– Poem by Amir Aziz

It is increasingly evident that Muslims in India are being robbed of their legitimate space and place within a nation that was once imagined as their collective constitutional dream. A vast majority chose to stay back in India after the 1947 bloody Partition, believing in existential roots, lived coexistence and constitutional equality. There have been riots and communal clashes in past decades post-Independence, but rarely was their very belonging to the nation so openly questioned and at grave risk. Rarely was their loyalty publicly doubted, their religion brazenly mocked.

It was uncommon for a sitting Chief Minister to pull a woman’s headscarf[1] simply because of her cultural choice, she donned a headscarf. It was unheard of for a Chief Minister to post violent and provocative imagery (video) depicting him shooting at Muslims[2]! What once manifested as communal ‘push and pull’ now appears to have been hardened and legitimised into something more systemic, an institutionalised propagation of directed othering, hatred and violence. 

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Accidental to Institutional

 This messaging is not confined to political speeches only. It is reinforced through ‘mainstream’ cinema; films marketed as if “based on real events,” filled with questionable, even repulsive and inflammatory depictions that amplify suspicion and hostility towards the Muslim. These narratives shape public imagination. In one disturbing instance, children living on the streets of South Mumbai were heard using hateful language against Muslims. When asked where such sentiments originated, they reportedly said that “aunts and uncles” take them to watch films, one of the few outings they can afford, as their parents earn meagre incomes selling roses on Marine Drive. Hatred, it seems, is being curated and consumed.

Policy, too, reflects this exclusion. Measures such as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise—executed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) though this has been strongly legally contested—have clearly resulted in the disproportionate removal of Muslim names from electoral rolls, raising concerns about potential disenfranchisement. Legislative developments have added to these anxieties. Under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 (CAA), which came into force last year, members of specified persecuted minorities from neighbouring countries who entered India on or before 31 December 2014 were made eligible for Indian citizenship. Muslims were excluded from this framework. Not only has the Supreme Court of India kept the substantive legal challenges to this much criticised amendment (CAA 2019) in cold storage, the court will only now hear the batch of 250 petitions in early May 2026 (May 5-7, 2026).[3]

More recently, an order issued under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 extended relief to individuals particularly Hindus from Pakistan, who crossed into India after 2014, with officials stating that the cut-off has effectively been expanded by a decade due to the continued cross-border migration of persecuted minorities. This privileges one community over others in fast-tracked citizenship.

Taken together, these measures have intensified debate over whether citizenship policy is being recalibrated along religious lines, especially when viewed alongside voter roll revisions and public rhetoric framing Muslims as “infiltrators.”

‘Torching’ the lawn

Attempts by Hindutva affiliates to enter Masjids, incidents of mob lynching targeting Muslim vendors, mobs stopping individuals to demand proof of nationality, these have become disturbingly common. In Varanasi, “Operation Torch” was launched to identify so-called illegal migrants.

The forcible closure of Muslim-owned businesses under varying pretexts points toward the economic marginalisation of a community already made vulnerable. The cumulative effect suggests a systematic relegation of Muslims to second-class citizenship within their own country.

On the frontline of this targeting –in 2025-206 at least –are Bengali Muslim migrants—often daily wage labourers, domestic workers, and small vendors struggling for survival.

Direct Violence

“I am very poor, and my family is deeply worried about our future. Why did they beat me? I never forced anyone to buy my food.”

— Riyajul Sheikh, Food vendor from West Bengal

“I am a poor man. I earn a living for my family by selling utensils. After this incident, how will I go out and work?”

— Akmal Hussain, assaulted in Bihar in January 2026

On May 24, 2025, in Aligarh, four Muslim men Arbaz, Aqeel, Kadim, and Munna Khan, were brutally attacked by a mob of cow vigilantes over allegations of beef smuggling. The assailants set their vehicle on fire, blocked a highway, and assaulted them with sharp weapons, bricks, and sticks. One unconscious victim was seen being dragged from a police vehicle. This was reportedly the second attack on the same group at the same location within 15 days, suggesting targeted violence. A forensic report from a government laboratory in Mathura later confirmed that the meat was not beef, debunking the allegations. Police arrested four individuals under provisions of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita for rioting, attempt to murder, extortion, and dacoity.

Riyajul (December 2025) was beaten by a mob and his goods were destroyed. He sells patties by walking through the streets of Kolkata. In one such incident from West Bengal, he was allegedly asked whether he had chicken patties in his box. When he replied in the affirmative, the assault began. When they heard his name, the violence intensified as reported by The Wire. It seems that, for many, the only fault is being Muslim. Such initiative feeds into a larger narrative of suspicion.

Source: Maktoob Media

Didar Hossain, a rickshaw puller from Agartala, was assaulted by a mob that attempted to burn him alive. He was robbed of his entire day’s earnings and severely beaten.

On December 22, in Basti, Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Singh, a leader of the Vishva Hindu Mahasangh, along with members of the group, harassed and threatened a Muslim chicken vendor for operating his shop near a temple. He described the butcher’s knives as “weapons” that could be used to kill people and threatened to file a police complaint for possessing them.

On December 30, in Madhubani, Bihar, approximately 40–50 Hindu nationalist supporters brutally assaulted and paraded a Muslim construction worker. He was falsely branded a Bangladeshi and forced to chant “Jai Shri Ram” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai.” The attackers allegedly threatened to sacrifice him at a Kali temple. Each incident may appear geographically scattered in Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Tripura but the pattern is chillingly consistent.  The slogans are the same. The accusations are similar. The humiliation is public. The violence is performative. And the message is unmistakable: belonging is conditional.

On January 7, 2026, in Jharkhand, a 45-year-old Muslim man was killed by a mob after being accused of cattle theft.

On January 1, 2026, in Bhonkhera, Sikandrabad, Uttar Pradesh, threats were reportedly left inside the homes of Muslim residents in the region, creating an atmosphere of fear at the very threshold of their private spaces.

On January 14, 2026 in Sahada, Balasore, Odisha, cow vigilantes lynched Sheikh Makandar Mohammed, a 35-year-old Muslim helper on a pickup van. He was repeatedly forced to chant “Jai Shri Ram” and “Cow is my mother.” Police later took him to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

On January 22, 2026, a Bengali Muslim vendor from West Bengal was brutally beaten in Odisha by right-wing extremists who accused him of being a Bangladeshi infiltrator. A similar instance occurred the very next day, another Muslim vendor from Birbhum district, West Bengal, was allegedly forced to produce his Aadhaar card, made to chant religious slogans, and threatened with death if he did not leave Odisha.

Such attacks and atrocities have increasingly been framed as expressions of “patriotism.”

According to Akmal Hussain assaulted in Bihar, January 22 2026 (quoted above) the incident began when a woman showed interest in buying utensils and asked him to come near her home. When he arrived, a man confronted him, called him a Bangladeshi, and demanded identity documents. As he attempted to retrieve his phone, a crowd gathered and began assaulting him. He sustained injuries to his head, arms, and legs. Following the attack, he left the city and returned to his hometown in Hooghly, deeply traumatised.

These are not isolated events. There have been multiple incidents of Muslims being beaten to death and forced to chant slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram” and “Gai humari mata hai” before, during, or after being assaulted.

Institutions of prejudice

The University of Delhi found itself at the centre of controversy after its undergraduate admission form listed inappropriate caste-related entries in the “mother tongue” section. Instead of languages such as Urdu, Maithili, Bhojpuri and Magahi, the form reportedly included terms such as Cham***Mazdoor, Dehati, Mochi, Kurmi, Muslim and Bihari, as reported by The Wire and Hindustan Times.

The inclusion of “Muslim” as a language and the removal of Urdu triggered outrage on social media. Bengali was also allegedly absent. The episode raised concerns about institutional insensitivity and the normalisation of caste and religious stereotyping within academic processes.

Meanwhile, in Jammu and Kashmir, educational spaces became a communal flashpoint.

On January 6, hundreds of police and paramilitary personnel were deployed outside the Civil Secretariat in Jammu to prevent protests by a BJP-backed outfit opposing what it called a “biased” reservation system at the SMVD Institute of Medical Excellence in Reasi district.

The protest, led by the youth wing of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi (SMVD) Sangharsh Samiti and supported by Hindu right-wing groups, centred on the admission of Muslim and other non-Hindu students. Protesters demanded cancellation of their admissions or closure of the college.

“The presence of non-Hindus on the campus and their style of eating and worship is bound to hurt the sentiments of Hindus… The government should cancel their admission or shut down the college,” a protester stated as reported by The Wire.

The agitation is expected to intensify ahead of the J&K Assembly’s winter session beginning February 2. Colonel Sukhvir Singh Mankotia announced a ‘Sanatan Jagran Yatra’, a hunger strike, a signature campaign, and demonstrations on January 8 and January 10, warning of a shutdown across the Jammu division.

The Chief Minister maintained that the college, established through an Act of the J&K Assembly, does not restrict admissions on religious grounds. However, BJP Leader of the Opposition Sunil Sharma stated that only students “who have faith in Mata Vaishno Devi” should be admitted.

All 50 students were admitted on the basis of NEET rankings. The controversy erupted after only eight Hindu students appeared in the first batch, with the remaining 42 being Muslims from the Kashmir Valley. The issue was allowed to take a sharply communal turn, with right-wing affiliates raising slogans demanding the expulsion of non-Hindu students. Following the outrage countrywide and also by the ruling party and opposition in Kashmir and Jammu, on January 26 this year, the Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examination (BOPEE) was compelled to “adjust” these 50 excluded students in seven government-run medical colleges across J&K based on NEET-UG merit and their preferences. Read more here

At Jamia Millia Islamia, another controversy unfolded. On December 23, 2025 when the university suspended Professor Virendra Balaji Shahare of the Department of Social Work over a question in an end-semester examination paper titled Social Problems in India, set for BA (Honours) Social Work, Semester I, 2025–26. The query attempted a discussion on the plight of the Muslim minority in India (see below).

Source: The Wire

Algorithm for and by Hate

Elected officials, sitting in constitutional positions directing hate. This has been a singular feature of the past close to a dozen years and 2025 and early 2026 were no exception.

A video circulated by the Assam BJP in 2025 intensified concerns about the normalisation of dehumanising rhetoric in mainstream politics and even more specifically within law enforcement.

Source ; The Wire, X deleted video

The footage appeared to show Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma handling an air rifle, interspersed with AI-generated visuals depicting bullets striking images of men wearing skull caps and beards widely recognised as markers of Muslim identity. The clip portrayed Sarma as a Western-film hero, overlaid with the slogan “foreigner free Assam” and captioned “point blank shot.” Reports stated that Assamese text in the video included phrases such as “no mercy,” “Why did you not go to Pakistan?” and “There is no forgiveness to Bangladeshis.”

The imagery echoed Sarma’s earlier public remarks. On January 25, during a press conference, he declared: “Only ‘Miyas’ are evicted in Assam. Which Hindu has got notice? Which Assamese Muslim has got notice? We will do some utpaat [mischief], but within the ambit of law.” On January 27, he said: “This Special Revision is preliminary. When the SIR comes to Assam, four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam.” A day later, he added: “Whoever can give trouble [to Miyas] should. If a rickshaw fare is Rs.5, give them Rs.4. Only if they face troubles will they leave Assam. Himanta Biswa Sarma and the BJP are directly against Miyas.” He has earlier stated that his job was to “make the Miya people suffer.”

