Holi violence | SabrangIndia News Related to Human Rights Wed, 27 Mar 2024 05:40:05 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://sabrangindia.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Favicon_0.png Holi violence | SabrangIndia 32 32 Hate crimes against marginalised this Holi https://sabrangindia.in/hate-crimes-against-marginalised-this-holi/ Wed, 27 Mar 2024 05:40:05 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=34106 Incidents from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Telangana showcase how hatred against Muslims and Dalits continues to simmer as Holi celebrations are marred with violence.

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]]> Meerut, Uttar Pradesh

A Muslim youth was stopped and threatened to say ‘Jai Sri Ram’ amidst Holi celebrations in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut.

“It took place around 10:45. I was coming back from the shop and there were a few people playing Holi who stopped me and asked me to say ‘Jai Sri Ram.’ I was quiet for some time as they went on shouting at me, demanding me to say it. I told them I won’t say it. Then they gave me my bike’s keys. I told them I am leaving.” After this, two ladies came by and intervened. The youth also said that the men also threatened to beat him. The CCTV camera posted on the page of Hate Detectors, an X account that compiled videos of hate crimes in the country, shows the footage of the incident.

Bharatpur, Rajasthan 

According to a video posted by Dalit Times, an independent media portal, Rajasthan’s Bharatpur saw members of the Dalit community being reportedly fired upon. News has emerged that four people were shot. The police, however, denied any firing incident.

Dalit Times has posted a video where a young man be seen bleeding severely as he is helped to walk.

Gurugram, Haryana

In a similar incident, a mosque named Makkah Mosque in Gurugram, saw firing at the evening of Holi celebrations, a report by NDTV has stated.

As per a video report by Viral News, residents on ground say that some men came in a Scorpio car and came and fired at the mosque and at people standing near the mosque. The people in the car had reportedly wanted the gates of the mosque to be opened to them.

The police arrived at the scene after the incident and are reportedly making investigations.

Chengicherla, Telangana

After a conflict erupted in Chengicherla over 150 policemen from the Rachakonda police were deployed on the ground as a precautionary measure on March 25, according to The Hindu.

The issue began around 4 pm on Sunday, March 24, when villagers were celebrating Holi and installed speakers and also burnt the Holi Bhogi as the prayers in the mosque were going on, according to ANI. However, they refused to lower the volume despite several requests from those offering evening prayers at the mosque. At the time of the argument, some Hindu groups organised a protest rally and attempted to celebrate Holi near the mosque as per reports by Telangana Today. No complaint has been filed as of now.

Senior BJP members visited the site after the incident took place. The BJP Telangana President Krishan Reddy who also visited the site has shared several posts on the incident.

Beed, Maharashtra

Around Holi celebrations, a prominent mosque in Beed was targeted and vandalised on March 25. The incident, which occurred late in the evening, saw the slogan Jai Sri Ram written with Holi colours on the wall of the Markazi Masjid mosque in Majalgaon, as per reports.

As per a report by the Indian Express, an FIR has been registered under section 295, which is related to the intentional destruction or desecration of a place of worship. A similar incident of vandalism was seen at a mosque in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah. Some miscreants had written ‘Jai Sri Ram’ on one of the walls of the mosque in Jalesar.

Meanwhile, as Holi celebrations culminated on Monday, March 25, preventive measures were taken in certain places to protect mosques from potential incidents of vandalism. Aligarh’s Halwaaiyan mosque in the Sabzi Mandi area and another mosque at Delhi Gate were covered with plastic sheets and tarpaulins amidst rising concerns of potential religious tensions. The Circle Officer Pandey also informed the media that a flag march had been conducted in these regions and police was also deployed in the old city areas.

In 2023, Delhi’s Police Control Room had gotten more than 35,000 complaints during the Holi celebrations. This was a significant increase compared to the daily average of 24,000 complaints. Among these grievances were 211 cases of eve teasing, 40 instances of shootouts, 142 cases of stabbing, 46 incidents of road rage, 21 reports of rape, and 11 cases of murder.


