Muslim youths attack Hindu family in Gwalior for performing Ganesh Aarti

Case ID : e97a2c4 | Location : Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Mon, 18 September, 2023

Case ID : e97a2c4

Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India

18 September, 2023

Muslim youths attack Hindu family in Gwalior for performing Ganesh Aarti

Attack not resulting in death

Attack against Hindu devotees

Case Summary

In Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, a Hindu family was brutally attacked while performing the ‘aarti’ of Lord Ganesh. The assailants in this incident were their neighbours, Salman and Chhotu Khan, who violently targeted the family during their bhajans and aarti. The culprits used lathis and a sword in this attack. As a result of this assault, several members of the Hindu family sustained serious injuries. This distressing event occurred on 21st September 2023. In what transpired, Jitendra Yadav, son of Bharat Singh Yadav installed an idol of Lord Ganesh in the locality. Salman and Chhotu from the neighbourhood were against the celebration. This launched the attack as soon as Jitendra’s mother Urmila Yadav turned on the sound system to perform aarti at the Ganesh pandal. The accused used offensive language in proximity to the pandal, prompting objections from those present during the aarti. In response to being confronted about their language, Salman Khan and Chhotu Khan issued threats to Jitendra Yadav. They also abused the worshippers and insisted on switching off the sound system. The assailants hit Jitendra in the head with a sword. Jitendra’s mother Urmila Yadav, neighbour Jaswant Khatik, and others who came to his rescue were also hurt in the attack.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

Hindu devotees are a few of the easiest targets of religiously motivated hate crimes because during the festival/procession/puja etc, for non-Hindus it is easy to profile their victims on the basis of religion. Hindu devotees come under attack on several occasions by individual non-Hindus or mobs of non-Hindus owing to their animosity against Hinduism, its symbols and tradition/practices. There are several instances of Hindu devotees being attacked while they worship in temples or temporary religious structures, during religious processions, doing bhajan/kirtan/puja in their own homes, in the residential society etc. These attacks are perpetrated by non-Hindus primarily because of their animosity towards Hindus and their faith. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, there are two elements that make these hate crimes. First, the Hindus who come under attack are attacked violently while indulging in religious activity. Whether they are in a place of worship or not is immaterial to the crime. When individuals are attacked while indulging in religious practices, the attack in itself is a hindrance to their freedom to practice religion and therefore constitutes a hate crime. Secondly, religious supremacist doctrines and ideologies deem religious practices of Hindus to be offensive ab initio since they are considered “sinful” by these ideologies, worthy to be annihilated by force or coercion. Driven by these religious supremacist ideologies and doctrines, the attacks against Hindu devotees stem from intrinsic animosity towards Hinduism. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, it develops into a religiously motivated crime during the course of the violence. Since these attacks stem from animosity towards Hindus and Hinduism, they are considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. In this case, the Muslim youths launched a vicious attack on Hindus who were performing Ganesh aarti, a devotional song sung to express devotion and seek blessings from Lord Ganesha, one of the most revered deities in Hinduism. The Muslim perpetrators here were irked when the Hindu devotees turned on the sound system to perform the aarti. The initial trigger of the violence itself was religious in nature, in this case, since the Muslim mob attacked the Hindu devotees owing to them celebrating their religious festival with music. Such unprovoked attacks stem from religious intolerance and reflect a lack of respect for religious freedom and the rights of individuals to practice their faith. Due to the perpetrator's obvious contempt for the victim's faith, this case qualifies for documentation under this hate tracker.