hurled acid at participants, resulting in injuries to three individuals. The procession of Ganpati Visarjan was taken out in the city. As soon as it left Dwardevi Chowk and reached Madhuban Cantonment Chowk on Meena Bazar main road, some miscreants threw acid at the procession. Meena Bazar is a Muslim-dominated area of the city. An acid-like liquid was found lying on the road. Following the acid attack, participants of the Ganpati Visarjan procession took a stand, demanding the swift apprehension of those responsible. The incident led to a blockage of Madhuban Cantonment Chowk in Motihari for approximately an hour. Subsequently, several local BJP leaders arrived at the scene and encouraged the Ganpati Visarjan procession to continue. After this, the idol was immersed with the help of the police. According to reports, three individuals were injured in the acid attack.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This particular case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under two subcategories of the prime category 'Attack not resulting in death' because of the various distinct components that demonstrate the perpetrator's bias against the Hindu faith and their deliberate attempt to harm the Hindus. The first sub-category under 'Attack not resulting in death' relevant in this case is 'Attack on religious procession'. The outward celebration and display of religious symbols in an intrinsic part of Hinduism. Religious processions on various festivals are age-old traditions and a way to manifest faith and form a part of the religious practices of Hindus. On several occasions, such religious processions come under attack by non-Hindu mobs, in a manifestation of their animosity towards Hinduism and their practices. The reasons cited for such violent attacks are many and range from crossing a non-Hindu resident-dominated area to playing loud music, crossing from an area where there is a religious structure of another faith etc. The violent attacks are triggered by the outward display of religiosity by Hindus. The attacks are mainly a manifestation of religious supremacist doctrine which believes that idolatry, essentially the Hindu faith, is one that deserves to be annihilated since the very tenets of Hinduism, its practices and traditions are considered a sin in those doctrines. Since these attacks emanate from intrinsic and doctrinal animosity towards Hindus and Hinduism, it is considered a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. The second sub-category relevant here is, Attacked for crossing 'Muslim area'. One of the reasons that Hindus get attacked unprovoked specifically by Islamists is for crossing ‘Muslim areas’. Essentially, Muslim mobs often attack Hindus crossing or present in certain areas which have a majority Muslim population. It has often been cited as one of the reasons to blame Hindus for attacks against themselves, signalling that Hindus displaying religious symbols, taking our religious processions or crossing any area which is dominated by Muslim residents is a provocation in and of itself. These areas are mostly ghettoized areas where mobs mobilize quickly to attack Hindus for a variety of reasons like playing music during a religious procession, crossing a mosque, wearing a tilak or any other religious symbol in a Muslim-dominated area, praying at a local temple in that area etc. There have been cases where the few local Hindus of that area have been attacked on their way to the Temple for prayers as well, simply because the area is considered a Muslim-dominated area. Several times, it is entirely possible that the immediate trigger for the violence against Hindus was non-religious in nature, however, the violence became religiously motivated in nature because the area was Muslim dominated and the residents on the whole harboured animosity towards Hindus, evidenced from the actions of the mob, the slogans, and the nature of the attack. Such crimes are motivated by the religious identity of the victims and are therefore classified as hate crimes under this category. In this instance, some unknown miscreants threw an acid-like substance on a Hindu religious procession while it was going through an area they deemed to be Muslim because it was primarily populated by members of their religion. Such derogatory actions are only possible if those who commit them have a great deal of contempt for Hinduism. Further, it is important to mention here that though the last update was that the miscreants were unknown, regardless, the action stemmed out of hatred against Hinduism and resulted in the attack on a Hindu religious procession and would therefore be considered a religiously motivated hate crime.