Muslim youth launches violent attack on devotees at Baba Bodheshwar Temple in Unnao

Case ID : e97a378 | Location : Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Fri, 29 September, 2023

Case ID : e97a378

Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, India

29 September, 2023

Muslim youth launches violent attack on devotees at Baba Bodheshwar Temple in Unnao

Attack not resulting in death

Attack against Hindu devotees

Attack on Hindu religious representations

Attack on Temples

Case Summary

At the historic Baba Bodheshwar Mahadev temple in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, a man named Javed launched a violent attack on devotees gathered at the temple on Friday, September 29th. Armed with a lathi, Javed stormed the temple premises during the auspicious occasion of Bhadrapad Purnima, brutally assaulting devotees and leaving eight of them injured. The attack occurred at noon, catching worshippers by surprise as they were engrossed in their prayers to the revered Shivling in the temple courtyard. Prompt police response led to Javed’s arrest, and he has been charged with attempted murder under section 307 of the Indian Penal Code based on the FIR filed by devotee Milan Singh.

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. The second primary category this case is being added to is 'attack on Hindu religious symbols'. The sub-category is 'attack on Hindu temple'. In Hinduism, a temple is the abode of the Deity. The Deity in the Temple is consecrated, thereby, making it a real, breathing entity. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the temple premises itself are sacred to Hindus since Hindus hold the faith that the entire Temple space is an amalgamation of the divine energy of the deity. Given the central significance of Temples in Hindu Dharma, any attack against a Hindu Temple or its peripheral premises is an attack on the faith itself and is born out of animosity towards the faith, of which, the Temple is a central tenet. Any manner of attack against a Temple and/or its premises would therefore be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. In this case, the Muslim youth barged into the temple and launched an unprovoked attack on the devotees while they were engrossed in their prayers. This clearly indicates that it was the religious identity that drove the animosity of the perpetrator against the Hindu victim. Such attacks often happen due to religious supremacist ideology and the punishment embedded in their religious doctrine for those who believe in Murti Puja - considered an unpardonable 'sin' in Islam - one worthy to be eradicated and erased. Given that the fundamental motivation behind these actions is contempt for the Hindu religion, this instance has been added to the tracker under the following category.