Muslim boy, uncle attacked after refusing Hindutva chant in India
Mob attacked 12-year-old Muslim boy and uncle before pelting family home and nearby mosque with stones in northern India
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — A 12-year-old Muslim boy and his uncle were injured after a mob allegedly attacked them in northern India after the child refused demands to chant “Jai Shri Ram,” while hundreds of people later surrounded the family’s home and pelted it and a nearby mosque with stones.
The violence occurred in Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh, during a Hindu religious gathering known as a jagran in the Badi Kali Mandir Chowk area.
According to FOEJ Media, the boy, Abdullah, said a group of youths initially ordered him to bring them cigarettes. When he refused, they demanded that he chant “Jai Shri Ram,” a political battle cry widely associated with India’s Hindutva movement. Abdullah said he refused again and was slapped.
The slogan was popularized as a mass political rallying cry by Hindu nationalist organizations during the Ram Janmabhoomi campaign that culminated in Hindu extremists demolishing the 16th-century Babri Masjid in 1992.
It has since repeatedly been invoked during anti-Muslim mobilizations and attacks, including incidents in which Muslims have been assaulted and forced to chant it.
Abdullah said a crowd gathered after the initial confrontation and that he was struck on the head with an iron bangle, leaving him injured.
The boy and his family alleged that between 200 and 250 people attending the jagran subsequently followed him to his home, where the family says it is the only Muslim household in the locality. The crowd allegedly threw stones at both the house and a nearby mosque.
Abdullah’s father, Mohammad Irfan, said family members locked themselves inside as stones struck the property before going to the rooftop to seek help. The crowd eventually dispersed.
Abdullah’s uncle, Mohammad Sufiyan, said he was separately surrounded and assaulted while returning home. He suffered a head wound requiring eight stitches and said his T-shirt was soaked in blood after the attack.
The family said the violence came amid an existing dispute involving the nearby mosque, which they say was built in 1920 and is managed by their family.
They alleged that outsiders have claimed the mosque stands on temple land and that the Muslim family has faced harassment and threats of eviction after challenging those claims.
Despite the dispute, the family said it had maintained cordial relations with Hindu neighbors and attributed the hostility to outsiders.
Police opened a criminal case against five named suspects and between 200 and 300 unidentified people over the violence.
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