Hindu devotees attacked with weapons during Ram Navami puja at the temple
Burhanpur, Madhya Pradesh, India 
5 April, 2025
Case Summary
On the occasion of Ram Navami, chaos broke out near the Jhulelal temple in the Sindhi Colony of Burhanpur when a group of miscreants attacked worshippers with knives and other weapons. Men and women of the Sindhi community, who had gathered for prayers, were assaulted. The sudden violence disrupted the religious celebration and left several community members injured. In response to the attack, hundreds of members from the Sindhi community gathered at the collectorate to express their outrage. They submitted a memorandum to the Superintendent of Police and the District Collector, demanding immediate action. According to victims Mukesh Gurubakshani and Dinesh Gurubakshani, the attack occurred during rituals being performed to welcome the Ram Navami and Hanuman temple bike rally. A group of six young men from a Muslim community, residing behind the Lalbagh railway station, arrived at the temple and initiated the assault without provocation. The Sindhi community called for the prompt arrest of those involved and urged the authorities to take firm measures to prevent such incidents in the future. They warned that if no decisive action is taken, the community will be forced to launch a protest. The attack, carried out in the midst of a peaceful religious gathering, heightened communal tension and raised serious concerns about the safety of Hindu devotees during festivals.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of- Attack not resulting in death. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Attack against Hindu devotees. 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 other primary category relevant here is- Attack on Hindu religious representations. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Attack on Temples. 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. This case has been documented as a hate crime due to the religiously motivated attack on Hindu devotees during a sacred observance. The victims were peacefully engaged in Ram Navami celebrations and temple worship when they were violently assaulted with weapons. The attackers specifically targeted the gathering of worshippers at the Jhulelal temple, a Hindu place of worship, indicating that the motive stemmed from hostility towards the religious activity and identity of the devotees. The fact that the violence occurred in the context of a Hindu festival, where the religious nature of the gathering was publicly known, suggests that the attackers were driven by animosity towards the Hindu faith and its symbols. Furthermore, the temple premises themselves were central to the attack. Any violence committed in or around such a space is an assault on the religious sentiments of the community and constitutes a direct attack on their faith. The coordinated nature of the assault, combined with the targeting of a religious festival, temple premises, and Hindu worshippers, establishes this incident as a religiously motivated hate crime. It reflects both an attempt to disrupt Hindu religious practice and an expression of religious supremacist ideology against Hinduism.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
