Case Summary

In the Kunda Kotwali area of Uttar Pradesh, a Kalash Yatra was obstructed in front of a mosque by a Muslim mob. The procession was passing through a Muslim area, and the Muslim mob attempted to stop it. When Hindu devotees resisted, the Muslims issued death threats. Hinduphobia Tracker has a copy of the FIR. It was filed by a Hindu individual named Ramnavaj. According to the FIR, a Shiv Baraat procession was taken out, passing through four temples in the area. As soon as it reached Qazipur Ghulam Jafar village, members of the Muslim community of Qazipur Ghulam Jafar gathered on the road with sticks and rods. They hurled filthy abuses and said, “Shut the DJ or else we won’t let you go ahead". Muslim individuals stopped the DJ and broke the wire and canopy. When Hindus resisted, the Muslims issued death threats. It is important to mention that Dainik Bhaskar referred to the area in which the standoff occurred as a Muslim locality. The Hindus informed the police by calling 112. The police arrived and managed to bring the situation under control. After mediating between the groups, the police allowed the Kalash Yatra to proceed. Kunda Kotwali police registered a case against five identified members of the Muslim community and 20–25 unidentified individuals. According to Inspector Avan Dixit, the police acted immediately to handle the situation and maintain law and order.

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Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker un the primary category of - Attack resulting in death. The sub-category selected 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 other 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 sub-category selected is - Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim.. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. The other sub-category selected 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 incident, a group of Muslims stopped the Kalash Yatra or Shiv Barat as it was going past a mosque. This led to a heated exchange of words. The Yatra itself is a Hindu religious event, where people walk in a group to show devotion. The confrontation didn’t happen randomly — it took place right when the procession reached mosque in a Muslim locality. People from the Muslim side gathered with sticks and rods and told the organisers to stop the DJ music being played. They used harsh language too. This kind of interference in a religious procession reflects intolerance towards the display of Hindu religious practices. The intention wasn’t to target one or two people personally but to interrupt a community's right to show their beliefs in public. In this case, the fact that the Muslim mob took offence to the Shiv Baraat procession passing through an area they consider a "Muslim locality" reveals a troubling sense of Islamic supremacy held by the attackers. The perpetrators viewed the predominantly Muslim-occupied Qazipur Ghulam Jafar village as an exclusive zone where non-Muslims, particularly Hindus, were unwelcome. This sense of entitlement and superiority reflects deep-seated prejudice and an attempt to assert religious dominance over public spaces. The obstruction of the Kalash Yatra, the threats issued, and the violence directed at the Hindu devotees demonstrate a supremacist mindset rooted in exclusion, intolerance, and religious animosity. This incident highlights how Islamist elements sought to dictate the movement of Hindus through their community, making this case a clear example for inclusion in a hate tracker. The people walking in the Yatra were devotees, taking part in a religious practice that involves honouring Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. The reason they were attacked was that they were clearly seen performing a Hindu religious act. When some among them tried to stop the disruption, they were threatened with being killed. This again shows the kind of aggression coming from religious hostility. The attack wasn’t just due to a personal argument—it was planned and directed at a public event involving Hindu worship. The FIR and media reports support this view, making it clear that this case involves a religiously motivated hate crime. Disclaimer: In the FIR, there are 5 identified individuals and 20–25 unidentified individuals. It does not provide an exact number. For documentation purposes, we have recorded the maximum count of 30 perpetrators in the database.