Multiple petitions were subsequently filed before the Gauhati High Court seeking action against Sarma for alleged hate speeches targeting Muslims in the state. On Thursday, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury issued notices to the Chief Minister, the Central government and the Assam government. The matter is scheduled for hearing on April 21.

The petitions were filed by the Indian National Congress, Assamese scholar Hiren Gohain and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), after the Supreme Court advised them to approach the High Court. Senior advocates including Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Chander Uday Singh and Meenakshi Arora argued that Sarma’s remarks were provocative and threatening, particularly his references to the “miya” community , a term often used in Assam as a pejorative for Bengali-speaking or Bengali-origin Muslims, though the Chief Minister has described it as referring to “illegal immigrants.” The rhetoric has not been confined to one state.

BJP MLA Nitesh Rane posted a tweet on August 5, 2025 asking: if Hindus were being attacked in Bangladesh, why should Indians spare a single Bangladeshi in their country? He added that they would hunt down and kill every Bangladeshi living in India. The tweet was later deleted after controversy.

In January 2024, during the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha procession in Mira Road, Mumbai, amid communal tensions, Rane made a similar incendiary statement threatening to hunt down individuals. Hate speeches by senior BJP leaders, including Devendra Fadnavis and others, have also drawn criticism, with opposition parties and rights groups alleging a pattern of majoritarian mobilisation. Concerns have extended beyond the executive to the judiciary.

On December 8, 2024, a year before at a lecture on the Uniform Civil Code in Prayagraj organised by the Vishva Hindu Parishad, Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav of the Allahabad High Court made remarks widely criticised as Islamophobic. Among other statements, he said: “My country is one where the cow, the Gita, and the Ganga form the culture, where every idol embodies Harbala Devi, and where every child is like Ram.” He added: “Here, from childhood, children are guided towards god, taught Vedic mantras, and told about non-violence. But in your culture, from a young age, children are exposed to the slaughter of animals. How can you expect them to be tolerant and compassionate?”

Justice Yadav also used the term ‘kathmullah’, a slur used against Muslims, and stated that “this country and law will function as per the wishes of the majority.” Lawyers’ bodies renewed calls for an in-house inquiry into his remarks.

Stark and questionable has it been that the higher constitutional courts have taken no action against Justice Yadav for this.

But what does the data reveal?

Parallel to this rhetoric, data-driven reports corroborate these patterns of violence.

In November 2025, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom released an India-specific issue update describing what it termed systemic religious persecution. The report cited the “interconnected relationship” between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the RSS, linking it to citizenship, anti-conversion and cow slaughter laws. It noted that hundreds of Christians and Muslims have been arrested under anti-conversion laws, with 70% of India’s inmates being pre-trial detainees and religious minorities disproportionately represented. In its 2025 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State designate India as a Country of Particular Concern, or CPC, for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations.

According to a CSSS report, released in early February 2026, mob violence against Muslims formed a significant category of harm in 2025. Fourteen lynching incidents were reported during the year, resulting in eight recorded deaths. These cases were often linked to allegations of cattle-related offences, suspicions of illegal immigration, and claims of “love jihad,” with some incidents reportedly involving forced religious slogans.

Among the cases cited were the killing of migrant worker Juel Sheikh in Sambalpur, Odisha; multiple lynching incidents in Bihar’s Nawada district; deaths linked to cattle theft accusations in Jharkhand; killings in Maharashtra, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh; an attack on a Muslim migrant in Kerala; and a case involving a student subjected to slurs in Dehradun. Reported by NDTV.

A separate analysis by India Hate Lab recorded 1,318 hate speech incidents in 2025, of which 98 per cent were stated to have targeted Muslims. These reportedly occurred at public rallies, religious gatherings, street events and across social media platforms. Human rights workers quoted in the study argued that such rhetoric had become routine, creating an atmosphere of insecurity despite constitutional guarantees of equal protection.

The CSSS report further raised concerns regarding uneven policing and prosecution, asserting that action appeared swifter in cases involving Hindu victims, while Muslims faced disproportionate arrests or police scrutiny. It also alleged that post-riot narratives sometimes attributed responsibility to Muslims without publicly available evidence.

The study concluded that the violence extended beyond physical attacks to what it described as heightened assertion of majoritarian cultural identity through religious symbols and festivals, alongside marginalisation of Muslim cultural expression. It stated that the cumulative effect was increased impunity for vigilante groups and a deepening sense of insecurity among Muslim citizens.

CSSS noted that its findings were based on monitoring national and regional publications including The Indian Express, The Hindu, The Times of India, Sahafat and Inquilab. Read more on this here.

Conclusion

In a recently released report by Human Rights Watch in February 2026, it was stated that,

“India’s slide to authoritarianism under the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – led government continued, with increased vilification of Muslims and government critics. Authorities illegally expelled hundreds of Bengali-speaking Muslims and Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh, some Indian citizens among them, claiming they were “illegal immigrants.” [page no. 215 ]

The demolition of homes belonging to poor, underpaid and hardworking people has become a recurring image of this moment. The victims, in most cases, are among the most economically vulnerable Muslim families. Hindu extremist groups, critics argue, have increasingly operated with overt or tacit support from segments of the government, administration and, in some instances, judicial authority, a development they attribute to the ideological leanings of the Modi government.

At the same time, India’s deepening political ties with Netanyahu’s Israel invoked here specifically as Netanyahu’s Israel to acknowledge that many Israelis oppose the policies of his regime are seen by some observers as reflective of a broader hardening of majoritarian statecraft.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has warned of a “well-thought-out conspiracy” to alter India’s population composition, referring to “these infiltrators.” Such language, when deployed by the country’s highest elected office, carries consequences. It reinforces the framing of a section of Indian citizens not as equal stakeholders in the republic, but as demographic threats.

When eviction drives, voter roll deletions, hate speeches, vigilante violence and institutional silences converge, they create not just isolated incidents but an atmosphere.

The question that inevitably arises is not only legal or political, but existential: What does it feel like to be a Muslim in Modi’s India?

For many, the answer lies in the steady normalisation of suspicion in the knowledge that citizenship can be questioned, belonging debated, and dignity negotiated.

And that, perhaps, is the deeper crisis beneath the data.

[During the research of this article an overwhelming number of incidents were found, it was difficult to cut down and mention a few. That in itself shows the horrendous state of minorities in our country.]

(The legal research team of CJP consists of lawyers and interns; this resource has been worked on by Natasha Darade)

[1] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/12/india-chief-ministers-removal-of-womans-hijab-demands-unequivocal-condemnation/

[2] https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUiu9zZin8u/; https://scroll.in/latest/1090625/himanta-sarmas-shooting-at-muslims-video-left-parties-move-supreme-court

[3] https://www.scobserver.in/reports/citizenship-amendment-act-supreme-court-schedules-final-hearings-in-may-2026/; https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/supreme-court-to-hear-caa-petitions-from-may-5/article70651374.ece

Related

India Hate Lab Report 2025: How Hate Speech has been normalised in the public sphere | CJP

CJP 2025: a constitutional vanguard against hate and coercion during elections | SabrangIndia

The post Evicted, Accused, and Deleted: The shrinking space for Muslim citizenship appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On January 26, 2026, Deepak Kumar stepped in when a group of men, allegedly affiliated with the Bajrang Dal and the Vishva Hindu Parishad, confronted 70-year-old Muslim shopkeeper Vakeel Ahmed over the use of the word “Baba” in the name of his decades-old shop. Within days, the episode spiralled far beyond the narrow dispute at its origin — triggering multiple FIRs, large-scale mobilisation by right-wing groups, a blockade of a national highway, and the registration of criminal cases not only against alleged intimidators and protestors, but also against those who intervened to defend the elderly shopkeeper.

Extensively reported by national media, the Kotdwar incident has now emerged as a test case for how the state polices communal vigilantism, protects freedom of expression and conscience, and balances claims of law and order against the constitutional obligation to safeguard equality before the law. As investigations continue and police deployment remains heightened, the episode raises an unsettling question: when ordinary citizens resist religious intimidation, does the legal system shield them — or subject them to prosecution.

The spark: January 26 and the dispute over “Baba”

According to The Indian Express, 46-year-old Deepak Kumar, who runs a gym in Kotdwar, was present at a friend’s shop on January 26 when he overheard a group of men confronting 70-year-old Vakeel Ahmed (also reported as Ahmed Wakil), a Muslim shopkeeper whose store — Baba School Dress — has existed on Patel Marg for nearly 30 years.

The men, allegedly identifying themselves as members of the Bajrang Dal and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), reportedly objected to Ahmed’s use of the word “Baba” in his shop’s name. They allegedly demanded that the name be changed, claiming the term was exclusive to Hindu religious figures.

When Kumar intervened and asked why an elderly man was being threatened, he was reportedly told not to interfere.

The viral moment: “My name is Mohammad Deepak”

A video of the confrontation — later widely circulated across social media platforms — shows Kumar directly questioning the mob’s logic. He is heard asking why other shops are allowed to use the word “Baba” but Ahmed’s shop is not, and whether a three-decade-old establishment should now be forced to change its identity.

When members of the group ask Kumar his name, he responds: “My name is Mohammad Deepak.”

Speaking later to The Indian Express, Kumar clarified that the statement was deliberate and symbolic. “I intended to convey that I was an Indian and that everyone is equal before the law,” he said.

The phrase quickly went viral, earning praise across social media — but also, according to Kumar, triggering threats against him and his family.

“My Name is Mohammed Deepak”- How this Hindu man stood between a Bajrang Dal-linked mob and ‘Baba’ an elderly Muslim Shopkeeper in Kotdwar, Uttarakhand. The Mob was demanding the shopkeeper change his shop name. Full report @themojostory pic.twitter.com/uXLTh4TJEF

— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) January 31, 2026

The shopkeeper’s complaint and the first FIR

Following the January 26 incident, Vakeel Ahmed filed a police complaint, stating that three to four men claiming to be Bajrang Dal members had entered his shop, threatened him, and warned of “serious consequences” if he did not change the shop’s name.

Based on this complaint, police registered an FIR at Kotdwar police station under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including:

• Section 115(2) – voluntarily causing hurt
• Section 333 – house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint
• Section 351(2) – criminal intimidation
• Section 352 – intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of public peace

The FIR names two individuals and includes unnamed persons, as per The Hindu.

Mobilisation and backlash: Protests against Deepak Kumar

While the initial confrontation ended on January 26, the situation escalated sharply days later.

On January 31, intelligence inputs indicated that people were assembling to confront Kumar at his gym and near Ahmed’s shop. According to a complaint later filed by Sub-Inspector Vinod Kumar, around 30–40 people, arriving in 12–15 vehicles, gathered in Kotdwar.

Many were reportedly from Dehradun and Haridwar and identified themselves as members of the Bajrang Dal, according to Hindustan Times.

