Hindu devotees attacked by Muslim men for playing bhajans at temple during preparations for Ram Navami
Giridih, Jharkhand, India 
30 March, 2025
Case Summary
In Jharkhand’s Giridih district, a dispute broke out between Hindus and Muslims over the playing of devotional songs at a temple. The incident occurred during preparations for Ram Navami when bhajans were being played at the temple. Members of the Muslim community objected to the volume, leading to a heated argument. The disagreement escalated into a violent clash, causing unrest in the area. In response to the tensions, a large police force was deployed in the Dhariyadih locality to maintain order. On the night of 31st March, the conflict turned violent, with reports of stone-pelting and physical altercations between the two groups. The situation worsened despite the presence of police officers, who had to intervene to control the crowd. The violence resulted in injuries to at least six individuals. Given the severity of the incident, the police conducted flag marches in the area to deter further disturbances, but sporadic incidents of stone-throwing were still reported. Authorities acted swiftly to prevent the situation from deteriorating further. Senior officials, including the Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police, instructed law enforcement agencies to tighten security. Police officers conducted searches for those involved in the violence and appealed to residents to maintain peace. CCTV footage from the area was also reviewed to identify individuals responsible for the unrest. By the following day, the situation had stabilised, and normalcy was gradually restored to the locality.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The category under which this incident has been placed in the tracker is- Attack not resulting in death. Under 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 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 incident qualifies as a hate crime because it involved an attempt to restrict the religious expression of Hindus by objecting to the playing of devotional songs at a temple. The initial trigger of the violence itself was religious in nature, in this case, since the Muslim mob attacked the Hindu devotees owing to them celebrating their religious festival with music. The members of the Muslim community were the ones who initiated the attack by hurling stones at the Hindu devotees, who then attacked in self-defence and reprisal. Obviously, it was not the music played by the Hindu devotees that actually triggered the Islamists, as the devotees were playing the music inside the temple premises without causing disturbance to others. In fact, that was only an excuse used by the perpetrators to target the procession because of the participants' religious identity. Such attacks are a form of symbolic aggression against the Hindu community that stems from an innate hatred for Hinduism. Given that the fundamental motivation behind these actions is contempt for Hindus and their religion, this instance has been added to the tracker under the following category. Additionally, the fact that the violence was directed at individuals engaged in a religious activity, rather than in a neutral setting, suggests that the hostility was based on their Hindu identity. Such incidents are not merely conflicts but are acts of aggression meant to intimidate and suppress Hindu religious expression. Since these attacks stem from an inherent bias against Hinduism, they are categorised as religiously motivated hate crimes.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
