Ramadan in India: Muslims attack Hindus for celebrating cricket victory, vandalize temples

This year, Ramadan started on March 1. The month-long Islamic fast ideally involves abstaining from food, drinks, and sexual activity from before the first light of dawn to sundown.

However, on Wednesday, March 5, a 13-year-old boy was taken to an abandoned area by his friends, who were identified as Azhar, alias Ajju; Nazar Ali, alias Hussaini; Ausaf Ali; and Anab, and raped. After sexually assaulting him, they hit him multiple times with an iron rod, and finally killed him by strangulation. The assaulters disposed of his body in a 40-foot-deep well near a highway. To mislead authorities into believing that this was a kidnapping case, they sent a message to the boy’s father, demanding ₹10 lakh ($11,500) as ransom.

The boy’s family immediately approached the police, expressing suspicion about some of his friends. Based on their input, authorities detained three suspects — Ausaf Ali, Nazar Ali, and Anab — for questioning. Later in the day, police recovered the boy’s body from a well near the Agra Expressway, about a kilometer from the village. Though Azhar alias Ajju remains missing, a search operation to locate him is underway. An innocent life was taken away by the miscreants, ostensibly because they were denied physical intimacy by their wives and girlfriends, as they were Muslim and the holy month of Ramadan was going on. It is said and widely believed that religiously observant Muslims steer clear of wrongdoing during this time of the year. However, the imperative to jihad is grounded in Islamic religious imperatives as well, and so is not regarded as wrongdoing.

Muslim mobs in several Indian cities launched targeted attacks on Hindus who were celebrating the victory of India at the Champions Trophy final on Sunday, March 9. According to reports coming in from Gujarat, a Muslim mob started assaulting the Hindus at a victory procession by throwing stones and vandalizing vehicles. Three Hindu youths sustained severe injuries and were rushed to Gandhinagar Hospital. Several accused have been arrested in connection with the incident, and the local police have filed a First Information Report (FIR) against them.

Another celebratory rally was met with severe violence from Muslims in Mhow on March 10. Following their regular pattern, the Muslims resorted to stone-throwing, vandalism, and arson, resulting in chaos. They also torched several vehicles and Hindu-owned shops. Many victims were hurt.

Enraged Muslims attacking Hindus for celebrating India’s victory in sports is not a new spectacle. It has happened often in the past, and the frequency of such violent occurrences is increasing every year. The administration and judiciary are doing little to curb such assaults.

There have been countless records of tyrants crushing Hindu temples for centuries, and the pattern remains unchanged to this day. On Friday, March 7,  a man named Sheikh Indu vandalized and set fire to an idol of Goddess Sheetla in Baruipur City, West Bengal. Images of the burnt idols and the damaged temple went viral on social media. Residents apprehended Sheikh Indu and handed him over to the police.

Protesting the desecration of the idol of the deity, the Hindus staged a demonstration outside the Baruipur police station. But interestingly, Bibhas Sardar, an MLA from the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) (which is infamous for its unabashed Muslim pandering) in West Bengal, attempted to shift the blame onto the Hindu community by diverting attention from Sheikh Indu’s actions. Such instances prove that not just a random jihadi on the street but a pro-Muslim government in the apex of administration is also dangerous for the innocent non-Muslim majority.

It was not a surprise to see local police taking to  X (formerly Twitter) on the same day (March 7) to declare Sheikh Indu mentally unstable. The police wrote: “Residents apprehended the accused, and he has been taken into custody. A case has been registered, and an investigation has begun. The detained individual is an ‘outsider’ and is suffering from mental health issues.”

In both Bangladesh and India, we have witnessed numerous cases of Muslims tearing down Hindu temples, at times provoking murderous riots and being acquitted as “mentally unstable” by the law-enforcing institutions. It’s remarkable that these “mentally unstable” men never enter a mosque to exercise their supposed mental instability, but successfully maneuver their way into a Hindu temple.

Muslim groups also attacked Hindus in the Nawda area of Murshidabad district, West Bengal, on the night of March 9. The scuffle broke out at Patikabari Bazaar and escalated rapidly as more and more armed Muslims joined the mayhem that started as a minor altercation between the two, leading to a major law and order situation.

Reports suggest that a group of armed individuals allegedly targeted shops and businesses belonging to the Hindu community. Several shops were vandalized and looted, and some were set ablaze. A local witness claimed that the attackers appeared to be prepared, suggesting the violence might have been preplanned. Some Hindu youths reportedly attempted to resist the attackers. The situation remains tense, and authorities are monitoring the area to prevent further unrest.