Dalit Hindu families attacked and subjected to casteist abuse by a Muslim mob over a minor dispute
Patan, Gujarat, India 
14 May, 2025
Case Summary
In Bhilwan village of Saraswati taluka, during the wedding celebrations of a Hindu Dalit family, a Muslim mob of about 400-500 people attacked the family and the wedding guests, including sexually harassing multiple women. During the wedding, as a part of the wedding celebrations, a Garba event was organised near the local Mataji temple, where a DJ was being tested. A local Muslim woman named Hafiza Mansia objected to the DJ being played during the time of Azan in a rude manner. She also hurled casteist abuses at them and gathered a mob of about 400-500 people to attack them. The Muslim mob, including both men and women, launched a violent attack on the Dalit family and the wedding guests using iron pipes, sticks, and stones. According to the victim's family, the attackers used caste based slurs and physically assaulted men, women, and children. Eight individuals were injured in the attack, and they also stated that many of the women were molested by the Muslim men, including stealing their jewellery. The mob also vandalised the pavilion in front of the temple and issued threats such as "These Hindus will not improve, break their hands and legs, rob the honour of their women." The attack escalated to the point that the Hindu families were forced to seek shelter in their homes, but the Muslim mob followed and continued the assault. The Hindu family stated that the attack was not solely due to the over DJ being played, instead it was a 15-year-old dispute over a temple being built by the Hindu Dalit community in the village. The temple had faced constant opposition from the Muslim community in the village even after a court ruling in favour of the Hindu community. Therefore, the victims stated that the attack was a reaction to the Garba event being organised near the temple, which the Muslim community viewed as a challenge to their authority. As of the date of writing this report, the police registered a case against 14 individuals under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and they have been taken into custody. The 14 individuals named in the FIR are Hafija Imtiyaz Mansiya, Asif Badarpura, Mohammad alias Tatti Amin Madhia, Abdul Wahid Nurmohammad Mansiya, Javed Bashir Marediya, Umar alias Chotli Rahim Madhia, Ovesh alias Parod Umar Madhia, Tuliyo Umar Madhia, Saeed Akbar, Mohammad Javed Marediya, Sabeda Abdul Wahid Madhia, Imtiyaz Amin Jiva, Asfaq Umar, and Mohammad Saeed Charoliya.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under multiple categories. The first primary category selected here is: - Attack on Hindu religious representations. Within it, 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. The second primary category selected here is: - Hate speech against Hindus. Within it, the sub-category selected is: - Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith. Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. The third primary category selected here is: - Attack not resulting in death. Within it, the sub-category selected here is: - Attacked for Hindu identity. In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime under this category. The other sub-category relevant here is: - Communal clash/attack. 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. This case has been added to the tracker due to its clear instance of religiously motivated hate crime. The Dalit Hindu family and their wedding guests were violently attacked by a Muslim mob of approximately 400–500 individuals. It is stated that the dispute started over playing DJ, near the temple for the Garba event, over which the Muslim woman Hafiza Mansia objected. In a rude and condescending way, Hafiza asked why DJ was played during the time of Azan and hurled casteist abuses at them. She then mobilised a large mob, who were armed, and started violently attacking the guest and the Dalit family. The mob also vandalised the pavilion in front of the Hindu temple. The fact that a mob of 400-500 people gathered over a minor DJ dispute shows that the DJ was just an excuse, instead, they were already armed and ready for the attack in retaliation against the Hindu Dalit community for building a temple there. The consistent opposition to the temple, even after a court ruling in favour of its construction, underscores the underlying religious animosity that Muslims have towards Hindus and their beliefs. Therefore, the attack reflects a deep-seated hostility not only towards the Dalit Hindu community but also towards Hindu religious expressions. Importantly, the Garba-Raas event was not merely a cultural gathering, but it is also a religious and devotional celebration dedicated to Goddess Amba, making it an integral part of Hindu religious practice, especially in Gujarat. Objecting to a Hindu religious event just because it coincides with the Azan and using that objection to justify the violence demonstrates blatant religious intolerance. The idea that a Hindu religious event, Garba, holds less religious value and should be shut down because it inconveniences the Muslim community or coincides with Azan is sheer religious bigotry. This sense of entitlement and superiority not only reflects deep-seated prejudice but also highlights an attempt to assert religious dominance. Further, as per the details of the case, casteist abuses were also hurled in this case. It can be argued that a caste-specific slur is aimed at her micro identity of belonging to the Dalit section of the Hindu community and not her Hindu identity itself. However, as far as Abrahamic religions are concerned, the micro identities of caste, region, and language are secondary. It is the religious identity that drives the animosity of the perpetrator against the Hindu victim. In this case, while the Muslim woman hurled caste abuses at the victims, the animosity was driven by his animosity towards Hinduism and Hindus. This case demonstrates textbook characteristics of an anti-Hindu hate crime as the accused opposed temple construction, used casteist slurs, desecrated the religious premises, and violently suppressed Hindu religious expression. Therefore, it has been rightly categorised as a Hindu hate crime.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 10 to 100
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