Highway blockade, sloganeering, and police confrontation

As per the FIR registered on the sub-inspector’s complaint, the group:

• Raised slogans near Kumar’s gym
• Obstructed police personnel deployed at a barrier
• Removed police barricades
• Parked vehicles across the road, creating a traffic jam
• Blocked the National Highway for nearly an hour, affecting civilian traffic and ambulances
• Marched toward Kotdwar market and Baba School Dress, raising religious slogans and using abusive language

Deepak stood up against the Bajrang Dal activists in Uttarakhand who were harassing a muslim shopkeeper-

His house is now being attacked by Bajrang Dal members.

This is total GundaGardi.

Police must protect him.pic.twitter.com/tRZyaEy7Qz

— Arpit Sharma (@iArpitSpeaks) January 31, 2026

After being dispersed once, the group regrouped near Malviya Udyan, in front of the Municipal Council on the National Highway, where they again sat on the road and blocked traffic. The FIR records that the actions created “fear and panic” among passers-by and were aimed at disturbing communal harmony. Based on these events, according to IE, police registered an FIR against unknown persons under sections relating to:

• Unlawful assembly
• Obstruction of public servants
• Breach of peace
• Promoting enmity between groups

A parallel FIR — this time against the interveners

In a development that drew widespread criticism, Uttarakhand Police also registered an FIR against Deepak Kumar and Vijay Rawat, another local resident who had supported Ahmed on January 26.

According to The Hindu, this FIR was filed following complaints by Gaurav Kashyap, reportedly a VHP member, and Kamal Pal, identified as a Bajrang Dal member.

The complainants alleged that Kumar and Rawat:

• Assaulted them
• Snatched money, watches, and mobile phones
• Hurled caste-based slurs
• Acted as part of a violent mob

The police booked Kumar and Rawat on charges including criminal intimidation, voluntarily causing hurt, rioting, and breach of peace.

Superintendent of Police Sarvesh Panwar told The Hindu that the complainants claimed to have been conducting a “door-to-door outreach initiative” at the time of the incident.

Deepak Kumar’s response: “Why am I booked, not the harassers?”

Kumar has denied the allegations and questioned the police’s approach. Speaking to the media, he said that his life and his family’s safety were under threat and asked why action had been taken against him while those accused of harassing a 70-year-old shopkeeper remained at large.

In a subsequent Instagram video, Kumar said: “I am not Hindu, not Muslim, not Sikh, not Christian. First and foremost, I am a human being… No one should be targeted for their religion.”

He added that while hatred spreads easily, standing up for love and humanity requires courage.

Deepak Kumar, the man who confronted right wing groups harassing a Muslim shopkeeper, is getting death threats. The local administration in Kotdwar town of Uttarakhand is hands in glove with the mob, says Deepak https://t.co/bch32S1JBP pic.twitter.com/6xYbL7yKHh

— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) February 1, 2026

Police position: “Law and order first”

Addressing the controversy, SSP Sarvesh Panwar stated that all FIRs were registered to prevent escalation and maintain law and order. He confirmed that police personnel were present during the protests and had directly witnessed the blockade and sloganeering.

Police said:

• Video footage is being examined to identify participants
• Statements of all involved parties are being recorded
• Additional forces have been deployed in Kotdwar following intelligence inputs about possible fresh mobilisation

A senior officer quoted by The Hindu said investigations would proceed strictly on legal grounds and that “no one found guilty will be spared.”

Political and civil society reaction

The FIR against Kumar and Rawat triggered sharp criticism from civil rights activists, lawyers, and social media users, many of whom argued that the state appeared to be penalising those who intervened against intimidation rather than those who initiated it.

Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi publicly backed Kumar, calling him a “living symbol of love in the marketplace of hate.” In a post on X, Gandhi accused the Sangh Parivar of deliberately fostering division and alleged that the Uttarakhand government was siding with “anti-social forces.”

“We need more Deepaks — those who do not bow, who do not fear, and who stand firmly with the Constitution,” Gandhi wrote.

उत्तराखंड के दीपक भारत के हीरो हैं।

दीपक संविधान और इंसानियत के लिए लड़ रहे हैं – उस संविधान के लिए जिसे BJP और संघ परिवार रोज़ रौंदने की साज़िश कर रहे हैं।

वे नफ़रत के बाज़ार में मोहब्बत की दुकान का जीवित प्रतीक हैं और यही बात सत्ता को सबसे ज़्यादा चुभती है।

संघ परिवार… pic.twitter.com/c1D4VHV5XO

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 1, 2026

Senior Congress leader Suryakant Dhasmana said that the Kotdwar incident, along with other recent communal and targeted attacks in Uttarakhand, had seriously damaged the state’s social fabric.

An unresolved moment

As of now, three separate FIRs remain under investigation:

1. The shopkeeper’s complaint against alleged Bajrang Dal members
2. The police FIR against unidentified protestors for highway blockade and disorder
3. The FIR against Deepak Kumar and Vijay Rawat based on right-wing complaints

Police deployment remains heightened in Kotdwar, and authorities have appealed for calm while warning against the spread of unverified information online. What began as a neighbourhood dispute over a shop name has now become a test case for how the state responds when ordinary citizens intervene against communal intimidation — and whether standing up for constitutional equality comes at a legal cost.

Related:

CJP files NBDSA complaint over Zee News’s ‘Kalicharan Maharaj vs 4 Maulanas’, alleging communal framing and hate tropes

From Purola to Nainital: APCR report details pattern of communal violence in Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand HC pulls up police over mob attack in Ramnagar, seeks action against BJP leader for inciting communal violence

Uttarakhand High Court slams police and authority for failure in maintain law and order

‘Eid Gift’: Uttarakhand CM Dhami Renames17 Places With Muslim-Sounding Names

7-year-old Muslim boy allegedly assaulted by teachers in Uttarakhand’s govt school, FIR registered

The post How defending a 70-year-old Muslim shopkeeper triggered FIRs, highway blockades, and a law-and-order crisis in Uttarakhand appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The report, titled “Excluded, Targeted, & Displaced: Communal Narratives and Violence in Uttarakhand,” is based on field investigations, victim testimonies, police records, court documents, official notices, and media reports. It records incidents from districts including Uttarkashi, Tehri, Chamoli, Nainital, Dehradun, Haridwar, and Haldwani, and examines how criminal allegations, administrative actions, religious mobilisation, and government policies intersected with communal narratives on the ground.

According to APCR, the report traces how these incidents unfolded over time, the nature of violence and displacement experienced by affected families, and the responses of the police and state authorities in each case.

Details of the Report: A pattern takes shape

According to APCR, communal violence in Uttarakhand cannot be understood as a series of isolated incidents. From 2021 onwards, Muslims across districts have faced targeted violence, economic boycotts, evictions, intimidation, and attacks on religious spaces, often following rumours, allegations, or political mobilisation by Hindutva groups. These incidents occurred across Uttarkashi, Tehri, Chamoli, Nainital, Dehradun, Haridwar, and surrounding regions, affecting shopkeepers, migrant workers, religious institutions, and long-settled families—many of whom had lived in Uttarakhand for decades.

The report notes that many affected Muslim families trace their migration to Najibabad, Uttar Pradesh, dating back to the 1970s and 1980s, well before Uttarakhand became a separate state in 2000. Despite this, they are repeatedly branded as “outsiders.”

The Haridwar Dharm Sansad, 2021: APCR identifies the December 2021 Haridwar Dharm Sansad as a critical flashpoint. At this three-day conclave, multiple Hindutva religious leaders delivered speeches calling for violence against Muslims, the establishment of a Hindutva rashtra, and the suppression of Islam and Christianity. Speakers named in the report include Yati Narasinghanand, Prabodhanand Giri, Yatindranand Giri, Sadhvi Annapurna, Swami Anand Swaroop, and Kalicharan Maharaj.

Police complaints were filed following public outrage, but the report notes that the event contributed to the normalisation of openly violent anti-Muslim rhetoric in the state.

Administrative drives and communal framing: In 2023, the Uttarakhand government initiated a statewide drive to identify and remove “illegal structures” on government land. Right-wing groups framed this as action against “land jihad” and “mazar jihad.” By May 2024, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami claimed that 5,000 acres had been recovered.

APCR records that mosques and mazars were disproportionately targeted, while comparable scrutiny was not applied to religious structures of other communities. This framing, the report states, created public legitimacy for demolitions and heightened communal tensions.

Purola, 2023- allegations and aftermath: In Purola, Uttarkashi district, a case alleging the kidnapping of a minor Hindu girl by Ubaid Khan and Jitendra Saini triggered widespread unrest. In court, the girl later stated that she had not been abducted and that the police had coerced her statement. Despite the acquittal, right-wing protests escalated.

Muslim families were forced to flee or sell properties. A Hindutva Maha Panchayat was organised, prompting intervention by the Uttarakhand High Court, which reminded the state of its duty to maintain law and order. Following the incident, the Chief Minister announced background verification measures, stating that people would be able to live in Uttarakhand only after verification.

Uttarkashi, 2024- mosque targeting and mob violence: On October 24, 2024, a rally led by Swami Darshan Bharti demanded demolition of the Uttarkashi mosque. The rally turned violent: five police personnel and over 30 civilians were injured, and Muslim shops were vandalised and looted.

Despite assurances to the High Court, a Hindutva Mahapanchayat was allowed on 1 December 2024, where speakers—including BJP MLA T Raja—issued threats involving bulldozers. APCR records that this directly violated the spirit of the High Court’s directions.

Testimonies document shopkeepers suffering losses of ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh, broken shutters, looted goods, and lasting fear.

Tehri region- Srinagar, Chauras, Kirti Nagar: In Srinagar, Muslims reported being pushed out from Kirti Nagar and Chauras, following “love jihad” allegations. At least 15 shopkeepers were evicted and forced to return to Najibabad.

APCR records how communal narratives entered schools, with teachers recounting speeches about “love jihad” and “land jihad” at official functions. Muslim government employees reported being labelled outsiders and accused of occupying land or jobs.

In Chauras, after allegations about a relationship between a Hindu woman and a Muslim man, at least five Muslim shopkeepers fled, despite no complaint from the woman’s family.

Gauchar, Chamoli- Escalation from a minor dispute: On October 15, 2024, a parking dispute between two men—one Hindu, one Muslim—escalated into communal mobilisation. Right-wing groups intervened, leading to the eviction of at least 10 Muslim shopkeepers.

Families who had lived in Gauchar for 45 years fled overnight. APCR documents mob intimidation at hospitals, vandalism of shops, and police-escorted evacuations.

Nanda Ghat- Forced overnight displacement: Nanda Ghat witnessed one of the most severe incidents. Following an eve-teasing allegation against a Muslim barber, a sequence of protests culminated in large-scale vandalism on September 2–3, 2024. Shops were looted, ₹4 lakh in cash stolen, vehicles thrown into rivers, and a makeshift mosque destroyed.

Police advised Muslims to leave for their own safety. Thirty to thirty-five people were escorted out in police vehicles, effectively evacuating the community. Despite High Court directions later ensuring protection, most families did not return.

Nainital, 2024- Violence following a criminal allegation: In April 2024, after the arrest of Mohammad Usman under POCSO and BNS provisions, protests turned violent. APCR documents stone-pelting, vandalism of Muslim shops, attacks on eateries, and an assault on Nainital Jama Masjid, which is located next to the police station.

