Durga Puja attacked by Muslim mob as it passed a mosque because of music, idol desecrated as mob pelted stones

Case ID : e97a40a | Location : Saran, Bihar, India | Date of Incident : Thu, 26 October, 2023

Case ID : e97a40a

Saran, Bihar, India

26 October, 2023

Durga Puja attacked by Muslim mob as it passed a mosque because of music, idol desecrated as mob pelted stones

Attack not resulting in death

Attack on religious procession

Communal clash/attack

Attack against Hindu devotees

Attacked for crossing 'Muslim area'

Attack on Hindu religious representations

Desecration of Hindu religious symbol

Case Summary

A Durga puja procession was attacked in Bihar’s Saran district by members of the Muslim community. The procession was attacked with stones while it was passing through a minority-dominated area in the New Bazar locality. The idol of Goddess Durga was damaged. Six people were injured in the attack. According to eyewitnesses, a group of miscreants began throwing stones at the procession, damaging the idol. In response, some youth pelted stones at nearby houses leading to a clash between two communities. It started with a heated exchange of words between two communities over a trivial issue. Saran Superintendent of Police (SP) Dr Gaurav Mangla said that preliminary inquiry reveals that the Durga immersion procession was attacked as it was passing in front of a mosque. The SP added, “They did not stop the music and thus, an enraged community started pelting stones at the procession. The procession is said to be unlicensed.” Another senior official reportedly said that the attack might not have been spontaneous and the particular community may have been prepared with stones from before, in anticipation of the procession.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This particular case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under two prime categories of the hate tracker, namely, 'attack not resulting in death' and 'attack on Hindu religious symbols' as per the case details. Because of the various distinct components that demonstrate the perpetrator's bias against the Hindu faith and their deliberate attempt to harm the Hindus, two subcategories under the prime category 'Attack not resulting in death' have been chosen here. 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 under the same prime category is, 'communal clash'. Communal clash is a form of collective violence that involves clashes between groups belonging to different religious identities. For a communal clash between Hindus and non-Hindus to qualify as a religiously motivated hate crime, the trigger of the violence itself would have to be anti-Hindu in essence. For example, if there is a Hindu religious procession that comes under attack from a non-Hindu mob and after the initial attack, Hindus retaliate in self-defence, leading to a communal clash between the two religious communities. While at a later stage, both communities are involved in the clash/violence, the initial trigger of the violence was by the non-Hindu mob against the Hindus and therefore, it could safely be termed as an anti-Hindu violence. Further, the trigger would also have to be religiously motivated. In the cited example, the attack by the non-Hindu mob was against religious processions and therefore, can be concluded to be religiously motivated. In some cases, the trigger may be non-religious, however, it develops into religious violence against Hindus at a later stage. In such cases too, the foundational animosity towards Hindus becomes the motivating factor of the crime and therefore, it would be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus under this category. The second prime category relevant to the case is 'attack on Hindu religious symbol' under which the sub-category selected here is, 'Desecration of Hindu religious symbol' Icons and symbols or a religious representation of a spiritual ideal are widely revered in Hinduism. Iconography is of vital significance in the Hindu milieu. It helps connect people’s spiritual beliefs with the real world. Iconography within the Hindu faith takes several shapes and forms. Murtis are of most significance to Hindus, to which daily rituals, prayers and offerings are done. Besides the murtis, there are several other symbols which have deep significance in the Hindu faith – the Om and Swastika for example. Since these Hindu religious symbols hold paramount importance in Hinduism, any desecration of symbols, icons, murtis, religious representations and manifestations, is driven by animosity towards the faith itself which manifests itself through these murtis, icons and symbols. Therefore, any desecration of these Hindu religious symbols and representations is considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. Another sub-category the case is being added to 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, the Hindus participating in a religious procession being taken out on the festival of Navratri, a major Hindu festival dedicated to the worship of the goddess Durga, were brutally attacked by a group of Muslims who took offence by the procession passing through an area which they consider to be a Muslim area as it is predominantly occupied by people of their community. They also took offence to Hindus playing music to celebrate their festival. It is important to note that there was no initial provocation from the Hindu side. In fact, it was the Islamists who were offended by the Hindus celebrating their festival, pelted stones at the Hindu devotees and also vandalised the idol of Goddess Durga. The other concerning fact here is that the police confirmed that the attack was not spontaneous but pre-planned, which means that the people of the Muslim community had orchestrated the attack on the Hindus in advance. 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.