Mahashivratri procession attacked as Muslims take offence to installation of religious flags; shops set ablaze, over 25 Hindus injured in fierce stone-pelting

Case ID : f66473f | Location : Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, India | Date of Incident : Wed, 26 February, 2025

Case ID : f66473f

Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, India

26 February, 2025

Mahashivratri procession attacked as Muslims take offence to installation of religious flags; shops set ablaze, over 25 Hindus injured in fierce stone-pelting

Attack not resulting in death

Communal clash/attack

Attacked for crossing 'Muslim area'

Attack against Hindu devotees

Case Summary

In Dumroun village, located in the Ichak block of Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh district, a violent clash erupted between members of the Hindu and Muslim communities over Mahashivratri celebrations. On the morning of February 26th, Hindus had put up religious flags, festoons, and loudspeakers as part of the festivities. However, tensions arose when members of the Muslim community objected to the installation of flags and loudspeakers, leading to an altercation that quickly escalated into a large-scale communal clash. The situation turned violent as individuals from the Muslim side resorted to heavy stone-pelting, while Hindus retaliated in self-defence. Amidst the chaos, three motorcycles and a Baleno car were set ablaze, while another motorcycle and an autorickshaw were vandalised. Additionally, a shop was torched by miscreants. Several people sustained injuries and were taken to Hazaribagh Sadar Hospital for medical treatment. To restore order, a substantial police force was deployed in the area. Personnel from three police stations were stationed at the site, with senior officials, including the Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), closely monitoring the situation. Videos of the incident circulating on social media show intense stone-pelting, and in one image, a mosque can be seen in the vicinity where the clash occurred. According to reports by Sudarshan News, more than 25 Hindus were injured in the violent attack targeting the religious celebration.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added as a hate crime under two categories of the Hinduphobia tracker. The first is- Attack not resulting in death. Within this, the first 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 second sub-category selected under the above-mentioned category 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. The third sub-category relevant here is- Communal clash. Communal clash is a form of collective violence that involves clashes between groups belonging to different religious identities. For a communal clash between Hindus and non-Hindus to qualify as a religiously motivated hate crime, the trigger of the violence itself would have to be anti-Hindu in essence. For example, if there is a Hindu religious procession that comes under attack from a non-Hindu mob and after the initial attack, Hindus retaliate in self-defence, leading to a communal clash between the two religious communities. While at a later stage, both communities are involved in the clash/violence, the initial trigger of the violence was by the non-Hindu mob against the Hindus and therefore, it could safely be termed as an anti-Hindu violence. Further, the trigger would also have to be religiously motivated. In the cited example, the attack by the non-Hindu mob was against religious processions and therefore, can be concluded to be religiously motivated. In some cases, the trigger may be non-religious, however, it develops into religious violence against Hindus at a later stage. In such cases too, the foundational animosity towards Hindus becomes the motivating factor of the crime and therefore, it would be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus under this category. The violent attack on Hindus in Dumroun village during Mahashivratri celebrations clearly demonstrates a pattern of hostility towards Hindu religious observances. The initial dispute arose solely because members of the Hindu community were exercising their right to celebrate their festival by putting up religious flags and playing devotional music. The objections raised by the Muslim community, which escalated into a full-scale attack involving heavy stone-pelting, indicate a deliberate attempt to disrupt and intimidate Hindus for practising their faith. Given that a mosque was present in the vicinity where the violence broke out, the attack appears to have taken place in an area where Hindus were viewed as outsiders, further reinforcing the communal nature of the incident. Moreover, this case is emblematic of a broader pattern where Hindus are often subjected to aggression simply for celebrating their religious events, particularly in areas with significant Muslim populations. The fact that Hindus were forced to retaliate in self-defence highlights the unprovoked nature of the attack, where they were left with no choice but to protect themselves and their religious event from being forcibly curtailed. Additionally, the large-scale destruction of property, including vehicles being set on fire and a shop being torched, suggests a premeditated and organised assault rather than a spontaneous altercation. The scale and severity of the violence, coupled with the religious motivations underlying the attack, make it evident that this was not a mere law-and-order issue but a targeted attempt to suppress Hindu religious expression. The reluctance to allow Hindus to celebrate their festival without interference, coupled with the disproportionate and violent reaction, underscores the deep-seated animosity towards Hindus and their faith. Therefore, this incident qualifies as a religiously motivated hate crime and rightly finds a place in the Hinduphobia tracker, highlighting the growing trend of intolerance and aggression towards Hindu religious practices. Disclaimer: The exact number of Hindus injured in the incident has not yet been officially confirmed. However, based on a report by Sudarshan News stating that more than 25 Hindus sustained injuries, we have conservatively recorded the victim count as 25. This figure will be updated as further details become available.