Hindu devotees participating in Jalabhishek Yatra attacked by Muslim mob
Nuh, Haryana, India 
30 July, 2023
Case Summary
In Nuh, Mewat, Haryana, a Muslim mob attacked Hindu pilgrims participating in the Jalabhishek Yatra, resulting in many being trapped in a hostage-like situation. The rioting Muslims attacked the Nalhad Mahadev temple. The Shringar Temple, located about 45 minutes away from the Nalhad temple, was also targeted. The Baba Gorakhnath Kali temple in Nuh was also targeted by the rioters, leaving visible signs of violence on the main gate and walls. The mob raised slogans of Allahu-Akbar while they attacked the Kali temple. The temple's priest and his family faced the aggression of the mob, enduring targeted actions against them. The priest of the Kali temple told OpIndia that a mob of more than 500 attacked the temple. They were shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’. They had many other weapons including stones in their hands. According to the priest, there was a heavy stone pelting around the temple for about 2-3 hours. The entire road was covered with stones. The mob had broken the lock of the temple, but they could not enter the temple. If this was the case, they could also damage the idol of Goddess Kali and the Shivling. 216 people were arrested in connection with the violence. 104 FIRs were registered.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This particular case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under two prime categories, namely, 'Attack on Hindu religious representations' and 'Attack not resulting in death' of the tracker because of the various distinct components that demonstrate the perpetrator's bias against the Hindu faith. Under the first prime category, three sub-categories were chosen based on the case details. The first relevant 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. The second relevant sub-category selected is 'Abrahamic religion chanting outside Hindu place of worship'. 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 aggressive Abrahamic chanting outside Temples negates the divinity of the temple space because the chanting itself negates the existence of any other God other than the God of the Abrahamic faith. Such chanting is specifically done to negate the faith of Hindus, establish religious supremacy, intimidate the devotees and mock the faith. Besides temples, such Abrahamic chanting outside any Hindu place of worship or religious structure has the same effect. Since such acts are rooted in inherent religious supremacist mentality driven by religious animosity, such crimes would be considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. The second prime category selected here is- Attack not resulting in death. Within this, the first sub-category chosen 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 second 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. In this particular case, the Muslim mob purposely vandalised Hindu Temples despite understanding that temples are centres of worship and sanctity for Hindus. Additionally, they chanted Allahu Akbar slogans as they vandalised the temple, where they also attacked the priest and his family members. The chanting was intended to intimidate, harass, or provoke the Hindu worshippers. This was done primarily to target Hindus, making it a kind of religious harassment worthy of being listed in the tracker.
Case Status
Case sub-judice
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