Despite repeated requests, additional forces were not deployed for hours. No FIR was registered for damage to the mosque, even after multiple hearings.

Expansion to Haldwani: Following Nainital, right-wing groups moved into Haldwani, pressuring Muslim shopkeepers to change names or shut businesses. Long-standing establishments reported threats after their religious identity became known.

Legislative changes and institutional targeting: APCR documents the passage of the Uniform Civil Code (2024) and subsequent 2025 amendments, along with changes to anti-conversion laws and minority education governance. These laws increased penalties, expanded definitions of unlawful conversion, and altered the structure of madrasa regulation, raising concerns among Muslim communities about loss of autonomy.

The UMMEED portal and demolitions: The report records that the UMMEED portal digitisation drive required all waqf properties to register within a short deadline. Due to technical failures and documentation requirements, 75% of waqf properties remained unregistered. These were automatically classified as “disputed.”

Between June and November 2025, APCR records the demolition of over 300 Muslim shrines and dargahs, including registered properties such as Hazrat Kamal Shah Dargah in Dehradun. The Supreme Court later issued contempt notices in some cases.

Conclusion drawn by the report

The APCR fact-finding report concludes that the incidents documented across Uttarakhand between 2021 and 2025 cannot be viewed in isolation. Based on field investigations and verified records, the report finds that Muslim individuals and families were repeatedly subjected to violence, threats, vandalism, economic exclusion, evictions, and displacement following communal mobilisation, allegations, or administrative action.

The report records that in several locations, police protection was either delayed or inadequate, FIRs relating to attacks on Muslim property and religious places were not consistently registered, and affected families were advised to leave areas “for their own safety.” Many of those who fled had lived in these towns for decades and were forced to abandon homes, shops, and livelihoods without any formal rehabilitation or assurance of return.

APCR further notes that administrative measures—such as demolition drives, verification exercises, and regulatory actions—often coincided with periods of heightened communal tension, deepening insecurity among minority communities. Taken together, the report documents a sustained impact on the safety, dignity, and ability of Muslims in Uttarakhand to live and work without fear, and places these findings on record for judicial, institutional, and public scrutiny.

The report may be read below:

Related:

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India’s Silent Push-Out: Courts, states, and the deportation of Bengali-Speaking Muslims

Weaponising Sufism and Wahhabism to Subjugate Muslims

Delhi Court sentences riots accused for promoting hatred against Muslims, sentences him to 3 years in custody

The post From Purola to Nainital: APCR report details pattern of communal violence in Uttarakhand appeared first on SabrangIndia.

One recalls that in the decade of the late 1990s, the violence manifested in Orissa and Gujarat.  And it is around that time that Atal Bihari Vajpayee commented that there is a need for national debate on the issue of conversion. Conversion has been the major pretext for attacking various events related to Christian community’s life. The prayers, the church meetings, the celebrations are the occasions when the attacks are orchestrated more. This year again it became manifest around the Christmas celebrations.

See Communalism Combat’s issue, in 1999 and 2007-2008 re-published in SabrangIndia on the violence in Dangs in South Gujarat during the Christmas of 1998 and the Kandhamal violence of 2008 in Orissa (Odisha) here and here.

The foot soldiers of Hindutva had a gala time attacking street vendors selling the Xmas wares like caps, dresses and associated things. At places they attacked the Santa Claus’s replicas, at others they vandalised churches and the showrooms selling Xmas wares. Tavleen Singh, the columnist wrote in Indian express, “The more intrepid of these Hindutva warriors stormed into churches and disturbed services with vandalism and violence. Videos of these ‘accomplishments’ were uploaded on social media. In one of them, I saw a BJP legislator enter a church in Jabalpur and harangue a blind woman, whom she accused menacingly of trying to convert Hindus to Christianity…there were nearly a hundred attempts to disrupt Christmas festivities and nearly all of them occurred in states ruled by the BJP. Nobody was punished and no chief minister openly deplored the violence.”

These events have been covered in the international media also. Few papers commented about the possibility of retaliatory violence against Hindus in those countries. The interesting aspect of the Indian states’ attitude against these events is their loud silence and it is no coincidence that most of this violence has been taking place in BJP ruled states. Fortunately, we have a non-biological Prime Minister who in the face of this visited the Church and offered prayers! It was an interesting phenomenon that inside the Church the Hindutva top leader is creating an optics of respecting Christianity while his followers are doing anti-Christian vandalism on the streets and Churches.

Citizens for Justice and Peace (Dec. 22, 2025) report very aptly summarises the tremendous rise in anti-Christian violence over the years “Between 2014 and 2024, documented incidents of violence against Christians rose from 139 to 834, an increase of over 500%. In 2025 alone (January–November), more than 700 incidents have already been recorded, affecting families, churches, schools, hospitals, and service institutions (based on United Christian Forum-UCF figures). Dalit Christians, Adivasi Christians, and women are among the most affected.” The US Commission on International Religious Freedom again recommended designating India as a Country of Particular Concern in its 2025 report, citing concerns over religious freedom. Human Rights Watch and other bodies documented issues affecting minorities.

Christmas eve violence is not new as a Bishop recently reminded his community, while cautioning the Churches in Raipur “In Raipur, however, the Catholic archbishop, Victor Henry Thakur, was very worried. He sent a letter to local churches, schools and other institutions urging caution, “In the light of the call for Chhattisgarh Bandh tomorrow, I feel and suggest that all our churches, presbyteries, convents and institutions should seek protection in writing from the local police. Please consider my suggestion because it seems to have been planned just before Christmas, as was the case at Kandhamal in Odisha.”

This reminds of violence around Christmas in Orissa in 2007 and 2008. The one which was orchestrated in 2008 took a massive proportion as nearly 70000 Christians had to flee and nearly 400 churches were vandalized.

In the face of this one could have expected the Church hierarchy to have expressed their concern about the attacks on Christians, but their silence on this serious matter shows either their lack of concern for their community or some other hidden vested interest in keeping mum on the issue.

One has also witnessed state after state adopting anti-conversion laws, titled ‘Freedom of Religion Acts’. This is putting rigorous conditions on the religious conduct of the community. Pastors and priests are arrested on pretext of conversion activity and face the legal rigmarole for years.

The propaganda that Christians are converting needs to be visited yet again. Christianity is an old religion in India having come here through St Thomas in AD 52 on Malabar Coast. The social perception that it came with British rule has no basis. From AD 52 to 2011, when the last census was held, the percentage of Christians rose to 2.3% as per the census figures. It is nobody’s case to deny that some conscious conversion work might have taken place. The census figures further just have a look at the figures of Christian population from 1971 to 2011. !971-2.60%, 1981-2.44%, 1991-2.34% and 2001-2.30%. That tells an interesting tale.

Pastor Graham Stains was also burnt alive with his two sons’ Timothy and Philip in a dastardly and baseless “revenge killing by the far right” on grounds t of indulging in conversion work. The otherwise flawed Wadhva Commission which went into this ghastly murder in its report points out that there was no statistical increase of Christians in Keonjhar where Pastor Stains was working for decades among leprosy patients.

There are many Christian missionary education institutes and hospitals, which are very much sought after. The conversions which have taken place are more among Adivasi and Dalits who have been thronging to the education and health facilities in remote areas. It is possible that major conversions might have taken place while seeking these facilities in remote areas where state facilities are sparse.

The hatred constructed around conversion is now very widespread. The attacks on recent Christmas celebrations is a horrific manifestation. The state authorities and political class –when such attacks happen and are reported — is either mute or even complicit. The compliant state machinery is the major cause of gradual intensification of the anti-Christian activity in diverse forms. This years’ attacks are a warning signal of the silence and double speak of the ruling dispensation. On the one hand leaders go to pray in a Church and on the other to let the vandals do their job. One hopes that international responses (repercussions) take the form of Government to Government expressed concerns, responding to appeals of religious freedom and the union government responding effectively to these appeals.

(This piece has been edited for publication—Editors)

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are the author’s personal views, and do not necessarily represent the views of Sabrangindia.

Related:

Peaceful street protest in Mumbai condemns Christmas-time attacks on Christians across India

Conversions and anti-Christian violence in India

The post India 2025: Plight of the Christian minority appeared first on SabrangIndia.

From shopping malls and public markets to schools and churches, the days leading up to Christmas and Christmas Day itself witnessed a strikingly similar pattern of attacks: right-wing groups invoking cultural nationalism, forcibly disrupting celebrations, chanting religious slogans outside Christian institutions, vandalising decorations, and accusing ordinary citizens—women, children, teachers, and worshippers—of proselytisation merely for participating in a festival.

What makes these incidents especially alarming is not just their frequency, but their geographic spread, thematic uniformity, and political context—pointing to something far more systemic than sporadic unrest.

A national pattern, not isolated events

1. Raipur, Chhattisgarh: Criminality Masquerading as Protest

On December 24, a mob affiliated with VHP–Bajrang Dal stormed Magneto Mall in Raipur, smashing Christmas decorations and assaulting staff during a bandh called against alleged religious conversions. Videos show security personnel overwhelmed as festive installations were destroyed in broad daylight. As reported by Times of India, the bandh itself followed communal tensions in Kanker district over the burial of a Christian man—an issue already fraught with majoritarian hostility.

This was not a spontaneous outburst. It was symbolic violence—targeting Christmas imagery in a public commercial space to send a message: Christian visibility itself is unacceptable.

Militant Hindu outfit Bajrang Dal vandalizes Christmas decorations worth 100 thousands at Raipur Magneto Mall. People like @narindertweets are indirectly responsible for inciting these fanatics. Even her previous tweets were amplified by far-right Hindu nationalist groups. https://t.co/CaXQe0lyHf pic.twitter.com/iOaDrl1bTJ

— South Asian Christians (@S_AsianXtians) December 24, 2025

2. Assam: Policing Festivity as a Crime

In Nalbari district, VHP–Bajrang Dal members raided shops selling Christmas items, confiscated decorations, vandalised temporary stalls, and destroyed Christmas displays at St. Mary’s School, chanting slogans glorifying a “Hindu Rashtra” (Economic Times; Hindutva Watch).

The message was unmistakable: Christmas is not merely unwelcome—it is to be erased from public space.

3. Uttar Pradesh: Ritualised intimidation outside Churches

In Bareilly and other parts of UP, groups gathered outside churches chanting the Hanuman Chalisa and slogans like “Christian missionaries murdabad.” These were not counter-celebrations but deliberate acts of religious intimidation, timed precisely to coincide with Christmas Eve services (Independent UK; videos widely circulated on X).

The presence of police—who largely stood by—did not deter the demonstrators. Instead, it underscored a dangerous normalisation: majoritarian disruption of minority worship as an accepted public spectacle.

Members of right wing groups chant Hanuman chalisa outside a church in cantonment area in Bareilly district Uttar Pradesh. pic.twitter.com/ybUUHKZiG0

— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) December 24, 2025

4. Delhi: Gendered harassment in public markets

In Lajpat Nagar, Christian women wearing Santa caps were harassed, shouted at, and accused of conversion simply for walking through a public market. Wearing festive headgear was recast as criminal intent. The women were not evangelising; they were existing visibly as Christians in public space—and were punished for it (The Quint; X videos).

This incident exposes the gendered dimension of communal vigilantism, where women’s bodies and presence become sites of moral policing.