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]]> Bijnor: Muslim family harassed on Holi, attackers claim its tradition https://sabrangindia.in/bijnor-muslim-family-harassed-on-holi-attackers-claim-its-tradition/ Tue, 26 Mar 2024 11:09:10 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=34101  A viral video has captured an incident of harassment towards a Muslim family during the Holi festivities in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor. Three accused have been taken in custody thus far.

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]]> The incident has gone viral and has sparked outrage on social media. The viral footage shows a group of men forcefully applying colours and throwing water on a family as they were riding on a motorcycle through the Dhampur area of Bijnor on March 20. The victims consisted of a Muslim man and two women, who were harassed by men carrying buckets of water and colours. Despite the family’s pleas to stop, the perpetrators continued their aggressive behaviour, and also shouted chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Har Har Mahadev.’

In response to the incident, the Bijnor Police have launched an investigation, which has led to the arrest of one person, named Aniruddha, and the detention of others, which consists of three juveniles. Charges have been filed under various sections of the IPC and CrPC, including wrongful restraint, causing hurt, and assaulting a woman. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Neeraj Jaduan, in a video statement, assured that the police are trying their best to identify the perpetrators with the help of CCTV footage.

SSP Neeraj Jaduan, in the released video statement, also went ahead and talked about the need to celebrate the festival in peace, urging people not to engage in any form of harassment during Holi celebrations, “Please do not forcibly apply colours on people. Police will take action against anyone who breaks the law.” He has also directed the Circle Officer (CO) of Dhampur to personally assist the affected family in filing a complaint and assured the public that the investigation would be conducted under his supervision.

A complaint was filed by the family following the identification of the victims by the police. So far, the accused involved in the incident have been charged by the police under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Section 153A for promoting enmity between different groups based on religion, race, place of birth, etc., Section 340 for wrongful restraint, and Section 354 for the use of criminal force against a woman with the intention to outrage her modesty or with the knowledge that such actions are likely to do so.

Meanwhile, Maktoob Media has reported that the attackers can be heard shouting, in the viral video, that “This is a 70 years old tradition!”

Filmmaker Darab Faruqui called the incident an example of rape culture. In his post on the disturbing incident, Faruqi breaks down the incident bit by bit, highlighting the chants such as ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Har Har Mahadev’ and the body language of the victims featured in the video.

It has been often noted how harassment often becomes normalised during Holi. It is often done saying “Bura na mano Holi hai” (Do not mind, it’s Holi). This phrase has been used to downplay or excuse instances of harassment and assault and often led to a culture where such misconduct is silently accepted and excused.

In 2023, the incident related to a 22-year-old Japanese woman named Megumi went viral. She was harassed and molested by a group of men on the streets of Delhi during the Holi celebration. She shared a video of the incident on Twitter, narrating the details, only to delete it shortly afterward, and said that she was in fear and terror as she was heavily trolled on her video. So not only was a woman harassed and violated, but she was also trolled and bullied after she spoke about it online.

Similarly, in 1996, the Gender Study Group at Delhi University released a report highlighting how instances of sexual harassment and assault increased during Holi festivities. The report revealed that about 60.5% of women residing on the campus that year in Delhi reported experiencing increased levels of harassment around this time. This persistent nature of gendered violence and violation under the guise of celebration affects women across religion, culture, and, as seen in the case of Megumi, nationality and race, too. This reality brings our attention to the urgent need for efforts to ensure efficient functioning of legal and also to ensure proactive initiatives to tackle parts of cultures that normalise violating women’s consent.

