Hindu man abused, slapped and threatened with death for wearing a tilak in a 'Muslim area'

Case ID : ea34d54 | Location : Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Thu, 22 May, 2025

Case ID : ea34d54

Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, India

22 May, 2025

Hindu man abused, slapped and threatened with death for wearing a tilak in a 'Muslim area'

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Attacked for crossing 'Muslim area'

Case Summary

In the Mughalpura area of Javra town, a Hindu boy named Suraj Mahawar was abused, slapped and threatened to be shot by a Muslim youth for wearing a tilak in a 'Muslim area'. Suraj Mahawar is also a member of the Hindu outfit, Hindu Jagran Manch. The victim, who works at a shop in the Mughalpura area, was confronted by Asim Qureshi, who started abusing and arguing with him. Asim Qureshi slapped him and told him not to enter the Muslim area wearing a Tilak. The accused also threatened to shoot the Hindu victim, claiming that he had a pistol at home. This altercation was captured on CCTV footage, which surfaced online. The video showed Asim striking Mahawar, with two women also present during the dispute. Following the incident, members of various Hindu organisations gathered outside the local police station, demanding immediate action against the accused. In response to rising tensions and public unrest, a heavy police force was deployed in the area to maintain law and order. As of the date of writing this report, the accused was arrested by the police.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of: - Attack not resulting in death. Within it, the sub-category selected 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: - 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. This case has been added to the tracker due to it being a clear instance of religiously motivated hate crime. In this case, a Hindu man was abused and slapped solely because of his Hindu identity. The Hindu victim was attacked by a Muslim man merely for wearing a Tilak, which is a common symbol and an expression of the Hindu faith. He was explicitly told not to enter the Muslim area while wearing the Tilak. This portrays that in Muslim majority areas, any outward displays of Hinduism will be met with resistance or violence by the Muslims. The Hindu man did not do any action that could provoke the accused, instead, it was the accused who approached and abused the victim. This is on the lines of a pattern where Hindus are attacked by the Muslims just for their religious identity. This happens due to the religious animosity that exists in Islam against non-Muslims, Hindus in this case. The fact that the attacker openly declared that a Hindu should not wear a Tilak in a Muslim area highlights the Islamic supremacy and deep-rooted religious hatred that these radicals openly endorse towards Hindus. This form of religious intolerance contributes to an atmosphere of fear and marginalisation for Hindus in such areas and is a case of a hate crime motivated by religious identity.