During pre-Christmas celebrations, Christian women were simply wearing Santa caps and walking in a public market in Lajpat Nagar. For that , Hindutva goons harassed them shouting, intimidating, and creating chaos .

This is a public market. Wearing a cap is not a crime.… pic.twitter.com/abDhicCduL

— aree_shuklajii (@th_anonymouse) December 23, 2025

5. Madhya Pradesh: Violence against the most vulnerable

Perhaps the most disturbing incident occurred in Jabalpur, where a visually impaired woman attending a Christmas lunch at Prince of Peace Church was allegedly manhandled and abused by a BJP district office-bearer, who accused the church of converting children. The woman later said, “Celebrating Christmas does not mean I’ve changed my religion” (Indian Express).

That a disabled woman—attending a community meal—could be publicly humiliated under the banner of “conversion vigilance” reveals the moral collapse of this discourse.

6. Kerala: Children attacked for singing carols

In Palakkad, a group of children aged 10–15 singing Christmas carols were attacked; their instruments destroyed. As per Times of India, an RSS worker was arrested, yet the incident sparked attempts to justify the assault through political statements that questioned the legitimacy of the carol group itself.

When even children become targets, the pretence of “protecting culture” collapses entirely. Detailed report may be read here and here.

The Conversion Narrative: A convenient alibi

Across states, one justification recurred relentlessly: allegations of “forced” or “illegal” religious conversion. These claims were often made without evidence, FIRs, or prior complaints—and yet they were sufficient to mobilise mobs, justify vandalism, and silence celebrations.

This narrative performs three functions:

1. Criminalisation of Christian presence—turning festivals, schools, lunches, and carols into suspect activities.
2. Delegitimisation of constitutional rights—suggesting that freedom of religion is conditional and revocable.
3. Moral cover for vigilantism—allowing mobs to act as self-appointed enforcers of cultural purity.

Anti-conversion laws in several states have further blurred the line between lawful regulation and extrajudicial policing, emboldening private actors to assume coercive power over minorities.

State Response: Uneven, reactive, and often silent

As reported by Indian Express and The Times of India, while FIRs were filed in some cases (Raipur, Nagaur), policing was largely reactive rather than preventive. In many incidents, police presence failed to stop intimidation; in others, celebrations were curtailed out of fear.

The silence—or ambiguity—of ruling party leadership at the national level has been particularly conspicuous. Condemnations came primarily from opposition leaders and Christian bodies, including the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, which warned of an “alarming rise” in attacks and demanded protection for worshippers (CBCI statement).

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) and other Christian leaders issued stern condemnations of the incidents. They described multiple attacks — including a viral video from Madhya Pradesh where a visually challenged woman was allegedly harassed — as deeply troubling, undermining India’s constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion and the right to worship without fear. CBCI demanded strict action against offenders and called for visible protection for communities celebrating Christmas. Reported Asia News.

In Mumbai, reports The Times of India the Auxiliary Bishop publicly lamented the “hurt and pain” caused by such attacks, even as here appealed for resilience and unity.

Groups like the Bombay Catholic Sabha condemned what they termed brutal intimidation, urging decisive protection for minority rights during festive seasons.

Political leaders across party lines criticised the incidents:

• Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin called the violence a violation of India’s secular Constitution and urged government action to protect communities, reports The Times of India.
• Kerala Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan explicitly blamed Sangh Parivar affiliates for routine obstruction of Christmas events across states, reports ABP Live.
• Shashi Tharoor described various incidents as an “assault on secular tradition,” warning that Christmas 2025 was marked by unprecedented anxiety triggered by intolerance, reports India Today.

A constitutional crisis in slow motion

Article 25 of the Constitution guarantees not only the right to believe, but the right to practice and propagate religion freely—subject only to public order, morality, and health. What unfolded during Christmas 2025 turns this principle on its head: minorities are asked to retreat into invisibility to maintain “order.”

When:

• decorations are vandalised,
• worship is disrupted,
• women are harassed,
• children are attacked,
• schools are raided,

the issue is no longer communal tension—it is constitutional failure.

Religious freedom cannot exist where celebration itself invites violence.

Conclusion: What Christmas 2025 reveals about India today

Christmas 2025 in India has drawn global attention, with international reporting how attacks on Christians have overshadowed festival celebrations and raised concerns about rising intolerance toward religious minorities.

These events stood as a powerful reminder that religious freedom and social harmony require active protection, not merely constitutional guarantee. Attacks on celebrations, mobilisation of cultural majoritarian rhetoric, and repeated disruptions of religious life reveal deep social and political fault lines.

True religious freedom is not merely the absence of formal prohibition, but the presence of safety, mutual respect, and civic equality. Ensuring these values requires not just effective policing and legal reforms, but a broader national commitment to pluralism, empathy, and constitutional values that protect every community’s right to worship and celebrate without fear.

Related:

Free Speech in India 2025: What the Free Speech Collective report reveals about a year of silencing

The ‘Shastra Poojan’ Project: How the ritual of weapon worship is being recast as a tool of power and hate propaganda

Kerala: Protests erupt after RSS-BJP man’s alleged attack on children’s Christmas carol group in Palakkad

MP, Odisha, Delhi, Rajasthan: Right-wing outfits barge into 2 churches ahead of Christmas, attack vendors selling X’mas goodies, tensions run high

The post Not Merry, Not Free: What the attacks on Christmas say about India’s shrinking pluralism appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The peaceful gathering of about 100 people was organised by the Samvidhan Jagar Yatra Samiti (SJYS)  in collaboration with The Bombay Catholic Sabha (BCS), one of the city’s oldest Catholic lay organisations. The protest took place outside Hotel Ratna on S.V. Road, drawing community members, civil society representatives, and concerned citizens who stood silently with placards denouncing hate and religious violence.

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“An attack on the Constitution itself”

Organisers said the protest was not merely about individual incidents, but about a broader pattern of hostility against Christians during one of their most significant religious periods.

“Such attacks are not isolated law-and-order issues. They strike at the heart of our Constitution — at the freedom of conscience, the right to profess and practise religion, and the right to worship without fear,” wrote Dolphy D’Souza, spokesperson of the Bombay Catholic Sabha, while inviting people to join the protest. President BCS Norbert Mendonca said it was the beginning of a systematic campaign on the issue. Norbert Mendonca, president, BCS said that this was the start of a campaign on the issue.

Placards at the site referenced constitutional values, religious freedom, and the need for state accountability, while deliberately avoiding slogans or speeches, underscoring the silent and dignified nature of the protest.

Among the prominent faces present were Prof Arvind Nigle, Sridhar Shelar and Iqbal Shaikh, convenors of SJYS, former corporator, Shiv Sena (UBT), Samir Desai and Teesta Setalvad, human rights activist.

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Passersby stop, read, respond

What made the protest particularly striking was the spontaneous engagement it drew from the public. Women on scooters slowed down, pedestrians stopped mid-walk, commuters paused to read the placards, and several expressed solidarity with the cause.

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According to organisers, many passersby quietly acknowledged the protesters, some offering words of encouragement, others simply folding their hands or nodding in approval. The peaceful street protest of the demonstrators appeared to invite reflection rather than confrontation — a deliberate choice, organisers said, in a climate increasingly marked by polarising rhetoric.

Photographs from the protest capture these moments: about a 100 citizens standing still in a bustling Mumbai street withmessages against hate, as some passerby seemed visibly moved by the gravity of the issue.

Christmas season under shadow

Over the past week, multiple reports from different parts of the country have documented disruptions of Christmas prayers, vandalism of churches, intimidation of worshippers, and threats issued in the name of preventing “forced conversions.” Christian groups have warned that such actions are becoming increasingly normalised, often occurring with little immediate intervention.

Detailed reports of these attacks may be read here and here.

Friday’s protest sought to draw attention to this pattern, emphasising that religious freedom is not a concession granted by the state, but a fundamental right guaranteed to every citizen. The organisers stressed that the protest was as much a call to citizens as it was to authorities.

Related:

Free Speech in India 2025: What the Free Speech Collective report reveals about a year of silencing

The ‘Shastra Poojan’ Project: How the ritual of weapon worship is being recast as a tool of power and hate propaganda

Kerala: Protests erupt after RSS-BJP man’s alleged attack on children’s Christmas carol group in Palakkad

MP, Odisha, Delhi, Rajasthan: Right-wing outfits barge into 2 churches ahead of Christmas, attack vendors selling X’mas goodies, tensions run high

The post Peaceful street protest in Mumbai condemns Christmas-time attacks on Christians across India appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Clearly emboldened by some recent poll gains by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in local elections in the state, RSS-BJP worker Aswin Raj allegedly assaulted the children who participated in the carol and damaged their musical instrument. The band used by the carol group belonged to the CPI (M) area committee. The state police have promptly arrested Mr. Raj following a complaint.

This attack on Christians follows a ghastly incident of lynching of a Muslim migrant labour in Kerala on December 13. Reports of this may be read here.

Protest carols by DYFI

In a strong condemnation of the attack, the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) –affiliated to the CPI-M- has announced that it would organise protest carols across the district. All 2,500 DYFI units celebrate through protest carols, the youth organisation said. Challenging the RSS and the BJP to prevent or disrupt the protest carols, the DYFI warned that it would “respond in an appropriate manner.”

In a questionable reaction, the BJP State vice-president C. Krishnakumar justified the attack, claiming that the carol was organised by the CPI (M) area committee and that the participants were intoxicated. He alleged that the members of the carol group had “deliberately attempted to create trouble.” The BJP leader’s remarks have drawn sharp criticism. Describing Krishnakumar as “the Praveen Togadia of Palakkad,” the DYFI said he had “exposed his true communal face.”

Meanwhile, Palakkad Bishop Mar Peter Kochupurackal condemned the attack, saying he hoped that “those responsible will handle the matter legally.”

The Congress—at loggerheads with the CPI-M otherwise, has described the attack as the BJP’s “natural response to its failure to secure the expected support from the Christian community” in the recent civic body elections. It termed the incident “an attack on communal harmony” and demanded that those responsible be brought to book.

The police said Mr. Raj was already facing charges under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA). He has now been booked under various sections, including those relating to causing hurt and promoting communal violence.

Related:

MP, Odisha, Delhi, Rajasthan: Right-wing outfits barge into 2 churches ahead of Christmas, attack vendors selling X’mas goodies, tensions run high

No right to live, or die: Christians in Chhattisgarh, and India under attack

‘Brutal intimidation of Christians’ all India condemned: Bombay Catholic Sabha

The post Kerala: Protests erupt after RSS-BJP man’s alleged attack on children’s Christmas carol group in Palakkad appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The statement says that “there are videos galore of such tactics by right wing actors and actresses and some belonging to the ruling party.” One such video is attached (in the BCS’ spokesperson Dolphy D’souza’s social media post) showcasing such shameful tactics. The organization has already brought this to the attention of Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, “seeking his intervention to stop this madness.”

Besides, the organization that represents close to 70,000 Catholics in the Mumbai region has also, through the social media, drawn attention to the serious matter of spiralling attacks against Christians, of Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition, Ms Mamta Banerjee,TMC , Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi Party, Sharad Pawar , NCP (Sharad Pawar), Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena (UBT), M. K. Stalin, DMK and. Pinarayi Vijayan of the CPI (M) for their immediate attention and intervention. The BCS has also tagged Chief Minister (CM), Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis pointing out that there were incidents of attacks of Christians in Maharashtra too during 2025.

