Hindu devotees assaulted in Vadodara: Muslim mob pelted stones at Hanuman temple, tried to stop Hanuman Chalisa

Case ID : f6646c3 | Location : Vadodara, Gujarat, India | Date of Incident : Tue, 12 March, 2024

Case ID : f6646c3

Vadodara, Gujarat, India

12 March, 2024

Hindu devotees assaulted in Vadodara: Muslim mob pelted stones at Hanuman temple, tried to stop Hanuman Chalisa

Attack not resulting in death

Attack against Hindu devotees

Attacked for Hindu identity

Attack on Hindu religious representations

Attack on Temples

Case Summary

In Vadodara, Gujarat, Muslims pelted stones at a Hanuman temple and protested against the playing of Hanuman Chalisa on a loudspeaker. According to local Hindus, Hanuman Chalisa was being played as part of the daily routine at the temple when a group of Muslims arrived and objected. What began as an argument soon escalated into stone-pelting, with the mob targeting the temple in an attempt to stop the chanting. The loudspeakers were broken during the attack, creating chaos inside the temple premises. At the time, two Hindu youths, Harish Sarania and Deepak Sarania, were present in the temple. A group of 25–30 Muslims led by Rahil Sheikh confronted them, initiating a fight before launching stone-pelting. Both Harish and Deepak, along with Rahil Sheikh, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital for treatment. The police reached the spot promptly and brought the situation under control. Three accused were arrested, and an FIR was registered against five Muslims—Rahil Sheikh, Asif Sheikh, Sejan Ansari, and Hussain Latif—and two Hindus, Harish and Deepak Sarania. Vadodara Joint Police Commissioner Manoj Ninama stated that the incident began as a dispute over the use of a loudspeaker, which then turned violent. He confirmed that two Hindus and one Muslim were injured, though their condition is stable and improving. He assured that strict action would be taken against those involved and that peace had been restored in the area.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category- Attack not resulting in death. The sub-category relevant in this case 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 second 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 second primary category under which this case has been placed is- Attack on Hindu religious representations, and within this, 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. In Vadodara, Hindus were attacked while engaged in a religious activity—listening to the Hanuman Chalisa at a Hanuman temple. The devotees were not provoking or confronting anyone; they were simply performing a core practice of their faith. Yet, a Muslim mob arrived at the temple, objected to the chanting, and escalated the situation into stone-pelting and violence. Furthermore, the attempt to silence Hanuman Chalisa reflects the doctrinal animosity of religious supremacist ideologies, which deem Hindu practices offensive and seek to suppress them through intimidation or violence. The Hindu youths in the temple, Harish and Deepak Sarania, were attacked not for any personal provocation but because they were identifiable as Hindus in a Hindu place of worship. Their presence at the temple and participation in a Hindu religious activity made them visible targets. The violence was not incidental but a direct expression of religious bias and hostility against Hindus, making it a clear example of being attacked for Hindu identity. The attack also extended to the temple itself, which is central to Hindu religious life. The stone-pelting and breaking of loudspeakers inside the Hanuman temple was not just vandalism of property but a desecration of sacred space. In Hindu belief, a consecrated temple is the abode of the deity, and its premises embody divine presence. Any deliberate attack on a temple, therefore, amounts to an attack on Hindu Dharma itself. By targeting the temple, the attackers demonstrated animosity not only towards individual devotees but also towards Hinduism as a faith. Such an assault on a temple and its sanctity must be documented as a religiously motivated hate crime.