Attack on Hindu religious beliefs: Muslim man from Assam denigrates revered Hindu deity on social media
Lakhimpur, Assam, India 
8 June, 2023
Case Summary
In Lakhimpur, Assam, derogatory remarks targeting the revered Hindu deity, Lord Ram, were made by a Muslim man named Sirajul Farhad. According to media reports, the accused, Sirajul Farhad, was taken into custody by the Lakhimpur District Police in Assam for making disparaging comments about Lord Ram on social media. In his Instagram post, the screenshot of which went viral, Farhad described himself as a ‘proud Muslim’ and called Lord Ram a terrorist. He added laughing emojis to the post in an apparent attempt to mock Lord Ram, one of the most revered deities in Hinduism. After Farhad’s offensive post went viral, social media users began demanding his arrest. They accused him of insulting the religious sentiments of Hindus and attempting to provoke communal tension. As a result, the Assam Director General of Police, Gyanendra Pratap Singh, took cognisance of the matter on 9th June 2023 and directed the Lakhimpur Police to take immediate action against the accused, following which Sirajul Farhad was arrested.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Hate Speech against Hindus. 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. In this case, the accused, Sirajul Farhad, denigrated Lord Ram, one of the most revered deities in Hinduism, who embodies righteousness, virtue, and dharma for millions of Hindus across the world. Lord Ram is not merely a religious figure but a symbol of moral conduct, devotion, and justice central to the Hindu faith and cultural identity. By mocking Lord Ram and referring to him with offensive language, the accused displayed deep-seated religious animosity towards the Hindu community. Any attempt to abuse, ridicule, or mock a deity held sacred by an entire faith constitutes a direct and deliberate instance of anti-Hindu hate speech, intended to provoke and wound religious sentiments. Calling a revered Hindu deity a terrorist is an act of extreme intolerance and hostility that cannot be dismissed as casual speech. The comparison of Lord Ram, who represents truth and virtue, with an image associated with violence and criminality, is an unmistakable expression of contempt. Such language reveals the accused’s entrenched prejudice and hatred towards Hindu beliefs and traditions, and shows a calculated effort to trivialise and insult what is sacred to a large and peaceful community. The accused further described himself as a “proud Muslim” while simultaneously abusing Lord Ram. This juxtaposition reflects a deliberate assertion of religious superiority, using his religious identity as a tool to demean and mock another religion’s deity. It demonstrates that the act was not an isolated insult but a conscious attempt to assert Islamic supremacy and to ridicule Hindu faith and its followers. In the broader digital context, social media platforms have witnessed numerous such instances of targeted abuse directed at Hindu gods, goddesses, scriptures, and community figures through offensive memes, remarks, and posts. This pattern of online hostility forms part of a growing phenomenon of Hinduphobia on digital platforms, and this case stands as a troubling example of that trend. Given that this act meets the recognised parameters of religiously motivated hate speech — namely, the public denigration of a faith and its deities with intent to insult, provoke, and incite disharmony — this case has been added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records the dates of incidents based on when the crime actually occurs, rather than when it is reported by the media. In this case, media reports have not specified the exact date when the accused made the denigrating remarks against Lord Ram. However, the only date mentioned in the available reports is 9th June 2023, which is when the Assam Director General of Police, Gyanendra Pratap Singh, took cognisance of the matter and directed the Lakhimpur Police to take action. Therefore, for the purpose of documentation, 9th June 2023 is recorded as the indicative date of the incident.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
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