To Fadavis, BCS has urged that he ensures that Christians in Mumbai, Maharashtra have a peaceful Christmas season. Police need to be instructed to strictly ensure enforcement of rule of law equally for all. We demand that such goonda elements responsible for such tactics must be arrested and prosecuted.

Dear Hon’ble Prime Minister,
Merry Christmas
This video of attacks on Christians during the Christmas season anguishes & pains all citizens.
We seek yr immediate intervention to prevent such atrocities. https://t.co/WnEseiAQMG @narendramodi @PMOIndia @AmitShah @Dev_Fadnavis

— Dolphy Dsouza (@dolphydsouza) December 23, 2025

Dear Hon’ble Rahul Gandhi, LoP,
Merry Christmas.
Need your intervention to stop this brutal and intimidating madness! @RahulGandhi @kharge @SoniaGandhiiINC @priyankagandhi @chennithala @kcvenugopalmp @DrAMSinghvi @Jairam_Ramesh @thecaravanindia @thewire_in @scroll_in https://t.co/aee04DyO36

— Dolphy Dsouza (@dolphydsouza) December 23, 2025

Dear Hon’ble C.M. Mr. Devendra Fadnavis
Merry Christmas
There hv been incidents of Anti- Christian violence in Maharashtra during this year. We urge you this Christmas season, the police are instructed to ensure that Christians are able to celebrate peacefully. @Dev_Fadnavis https://t.co/aee04DyO36

— Dolphy Dsouza (@dolphydsouza) December 23, 2025

Citizens for Justice and Peace (cjp.org.in) has, over the past few days been highlighting these systemic attacks against Christians especially in Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. These can be read here.

Related:

MP, Odisha, Delhi, Rajasthan: Right-wing outfits barge into 2 churches ahead of Christmas, attack vendors selling X’mas goodies, tensions run high

No right to live, or die: Christians in Chhattisgarh, and India under attack

Documenting a national pattern of vigilantism & targeted action against minorities

The post ‘Brutal intimidation of Christians’ all India condemned: Bombay Catholic Sabha appeared first on SabrangIndia.

This is a macabre repeat of three years ago. In November 2022, in the same region, an elderly Christian woman, Chaitibai, in Krutola village, Chhattisgarh, was denied burial space by village authorities, forcing her son to use family land.^[1]The family had initially been denied access to the village cemetery and was directed to bury the deceased on their own land. Subsequently, villagers and local political leaders attempted to exhume the body using a tractor, but the police prevented this attempt. The following day, however, the police themselves exhumed the body and reburied it in the Christian graveyard in Anantgarh pursuant to the orders of the District Collector.

A press release of the United Christian Forum has expressed alarm at the ongoing situation in Chhattisgarh. All these cases follow a documented pattern of violence and hostility against Tribal Christians.

Cases in Chhattisgarh, Odisha^[3], and Jharkhand reveal coordinated intimidation. Burials are becoming contentious and politically charged. Grieving families are forced to face violent mobs, forced exhumations and forced conversions of faith.

The United Christian Forum recorded 23 burial-related incidents (19 in Chhattisgarh, 2 in Jharkhand, and one each in Odisha and West Bengal) in 2025, whereas 2024 saw around 40 such cases (30 in Chhattisgarh, 6 in Jharkhand, and others in Bihar and Karnataka).One recent report also describes Christians being denied burial rights on ancestral land and a climate of fear among pastors and converts.^[4]

Most affected villages do not have designated Christian burial grounds, and historically shared communal graveyards have increasingly been treated as Hindu-only spaces. Families attempting to bury their dead within the village face opposition, even where they have buried relatives for generations. Where Christian only graveyards exist, they are often located far from tribal settlements.

Additionally, families frequently lack access to a mortuary, transport, or time to undertake legal procedures while a body is decomposing at home. This Practical hardship often prevents immediate complaint-making, which in turn allows authorities to record “no dispute”.

Among the recent Cases:

• In January 2025, villagers obstructed the burial of Ramesh Baghel, a Scheduled Caste Christian. With no relief from the High Court, his son approached the Supreme Court but was forced to bury him outside the village.^[5]

• In November 2025, villagers in Jewartala of Balod district in Chhattisgarh refused to allow the burial of Raman Sahu, a Christian convert, claiming that only “traditional” village rites were permissible. Just weeks earlier in Koderkurse, Kanker district, Chhattisgarh, another Christian man’s body was turned away from multiple villages for three days, with police unable to secure a burial site.^[6]

The UCF also states that “there have also been numerous instances of Ghar Wapsi and violence.^[7]The media has, over the years, documented Hindu nationalist groups in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, pressuring Adivasi Christians to “reconvert,” including a filmed ceremony led by a local BJP leader. One recent report also describes a climate of fear among pastors and converts.^[8]” 

Recent Cases

• In Nabarangpur district, a mob blocked the burial of 20-year-old Saravan Gond after his family refused to abandon Christianity. Even in the presence of officials, agitators declared Christians had “no right” to burial in the village, assaulted female relatives, and later forced the family to exhume the body themselves. After the burial site was vandalised, the family fled for safety. Saravan’s remains have since disappeared, and despite a formal complaint on 28 April 2025, the police have taken no action^.[9]

• On November 2, 13-year-old Sunita from Brehebeda in Narayanpur district, Chhattisgarh died of typhoid; when her body returned home, villagers blocked a Christian burial and insisted on traditional Adivasi rites. Her brother Manupotai said the family was told a burial on village land would be allowed only if they abandoned Christianity. Sunita was ultimately buried that evening far from Brehebeda, at a burial ground near the Narayanpur district centre, roughly 10 km away. ^[10]

Similarly in Odisha, independent fact-finding teams recorded at least 10 cases of burial denial between 2022 and 2025 across Nabarangpur, Balasore and Gajapati, along with associated exhumations,^[11]forced reconversions and assaults.^[12]Fact-finding team also reported access to community land for Christians. ^[13]

Other recent Cases:

• In Nabrangpur, Odisha, India, after a person named Keshav Santa died on 2 March 2025, villagers blocked his burial solely because his son is a Christian. Even burial on the family’s own land was denied unless they reconverted to Hinduism. The police and the local Revenue Officer arrived but took no action. Keshav’s son was ultimately forced to announce he was leaving Christianity before burial was permitted on 9 March. In the weeks that followed, the family was subjected to punitive water and electricity cuts and sustained harassment by villagers. Instead of protecting them, local authorities then issued a “breach of peace” notice against the Christian family itself, effectively charging the grieving victims while ignoring those who threatened and coerced them.^[14]

• In October 2024, in Menjar village, Nabarangpur district, Odisha, India, the family of 27-year-old Dalit Christian Madhu Harijan was prevented by non-Christian villagers from burying him in the common graveyard. Villagers demanded that his body first be “converted to Hinduism”, and a mob reportedly conducted a shuddhiritual over the corpse. When the family and the local Christian priest approached authorities, the Umerkote tehsildar suggested burial in a distant Christian-majority village instead. After a two-day stand-off during which the body began to decompose, the family, under pressure, agreed to the Hindu villagers’ conditions.^[15]

Hate Speech: Exclusion of Tribal Christians from Constitutional Protections

Calls to delist Christian tribals from the Scheduled Tribe status are creating fear and division in states like Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Rajasthan. Organisations such as the Janjati Suraksha Manch (JSM) have held large rallies urging that tribal communities who adopt Christianity or Islam be stripped of Scheduled Tribe protections, framing conversion as abandonment of “tribal identity.” ^[16]

These campaigns insist that conversion leads to the “loss of tribal identity,” even though tribal status in the Constitution is not tied to religion. Field reports show that these campaigns have contributed to unprecedented violence, excommunication, and coercion. On the other hand, no similar objection is raised when tribals adopt Hindu practices, exposing the selective and discriminatory nature of the movement.

Many Adivasi Christians fear that being pushed to use these Christian-only burial sites will later be used to challenge their Scheduled Tribe identity and demand their “delisting,”.

UCF: Larger Context of Violence against Christians in India

• Between 2014 and 2024, incidents of violence against Christians rose from 139 to 834, reflecting an alarming increase of more than 500% over a single decade. The total number of documented incidents across this 12-year period reached 4,959 cases, affecting Christian individuals, families, and institutions nationwide.
• There are over 700 incidents in 2025 (Jan-November) affecting families, churches, schools, hospitals, and service organisations. Vulnerable communities impacted: Dalit Christians, women, and tribal Christians.
• And just two states, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, account for 48% of all violence.
• Only 45 FIRs or criminal complaints were registered against members of the mob, despite nearly 580 incidents being recorded in 2025, resulting in 93% of incidents going unpunished due to administrative inaction and victims’ fear of retaliation.
• 230 FIRs were filed against Christians, out of which 155 were under the Anti–conversion laws, and 800+ people went behind bars.
• The two states with the highest number of wrongful arrests of Christians under anti-conversion laws are Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. In Uttar Pradesh alone, since the law came into effect in 2020 and up to October 2025, more than 350 FIRs have been registered, resulting in the arrest of over 1,000 individuals.

Finally, the organisation states that “this extreme violence and hostility at the time of bereavement in the family is a reminder that all is not well in the country.  No family should be met with intimidation, assault, or threats in their time of grief because of their faith. The recent incidents, where Christian families have been blocked from burying their loved ones, forced to bury outside their villages, or even compelled to exhume bodies under pressure, show how grief and vulnerability can be weaponised.”

The government’s first obligation is to protect life, liberty, and dignity, especially when a family is most vulnerable. If police and local authorities cannot ensure a lawful, peaceful burial and instead allow mobs to dictate who may grieve and how. The State, by failing to protect communities, is enabling impunity.

The UCF has called on the governments of Chhattisgarh and Odisha to:

• Implement a time-bound compensation and rehabilitation plan for displaced Tribal Christians, including land restitution, rebuilding of homes, and livelihood support.
• Direct the State Director General of Police to initiate departmental action against police personnel who fail to prevent or respond to violence against religious minorities.
• Direct every Gram Panchayat and urban local body to identify, notify, and maintain a “common graveyard” area that is religion-neutral and accessible to all residents, including converts and minority communities. The allotment should be backed by written land demarcation, public signage, and entry in local land records, with a clear protocol that no burial may be obstructed by private actors or mobs.
• Designate a nodal officer at the district level to ensure immediate police protection during funerals where tensions are anticipated, and any attempt to block a lawful burial or exhume remains should trigger prompt criminal action and disciplinary proceedings for official inaction.

Related:

Escalating violence sparks concerns as attacks targeting Christians surge in Chhattisgarh

Telangana: Christian cemetery attacked a week after Dalit Churchgoers were attacked

Assam: Hindutva group issues ultimatums to Christian-run schools

Christian prayer hall attacked in Karnataka

2022: A Look back at hate crimes against Dalits and Adivasis

CJP writes to Minorities Commission over attacks on churches

Kawardha communal violence: CJP petitions DGP to take certain action against perpetrators

The post No right to live, or die: Christians in Chhattisgarh, and India under attack appeared first on SabrangIndia.

