Hindu woman attacked with anti-Brahmin jibes for sharing picture of her son's Upanayana

Case ID : f5a747d | Location : India | Date of Incident : Mon, 24 April, 2023

Case ID : f5a747d

India

24 April, 2023

Hindu woman attacked with anti-Brahmin jibes for sharing picture of her son's Upanayana

Hate speech against Hindus

Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith

Case Summary

On April 25, 2023, Rupa Murthy, an RSS-BJP supporter, shared a photograph of the Upanayana ceremony of her son Kishan that was performed on the auspicious day of Shankara Jayanti last year. She wrote, “Last year, on this auspicious day of Shankara Jayanti, we performed the Upanayana ceremony of our son Kishan. Please bless him.” Enraged, Nitin Meshram, the lawyer who was responsible for making sure a 4-year-old child's rapist received a life sentence rather than the death penalty, demanded legal action against Murthy and her family. "The moment someone is declared Brahmin, the varna and caste hierarchy begins to reincarnate, which violates the principle of equality under Article 14", he tweeted. A Twitter user AbbakkaHypatia said, “mentally traumatising your own children. No one can do it like brahmins.” Author and member of the Editors Guild Dilip Mandal said, “Why is that boy wearing such strange clothes? He seems unhappy.” The Ambedkarites and liberals launched an attack against Murthy and her son. Anti-Brahmin hate found its way into the mother's mentions for sharing a happy moment of her son's Janeu ceremony.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the hate tracker under the prime category- Hate speech against Hindus. The sub-category chosen under this 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 Upanayana is a sacred rite of passage in Hinduism, symbolizing spiritual growth and learning. By attacking the ceremony and making derogatory remarks about the family's practices, the leftist-liberal cabal and those who call themselves Ambedkarites not only insulted the religious and cultural significance of this ritual but also perpetuated a narrative of intolerance toward Hindu traditions. Further, by criticism of the boy’s attire, they revealed an inherent bias and disrespect for Hindu rituals. Such attacks go beyond individual criticism and target an entire religious community’s practices, reflecting a broader disdain for Hindu customs and values. This form of anti-Brahmin rhetoric undermines the religious freedom and dignity of Hindus. The intent behind such actions could only possibly be that of provoking Hindus and showing disrespect towards their faith. In defence, Ambedkarites and 'liberals' often cite their opposition to 'Brahmanism', claiming that they are not against Hinduism itself, but Brahminism. However, it has been proved that "Brahminism" is merely a euphemism to express their opposition to Hinduism itself. This is evidenced by the fact that Islamists, Khalistanis, Christians, Ambedkarites and all hues of entities that harbour animosity towards Hindus have been known to hurl slurs and indulge in the dehumanisation of various sections of Hindus and their practices, not just Brahmins. Muslims, for example, have often attacked the macro identity of Hindus and the micro identities of various groups within the Hindu hold – including Dalits, Brahmins, Vaishyas and Rajputs. There are documented cases where Muslims have hurled anti-Dalit caste slurs, called Brahmins ‘beggars’, Vaishyas ‘greedy’ and Rajputs ‘cowards’. There are also documented cases where Hindus, regardless of their micro identities have been physically attacked and assaulted based on their religious identities – while the slurs have been caste specific. Khalistanis as well are known to demonise all sections of the Hindu community with similar slurs. Ambedkarite radicals too have been known to demonise all sections of the Hindu community. Further, their radical slurs and violent rhetoric against a specific section of Hindus demonises and dehumanises that section, legitimising and encouraging physical violence against them for their religious identity. For that reason, this case is being added to the hate crime database. Since such callous behaviour can only stem from a profound contempt for the Hindu religion, this case deserves to be recorded in this hate tracker.