 

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]]> Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh: Sikh man thrashed and turban thrown https://sabrangindia.in/pilibhit-uttar-pradesh-sikh-man-thrashed-and-turban-thrown/ Tue, 14 Mar 2023 11:50:59 +0000 http://localhost/sabrangv4/2023/03/14/pilibhit-uttar-pradesh-sikh-man-thrashed-and-turban-thrown/ On the occasion of Holi, a Sikh man on his motorcycle was reportedly beaten and his turban was tossed by a group of men in Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit

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]]> Sikh Man Assulted

The incident occurred when the victim allegedly “refused” to participate in the Holi celebrations, which seemed to have triggered the group of men. The disturbing video of the incident was shared on social media, which showed the victim being attacked by a large group of men.

The video may be viewed here: 

 

 

The attackers even took off the victim’s turban, which is considered sacred in the Sikh religion. The Sikh turban, known as the “dastaar,” is a symbol of their faith and is considered sacred. The attack on the Sikh man in Pilibhit is a clear violation of the fundamental right to practice one’s religion without fear of persecution.

The incident has sparked outrage among people, with many condemning the attack on social media. In response to the video, the Superintendent of Police Atul Sharma of Pilibhit released a video statement, assuring the public that the police will look into the matter.

The video may be viewed here: 

 

 

Later the official twitter handle of the Pilibhit police station also put out a tweet that said that the tussle between the two parties was about a disagreement about applying Holi colours and that they have talked with each other and do not wish to pursue any legal action.

The tweet may be read here:

 

 

This incident is illustrative of the overall public culture of aggressive majoritarianism being actually promoted across much of north India with impunity; the victim targets being members of India’s religious minority.

Related:

Zomato delivery boy assaulted with sticks and bricks on Holi

Molestation, harassment: the un-Holiness of a festival

 

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]]> Jaunpur Horror: Thakurs allegedly shot Muslim man, assaulted 9-month-old baby https://sabrangindia.in/jaunpur-horror-thakurs-allegedly-shot-muslim-man-assaulted-9-month-old-baby/ Sat, 11 Mar 2023 08:59:57 +0000 http://localhost/sabrangv4/2023/03/11/jaunpur-horror-thakurs-allegedly-shot-muslim-man-assaulted-9-month-old-baby/ The family was assaulted as the men was asked to not drink in front of their puncture shop

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]]> attack on muslims

A Muslim man shot, a woman’s eyes gouged out and a 9-month-old baby was slammed on the ground, all for stopping men from drinking alcohol in front of a puncture shop. This gut wrenching incident has been reported from UP’s Jaunpur, Sujanganj police station area (Lohinda village) on March 7 when both Holi and Shab-e-baraat (night of forgiveness) was celebrated . 

As per a video posted on Facebook by the editor of Times news 24, some men from the Thakur community came up to the shop called “Kamal jamal puncturewala” and sat on the bonnet of the car outside the shop. Thus, Kamal stopped them from doing so and moved the car and some argument and altercation followed but the situation was normalised. However, the reaction came later when 15-20 men allegedly from Thakur community, went to the house of Kamal and allegedly fired at him, thus killing him, while mercilessly beating a woman with the butt of the gun where her eyes were gouged out, nose was broken and threw the 9-month baby on the floor, causing her ear to bleed. Three more from the family are also injured in this assault.

People from the village, presumably from Muslim community, sat on a dharna demanding “bulldozer action” against the culprits. They also demanded a government job for a family member and 1 crore compensation.

A local news report from a channel called Azamgarh Express showed the woman replete with plasters on her face and the 9-month old baby as well. The reporter confirmed the news. As per the report, out of the 4 accused, two have been wanted criminals (Sujit and Sunny). As per the nephew of the deceased, the culprits are Sunny Singh, Vicky Singh, Sujit Singh and Toofani Singh, as per their knowledge. He said that they are not satisfied with just arrests of the accused and demand proper inquiry. 

 

 

Related:

The threat and lawlessness of “Gau-Rakshaks” in North India

Molestation, harassment: the un-Holiness of a festival

Radha Semwal Dhoni: Emerging far right menace in Uttarakhand

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