According to the latest available data, in 2024 alone, a comprehensive survey by India Hate Lab (IHL) documented 1,165 in-person hate-speech events targeting religious minorities across India, marking a 74.4 percent rise from the 668 incidents recorded in 2023. A significant number of these incidents occurred in states governed by the ruling coalition, underlining the geographic and political concentration of communal hate mobilisation. Many of these hate-speech events including rallies, processions, public speeches, and nationalist gatherings were accompanied by social-media amplification, transforming offline aggression into widely visible and shared public spectacle. At the same time, India is entering a high-stakes electoral cycle in 2025–2026, with state assembly elections scheduled in key states such as Delhi, Bihar, Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry. This convergence of rising hate speech, online amplification and election-era mobilisation has created a volatile environment in which ordinary citizens increasingly act as self-appointed enforcers of identity and morality, often targeting religious minorities under the guise of vigilante zeal. Reported NDTV.

These dynamics now play out not only through speeches or online rhetoric, but through direct interference in everyday life. Across markets, highways, neighbourhoods, schools and private homes, civilians have increasingly taken on roles that mimic policing functions. They stop individuals from demanding proof of citizenship or religious identity, supervise what businesses may sell or display, disrupt prayer gatherings inside homes or churches, compel public chanting of religious slogans, and enforce boycotts against minority traders. In several cases, these acts escalate into physical violence, public humiliation, or forced displacement. The presence of cameras and mobile phones has added another layer to the intimidation; confrontations are recorded and circulated as proof of ideological performance, converting harassment into spectacle. Police responses frequently blur the line between enforcement and endorsement, with officers either standing by during mob action, detaining victims after vigilante complaints, or acting only once public pressure mounts. Within this landscape, the distinction between civilian vigilantism and state authority weakens, leaving targets without clear avenues of protection while aggressors operate with growing confidence that their actions fall within tolerated political behaviour.

The incidents documented across states fall broadly into six categories: vigilante violence; economic harassment and boycott; raids on prayer meetings; identity policing and forced slogans; evictions and demolitions; and patterns of state response and police complicity.

Vigilante violence

Across states, groups identifying themselves as cow-protection or majoritarian outfits have moved from episodic intimidation to repeated physical enforcement on public roads, markets and transit routes. These actions take several common forms. Perpetrators intercept transporters and vendors, they detain and humiliate people on the spot, they physically assault those who resist, and they record and circulate the confrontation to amplify the act. The incidents collected here show that such attacks are not isolated. They recur in different states, follow similar scripts, and often end with victims being punished while perpetrators face little immediate consequence.

In Maharashtra on September 24, 2025, two cattle transporters – one Hindu and one Muslim – were intercepted and assaulted; a later video shows the victims forced to apologise as their cattle were taken away. In Sambhajinagar on November 10, 2025, a vigilante named Shobhraj Patil is recorded slapping and kicking a Muslim cattle transporter and verbally abusing others who were made to sit on the ground; other Bajrang Dal members restrained Patil only after the violence escalated. On November 12, 2025, In Balikuda, Jagatsinghpur, members of the Bajrang Dal and Hindu Sena entered a Muslim neighbourhood armed with sticks and, following their complaint, police confiscated meat for “investigation”; there is no contemporaneous record of action against the groups that forced entry.

Vigilante attacks also target traders. On November 2, 2025 in Ludhiana, Gau Raksha Dal members raided a biryani shop on beef allegations, detained the owner and handed him to police. In Hisar on November 4, 2025, a Bajrang Dal activist identified by local reporting assaulted a meat vendor for opening on a Tuesday and forced the vendor to chant “Jai Shri Ram,” an episode that was filmed and circulated – The Tribune reported. In Indore on November 10, 2025, Members of the Bajrang Dal assaulted a Muslim gym trainer after seeing him driving with a Hindu woman, accusing him of “luring” Hindu women. Despite the woman defending him and no formal complaint being lodged by her, the police allegedly transferred the case between police stations citing jurisdiction issues and ultimately sent the gym trainer to jail under restrictive legal sections. No reported police action against the vigilante attackers was available at the time of documentation.

The interplay between vigilante coercion and state action is evident in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh. On November 2, 2025, following pressure from far-right groups and cow vigilantes, police publicly paraded nine Muslim men accused of cow slaughter, despite statements from local butchers that the animal involved was a buffalo. In the local butcher market, vigilantes allegedly attacked with sticks while accusing traders of cow slaughter, leading to clashes. Police action was taken only against the Muslim men, who were jailed under provisions of the Animal Cruelty Act, even as officials later described the slaughtered animal as a buffalo calf. No action against the vigilante attackers was reported at the time of documentation. That sequence shows how vigilante pressure can shape law enforcement responses and how public parading becomes a tool of humiliation rather than a neutral investigatory procedure.

Legally these incidents implicate offences such as assault, criminal intimidation, trespass and unlawful assembly. These attacks also raise serious constitutional concerns about arbitrary deprivation of liberty when arrests follow vigilante complaints rather than independent police inquiry. The recorded habit of filming and broadcasting confrontations converts private violence into public spectacle, and that publicity frequently insulates perpetrators by forcing rapid public narratives that favour the aggressors. Across the documented cases, police responses range from delayed intervention to actions that appear to prioritise complaints lodged by vigilante groups rather than protecting those they have attacked. That pattern underlines why vigilante violence in the present period cannot be treated as random crime. It must be understood as a coordinated set of practices that enforce ideological norms through force, humiliation and selective use of formal law enforcement.

Harassment, Economic Intimidation and Boycott

Across multiple states, economic life has become a stage for enforcing majoritarian identity rules. Markets, roadside stalls and ordinary workplaces have turned into sites where Hindutva groups and sympathisers dictate who may trade, which foods may be sold, what symbols may be displayed and how Muslim vendors must present themselves in order to remain in business. These interventions do not involve claims of law and order. They operate through intimidation, accusations of deception and appeals to communal purity, all of which seek to restrict the economic presence of Muslims in public spaces. The incidents recorded here show that harassment often comes first, followed by pressure on police or local authorities to legitimise the exclusion.

In Ludhiana on November 2 2025, members of the Gau Raksha Dal stormed a biryani shop, accused the shopkeeper of selling beef and detained him before handing him to police. The manner of the raid reflects a broader trend in which Hindutva groups conduct their own inspections and arrests, treating Muslim-run establishments as inherently suspect while assuming the authority to punish on the spot. Police treatment of the incident focused on the allegation of beef sale rather than the unlawful detention and intimidation carried out by the vigilantes.

Economic policing is even more overt in Dehradun, where on November 14 2025, Kali Sena leaders publicly confronted a Muslim contractor who managed a dry-fruit stall. The men accused him of engaging in what they termed “mungfali jihad,” claiming that Hindu vendors and a calendar displaying a Hindu deity were being used to deceive customers. The language deployed in the confrontation draws directly from Hindutva propaganda that imagines Muslim economic activity as a covert threat. No action was taken on the leaders who staged the intimidation, although the harassment was filmed and circulated.

In Mapusa, Goa, on  October 3, 2025 far-right men harassed a Muslim shopkeeper and his staff, insisting that they present themselves as visibly Muslim by adopting green colour, changing their names and refraining from touching the picture of a Hindu deity displayed in the shop. That episode shows how Hindutva surveillance extends into everyday bodily behaviour and demands that Muslims perform identity as perceived by majoritarian norms. The threats were issued in the presence of staff and customers, yet there is no record of police intervention.

In Delhi’s Gokulpuri area on November 27, 2025, Hindu nationalist supporters forcibly shut down meat shops on the grounds that a temple was nearby. The idea that Muslim vendors should not operate in proximity to Hindu religious sites has become a recurring argument in Hindutva campaigns that seek to push Muslims out of mixed localities. The forced closures left vendors without income for the day and reinforced the message that their right to livelihood is conditional on the whims of majoritarian groups rather than equal protection under law.

These incidents illustrate a pattern in which economic activity becomes an arena for enforcing communal boundaries. They reflect a deliberate strategy within Hindutva politics to curtail Muslim economic visibility and participation. The absence of police action against harassers and the willingness of authorities to act on vigilante complaints further institutionalise these informal boycotts. Through repeated intimidation and public humiliation, these groups attempt to reshape markets into spaces that mirror and reinforce majoritarian social control.

Raids on Prayer Meetings and the Criminalisation of Christian Worship

Across several states, Christian prayer gatherings have become one of the most visible targets of Hindutva surveillance, reflecting a climate in which routine worship is increasingly cast as suspicious activity. Civil society reports show that the portrayal of Christians as agents of coercive conversion has become a central plank of Hindutva mobilisation, creating an atmosphere where even small home-based gatherings are vulnerable to intrusion and violence. This narrative has normalised vigilante entry into private spaces and produced situations where state institutions appear more responsive to the allegations of disruptors than to the rights of Christians who are attacked.

The incidents documented here show three recurring elements. Hindutva groups repeatedly enter private houses to disrupt worship, often accompanied by assault or the burning of religious books, as seen in Rohtak where, November 9, 2025 Christian participants were beaten and their Bibles burnt. These forced entries are justified through claims of “illegal conversion,” a narrative that has gained wide circulation in political speeches and local mobilisation campaigns, reinforcing the idea that Christian worship should be monitored rather than protected. The allegations themselves become tools that shift suspicion onto victims, making the act of prayer appear as evidence of wrongdoing.

A second pattern emerges through state response. In Rohtak, police allegedly questioned the victims rather than the perpetrators and later monitored their calls, reflecting a deeper institutional assumption that those who pray are the ones who require investigation rather than protection. This inversion of victim and accused also appears in Uttar Pradesh, where on November 16, 2025 members of the Bajrang Dal raided a Christian prayer meeting, alleging that illegal religious conversions were taking place. They claimed that poor Hindu women were being offered money to convert to Christianity. Following their complaint, police reached the location and arrested three individuals on charges related to unlawful religious conversion. No action against the vigilante group was reported. Similar patterns have been documented nationally wherever anti-conversion rhetoric is deployed to justify interference in Christian worship.

A third pattern concerns how the state frames these incidents. When on November 8, 2025 Hindu nationalist groups confronted a Christian gathering in Korba, Chhattisgarh, the disruption escalated into clashes after outsiders entered the residence and accused attendees of conversion. Official accounts framed the situation as a two-sided confrontation, obscuring the fact that the meeting was peaceful until disrupted. This framing aligns with rhetorical strategies that recast minority communities as sources of instability, even when they are the ones targeted.

In Agra, on November 23, 2025 members of the VHP–Bajrang Dal raided a private Christian prayer meeting and filed complaints alleging inducement to convert. Police detained a man and several women for questioning but did not act against the raiding group, entrenching the perception that majoritarian actors can intrude upon religious spaces with impunity. This is consistent with research showing that police often absorb the assumptions of vigilantes, reinforcing structural bias in how minority religious practice is policed.

Taken together, these episodes reveal a pattern in which prayer is treated as potential evidence, faith is framed as a threat and Christian worship becomes subject to the approval of hostile majoritarian actors. Hindutva groups position themselves as regulators of religious life, while police responses often validate their claims through investigation of the victims and neglect of the perpetrators. The result is a message that Christian communities can neither rely on privacy in their own homes nor on equal protection from the state.

