Holi procession attacked with stones while passing by a mosque, vehicles vandalised by Muslim mob

Case ID : f6648d1 | Location : Ludhiana, Punjab, India | Date of Incident : Thu, 13 March, 2025

Case ID : f6648d1

Ludhiana, Punjab, India

13 March, 2025

Holi procession attacked with stones while passing by a mosque, vehicles vandalised by Muslim mob

Attack not resulting in death

Communal clash/attack

Attack on religious procession

Attacked for Hindu identity

Attacked for crossing 'Muslim area'

Case Summary

In Bihari Colony, in the Transport Nagar area of Ludhiana, Punjab, a Hindu procession on the occasion of Holi was attacked with stones by Muslims. As the procession passed by a mosque, Muslims began pelting stones, which led to retaliation from the Hindu side, escalating communal tensions across the area. According to media reports, the procession was celebrating Holi with colours and playing DJ music as it passed the mosque. Muslims were allegedly offering namaz at the time, which reportedly led to conflict between the two groups. It is alleged that Muslims objected to the Hindu procession passing by the mosque, triggering the stone-pelting and resulting in a communal clash. According to the Indian Express and OpIndia, the police registered an FIR against 15 miscreants and managed to arrest eight suspects. They assured that the remaining accused would also be apprehended. According to ABP news, 10 people were injured. Both sides threw bricks, stones and bottles. Some vehicles were vandalised as well. Police officers arrived at the scene and attempted to control the situation. They downplayed any communal angle, stating that eight individuals had been arrested. Additional DCP Prabhjot Singh Virk said, “It was not a communal clash. The situation is completely under control. An FIR has been registered, and eight persons have been arrested for hooliganism.” While the police dismissed the communal aspect, this does not negate the religious nature of the incident. The fact that a peaceful Hindu procession was opposed and attacked simply because it passed by a mosque highlights an act of violence, religious intolerance, and hatred towards the Hindu community.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Attack not resulting in death. Under this, 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 second sub-category selected is- Attack on religious procession. The outward celebration and display of religious symbols in an intrinsic part of Hinduism. Religious processions on various festivals are age-old traditions and a way to manifest faith and form a part of the religious practices of Hindus. On several occasions, such religious processions come under attack by non-Hindu mobs, in a manifestation of their animosity towards Hinduism and their practices. The reasons cited for such violent attacks are many and range from crossing a non-Hindu resident-dominated area to playing loud music, crossing from an area where there is a religious structure of another faith etc. The violent attacks are triggered by the outward display of religiosity by Hindus. The attacks are mainly a manifestation of religious supremacist doctrine which believes that idolatry, essentially the Hindu faith, is one that deserves to be annihilated since the very tenets of Hinduism, its practices and traditions are considered a sin in those doctrines. Since these attacks emanate from intrinsic and doctrinal animosity towards Hindus and Hinduism, it is considered a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. The third sub-category selected is- Communal clash/attack. 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 fourth sub-category selected 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 violent attack on the Hindu Holi procession underscores a clear case of religious intolerance and hostility toward Hindu religious celebrations. Here, it is important to note that the trigger for the attack was the Hindu community taking the Holi procession and playing DJ, which coincided with the Muslims reading Namaz at a mosque nearby. It was only after the Muslims launched an attack on the Hindus did members of the Hindu community retaliated. Hindus were not the ones to start the violence. Here, it becomes evident that the initial trigger for the attack was religiously motivated as the Muslims barged into a Hindu religious place and vandalised it. The Hindus acted merely in reprisal, leading to a clash. Further, it is pertinent to note here that the Hindus had not demanded that the Muslim devotees stop performing Namaz. In fact, it was the Muslims who had tried to impose their religious considerations on the Hindus by attempting to stop them from playing DJ and celebrating Holi. Since religious intolerance is the primary purpose behind this incident, this case has been added to the hate tracker.