Hindu students humiliated and restricted from chanting Gayatri Mantra during assembly
Biaora, Madhya Pradesh, India 
26 July, 2023
Case Summary
In Madhya Pradesh's Biaora city, students at CM Rise School were humiliated and prevented from chanting the Gayatri Mantra during the school assembly. A video of the incident went viral, showing teacher Dushyant Rana berating the students for chanting the mantra. The Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) investigated the matter after receiving notice and questioned Rana, who claimed the mantra was only supposed to be chanted once a week for schedule purposes. The SDM later ordered daily chanting of the Gayatri Mantra at the school. Local Hindu groups demanded action against the school and teachers, while Rana insisted he had no intention to offend Hindu sentiments. ABVP and other Hindu organisations threatened protests if no action was taken.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
As per case specifics, it has been placed under the sub-category- '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. In this case, Hindu students were subjected to harassment and insult for chanting the Gayatri Mantra during the school assembly. The Gayatri Mantra is one of the most sacred hymns in Hinduism, and chanting it is a form of religious expression. It is a clear expression of one's Hindu identity. It reflects the cultural and religious values and signifies respect for Hindu traditions. Reprimanding someone for their religious expression and identity is a form of discrimination. It violates one's fundamental right to freedom of religion, which includes the right to express one's religious beliefs openly. It also sends a message of intolerance and exclusion to the broader community. Reprimanding and harassing someone or subjecting them to violence due to their religious beliefs or expression can be classified as a hate crime because the motivation behind the act is religious bias, which in this case was displayed by the authorities of the school which is why this case has been included in the hate tracker.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Others
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