Forced Slogans and Identity Policing

A striking feature of the current wave of communal hostility is the policing of Muslim identity in everyday spaces. These incidents do not involve allegations of crime or conversion. They revolve around humiliation, coercion and the demand that Muslims publicly affirm majoritarian slogans as proof of loyalty. National reports show that such practices have increased alongside online hate campaigns that dehumanise Muslims and frame them as permanent outsiders requiring discipline. The pattern is not incidental. It reflects a deliberate cultural project in which asserting Hindu nationalist symbols becomes a test of citizenship.

The confrontation of a Muslim fruit vendor on October 25, 2025 in Doimukh, Arunachal Pradesh, where locals accused him of being Bangladeshi and demanded NRC documentation, illustrates how identity policing collapses into racial profiling and suspicion of illegality. Research shows that “Bangladeshi” rhetoric has frequently been used to target Bengali-speaking Muslims, turning documentation status into a tool of exclusion . The vendor was forced to close his stall despite no official verification, demonstrating how communal assumptions override legal process.

Forced sloganeering further reveals the psychological dimension of this violence. In Uttarakhand, a Muslim cleric was stopped on the road and threatened when he refused to chant “Jai Shri Ram,” a moment intended to remind him of his vulnerability in public space. India Today reported that in UP, on November 25, 2025 an elderly Muslim cab driver, Mohammad Rais, was harassed near the Taj Mahal parking area by a group of young men who demanded that he chant “Jai Shri Ram.” When he initially refused, the men threatened him. The incident was filmed and later circulated on social media. Local police at Tajganj Police Station registered an FIR and said they are investigating the video evidence, though no arrests had been made at the time of the report.

Identity policing functions as a low-threshold form of violence. It does not require large groups or organised campaigns. It relies on the everyday assertion of dominance, the demand for symbolic compliance and the threat of punishment for refusal. These incidents demonstrate how Hindu nationalist mobilisation penetrates ordinary life. The pressure to chant slogans, produce documents or justify one’s presence signals a shift in which Muslim identity is treated as suspicious unless actively performed in ways that satisfy majoritarian expectations.

Evictions and Demolitions as Instruments of Displacement.

The most far-reaching form of exclusion documented in this period appears in state-led eviction and demolition drives. These actions are carried out through legal and administrative mechanisms, yet their impact falls overwhelmingly on Muslim communities, raising questions about selective enforcement and the absence of safeguards. Research on eviction patterns in Assam and Gujarat has shown that state narratives of encroachment often overlap with political rhetoric that casts certain communities as illegitimate occupants.

In Goalpara, Assam, more than 580 Bengali-origin Muslim families were displaced during a large-scale eviction operation in the Dahikata Reserve Forest on 9 November (Incident 17). Officials stated that the drive was aimed at addressing human-elephant conflict and was conducted pursuant to Gauhati High Court directions, and notices were reportedly issued fifteen days earlier. Heavy machinery entered the area under substantial police presence and demolished remaining structures. No immediate rehabilitation or resettlement measures were announced, leaving hundreds without shelter. Protests were minimal and swiftly contained, with some residents detained. Reporting from the region CNN has noted that eviction drives disproportionately affect Bengali-origin Muslim settlements and often lack clear post-eviction planning.

The Wire reported that in Gujarat’s Gir Somnath district, demolitions on 10 November focused on Muslim-owned homes, shops and a dargah (Incident 18). While several structures were removed without resistance, the attempt to demolish the dargah triggered confrontation. Residents opposed the demolition, leading to clashes with police who used crowd-control measures to disperse them. No rehabilitation measures were reported for those who lost homes or commercial property. Coverage from previous years shows a sustained pattern of demolitions in the region that disproportionately target Muslim religious structures.

A second demolition sequence that same day saw tensions escalate further when locals attempted to prevent the removal of another dargah near the Somnath Temple area. Police responded with lathi charges and tear gas and arrested thirteen people who were later paraded publicly (Incident 19). Authorities described all demolished structures as illegal constructions on government land. Details of any resettlement process were absent.

These cases demonstrate how eviction functions not only as an administrative measure but also as a tool of dispossession when applied without safeguards or rehabilitation. The selective concentration of demolition activity in Muslim neighbourhoods reinforces perceptions that state power is being deployed unevenly.

State Complicity and Biased Policing

CNN reported that across multiple states, the line between vigilante activity and state response becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish. The incidents documented here show repeated patterns in which police act on the allegations of vigilante groups while neglecting the rights of the victims. Human rights analyses have noted that policing in communal situations often reflects underlying majoritarian assumptions, leading to disproportionate scrutiny of minorities and minimal accountability for aggressors. This dynamic is visible in cases involving Christians, Muslims and those accused of violating religious norms.

In Rohtak, Haryana, on November 9, 2025 police reportedly interrogated Christian victims after an Arya Samaj group assaulted them, burnt their Bibles and injured a pastor during a prayer meeting. Rather than treating the attack as a criminal intrusion into a private residence, officers shifted attention onto the victims and monitored their phones. This reflects a broader pattern identified by rights organisations, where anti-conversion rhetoric shapes police behaviour and legitimises scrutiny of Christian gatherings.

In Uttar Pradesh, on November 23, 2025 police acted on the complaint of Bajrang Dal members who raided a Christian prayer meeting and alleged inducement to convert, arresting three attendees while declining to take action against the vigilantes. The same reversal appears in Agra, on November 20, 2025 where VHP and Bajrang Dal members entered a private home to disrupt another Christian meeting. Police detained a man and several women for questioning, again treating the accused vigilantes as complainants rather than aggressors.

In Madhya Pradesh, state complicity took a more punitive form. In Damoh, on November 2, 2025 police publicly paraded nine Muslim men after allegations of cow slaughter, even though local butchers stated that the animal was a buffalo and not a cow. No action was taken against the vigilantes who attacked the butcher market. In Indore, on November 10, 2025 a Muslim gym trainer assaulted by Bajrang Dal members was jailed despite the Hindu woman involved not filing any complaint, while no action was initiated against the attackers.

These incidents show how policing becomes aligned with vigilante narratives. When state institutions absorb the assumptions of majoritarian groups, minority communities lose access to impartial protection. The result is not simply inadequate investigation but a structural failure in which victims are recast as suspects and unlawful violence becomes socially sanctioned through official inaction.

Legal Framework: Constitutional Protections, Criminal Law and Supreme Court Guidelines

The incidents documented in this report engage multiple areas of Indian law, including constitutional guarantees, criminal prohibitions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), procedural obligations under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and binding Supreme Court directives on mob vigilantism. At their core, these cases reflect violations of the rights to equality, non-discrimination, personal liberty and religious freedom under Articles 14, 15, 19, 21 and 25 of the Constitution. Article 25 protects the right to freely profess and practice one’s faith, which extends to prayer meetings held in private homes or neighbourhood spaces. Evictions and demolitions without rehabilitation trigger concerns under Article 21 and the prohibition against arbitrary state action.

As per a report in the LiveLaw Under the new BNS, many of the acts witnessed here constitute clear criminal offences. Assault and causing hurt are covered under Sections 124 and 125, which penalise physical injury regardless of motive. Criminal intimidation is defined under Section 351, which applies to threats used to instil fear or force compliance. Forced entry into homes, including raids on Christian prayer meetings, falls within the definition of criminal trespass under Sections 329 and 330. The public parading of detainees undermines the constitutional guarantee of dignity and violates custodial safeguards linked to Article 21, which has been repeatedly upheld in Supreme Court jurisprudence.

Communal incitement and hate speech are addressed under Section 194 of the BNS, which criminalises acts that promote enmity between groups or deliberately provoke violence on grounds such as religion or race. This provision is directly relevant to forced slogans, threats and the circulation of humiliating videos, which mirror the trends identified in recent national analyses of hate speech escalation.

Procedurally, the BNSS continues to require prompt registration of FIRs, impartial investigation and accountability for dereliction of duty by law enforcement. These duties operate alongside the Supreme Court’s directives in Tehseen S. Poonawalla v. Union of India (2018), which remain binding. The Court mandated state responsibility to prevent mob violence, protect targeted communities, arrest perpetrators and discipline officers who fail to act. The recurring inaction or reversal of attention onto victims in the incidents documented here reflects clear non-compliance with these obligations.

Targeted demolitions and evictions further implicate constitutional protections. The Supreme Court in Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation held that the right to life includes the right to shelter and that demolitions carried out without due process violate Article 21. The lack of rehabilitation reported in Assam and Gujarat contradicts these principles. Rights groups have noted that demolition and eviction in these regions disproportionately affect Muslim communities and often mirror political narratives of encroachment or demographic threat.

Taken together, the constitutional framework, the BNS and BNSS, and Supreme Court jurisprudence make clear that the acts described here violate established protections and statutory duties. The failure to act against vigilantes, the criminalisation of victims and the use of demolition powers without due process point not to isolated lapses but to structural disregard for the rule of law.

Conclusion

Taken together, the incidents documented across these states reveal a common pattern in which ordinary citizens, vigilante networks and state institutions participate in the policing of minority identity and belonging. What appears on the surface as scattered episodes of harassment, forced slogans, raids on prayer meetings or localised demolition drives becomes, in aggregate, a system of pressure that constrains the everyday freedoms of Muslims and Christians. National analyses of hate speech and communal mobilisation show that this pattern is not accidental but reflects a wider political environment in which minorities are cast as security risks, demographic threats or ideological adversaries. This environment encourages vigilantism by signalling that such conduct aligns with majoritarian expectations.

The unevenness of state response reinforces these pressures. Police often act on the allegations of vigilante groups while questioning, detaining or monitoring the victims. Eviction drives in Assam and demolition actions in Gujarat further illustrate how administrative power, when exercised without safeguards, produces large-scale dispossession that disproportionately affects Muslim communities. These practices undermine constitutional principles of equal protection and due process and violate the standards set by the Supreme Court in Tehseen Poonawalla, which requires proactive prevention of mob violence and accountability for official inaction.

As per a report in CNBC TV 18 a potential institutional response has emerged through Karnataka’s Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, 2025, which for the first time proposes a clear statutory framework for defining hate speech and penalising organised intimidation. The Bill prescribes penalties of one to seven years for initial convictions, up to ten years for aggravated offences and empowers authorities to direct digital platforms to remove hate content. While some view this as a needed attempt to address escalating violence, its effectiveness will depend on impartial enforcement. Without structural reforms that ensure equal protection for minority victims, even progressive legal tools risk becoming instruments of selective repression.

The incidents in this report therefore point not only to unlawful actions by private actors but to a weakening of constitutional guarantees in everyday life. Restoring trust in the rule of law requires consistent action against vigilantism, accountability for discriminatory policing and a commitment to protecting the right of every community to live, worship and work without fear.

(The legal research team of CJP consists of lawyers and interns; this resource has been worked on by Risha Fathima)

Related:

Faith Under Fire: Coordinated Harassment of Christians After the Rajasthan Bill

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The Architecture of Polarisation: A Structural Analysis of Communal Hate Speech as a Core Electoral Strategy in India (2024–2025)

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