Hindu students warned against performing Saraswati Puja by Muslim leader, threatened with rape and murder

Case ID : f664501 | Location : Kolkata, West Bengal, India | Date of Incident : Wed, 29 January, 2025
Case ID : f664501
location Kolkata, West Bengal, India
date 29 January, 2025
Hindu students warned against performing Saraswati Puja by Muslim leader, threatened with rape and murder
Restriction/ban on Hindu practices
Restriction on expression of Hindu identity
Administration restricting religious practice
Hate speech against Hindus
Violent threats

Case Summary

Hindu students at Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri Law College in Kolkata were threatened by former student Sabbir Ali, who warned them against organising Saraswati Puja. He also threatened the college principal, Pankaj Roy, and some female students. A girl student filed a written complaint at Charu Market Police Station, stating that Sabbir Ali had threatened her with rape and murder. The principal confirmed that Sabbir and his associates had been demanding money and making false accusations against the college administration. He added that despite not being a current student, he was interfering in college affairs and had previously harassed him. One of the female students stated that Sabbir Ali insisted on being paid, warning that if his demands were not met, he would not allow Saraswati Puja to take place. The incident sparked outrage among students, who demanded action against the threats and intimidation.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added under two prime categories of the tracker. The first is- Restriction/ban on Hindu practices. Under this, the first sub-category selected is- Restriction on expression of Hindu identity. An example of the state-affected prejudicial and targeted orders against the Hindu community would be a government denying the right of a Hindu or a group of Hindus to hold a religious procession owing to the animosity of non-Hindu groups. Denial of the religious right of the Hindus to assuage the non-Hindu group which harbours animosity to a point where it could lead to violence against Hindus is not only a failure of law and order but is a prejudicial order against Hindus, denying them their fundamental rights to express their religious identity. An example of a hate crime against Hindus by a non-Hindu would be a non-Hindu institution forcing its Hindu employees to abandon religious symbols that a Hindu would wear as an expression of faith owing to inherent prejudice against the faith professed by the victim or a non-Hindu group of people restricting a Hindu group from constructing a place of worship simply because the demography of the area in which the temple is being built is dominated by non-Hindus. Such actions are driven by religious animosity and/or prejudice against Hindus and their faith and would therefore be categorized as a hate crime. The second sub-category selected is- Administration restricting religious practice. In several cases, it is seen that the administration/state disallows a religious practice owing to prejudicial orders and concerns, targeted specifically against the Hindu community. Such restriction/prohibition would be considered documented as a hate crime because the orders are often a result of pressure by groups that harbour animosity towards Hinduism and Hindus. Often, the restriction by the authorities is driven by bias, hostility, or prejudice against the specific community being stopped from holding a religious practice, by pressure groups that harbour animosity towards Hindus, intrinsic to their faith. Since practices are intrinsic to the faith of the Hindus, such prejudicial restriction is considered a curtailing of the fundamental rights of the Hindu community. In several cases, for example, the authorities ban a Hindu religious practice due to pressure from groups opposed to the religion. In other instances the prohibition is selectively enforced against one religious group (Hindus) while others are allowed to proceed. There are still other cases where the authorities preemptively restrict a religious practice by Hindus because those who hold animosity towards Hindus may get “provoked” leading to them being violent, thereby assuaging the sentiments of those who hold animosity towards Hindus by curtailing the religious rights of Hindus. Such acts and orders are prejudiced, indicating discriminatory motives owing to the capitulation to groups that harbour animosity towards Hindus and therefore, would be categorized as a religiously motivated hate crime since the original pressure leading to the order itself is a result of hatred/bias/prejudice/religious hate against Hindus. The second category selected here is- Hate speech against Hindus and under this, the sub-category selected is- Violent threats. Violent threats, explicit, implicit or implied, is the most dangerous form of hate speech since it goes beyond discriminatory and prejudicial language to express the intent of causing harm to an individual or a group of people based on their religious identity and faith. There could be several different kinds of threats that are issued to Hindus based on religious animosity. An explicit threat would mean the direct threat of violence towards an individual Hindu, a group of Hindus or Hindus at large. Physical violence, death threats, threats of destruction of property belonging to Hindus and threats of genocide would mean explicit threats against Hindus for their religious identity. Implicit threats may not be a direct threat but implied through the use of symbols of actions – for example – in the Nupur Sharma case, other than explicit threats, there were also implicit threats when Islamists took to the streets to burn and beat her effigies. It implies that they want to do the same to Nupur Sharma – thereby is considered an implicit threat. Violent threats can be delivered in person, through letters, phone calls, graffiti, or increasingly through social media and other online platforms. It would be important to understand that a threat – explicit or implicit, online or offline – to an individual who happens to be a Hindu does not qualify as a religiously motivated threat. Such a threat, while vile and dangerous, could be owing to non-religious reasons and/or personal animosity. To qualify as a religiously motivated threat, it would need to exhibit an indication that the individual is being targeted for religious reasons and/or owing to his/her religious identity as a Hindu. This incident is a clear case of a religiously motivated hate crime, as the threats were explicitly directed at Hindu students for their intent to perform Saraswati Puja, a sacred Hindu religious observance. By threatening rape and murder, TMC leader Sabbir Ali sought to instil fear and prevent the students from practising their faith, demonstrating targeted hostility toward Hindu religious expression. This decision is an infringement on the constitutional rights to freedom of assembly and expression, which are fundamental in India. The move is also seen as politically and religiously biased, given the West Bengal government's history of opposing Hindu festivals and displaying bias against Hindu religious traditions. From restrictions placed on Durga Puja celebrations, particularly regarding the immersion of Durga idols to the violent crackdowns on Ram Navami processions from the state police to Hindus being arrested for chanting Jai Shri Ram slogans, to denying permissions for Hindu religious processions to her stoic silence whenever Hindus get attacked by Islamists in the state, there are several evidences to show that the Mamata Government in West Bengal has, in the past, passed umpteen prejudicial orders to clamp down on the religious rights of Hindus and show her affinity towards the Muslims in the state. Since the TMC minister's threat against celebrating Saraswati Puja aligns with the broader anti-Hindu stance of his party, this case has been documented in the tracker.

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Case Status


Complaint filed

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Perpetrators Details

Perpetrators


State and Establishment

Perpetrators Range


One Person

Perpetrators Gender


male

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