In India’s Uttar Pradesh state, three Muslim men were brutally attacked by suspected Hindutva extremists with iron rods, before being forced to chant humiliating Hindu nationalist slogans during the vicious assault.
The men, identified as Aamir, 28, Wasim, 28, and Rizwan, 24, said they were forced to chant “Jai Shri Ram”, during the attack which occurred on Tuesday evening.
“Jai Shri Ram” is a Hindi phrase meaning “Hail Lord Rama” or “Victory to Lord Rama”. It’s a common Hindu expression, often used as a salutation, or a declaration of faith to their idol.
However, in recent decades, it has also become a political slogan for Hindu extremist political groups and is often chanted by thugs engaging in violent attacks against Muslims in India.
The attack took place near Partapur village in Hapur district as the three were returning home from Pilkhuwa on motorcycles.
According to the victims, a group of men intercepted them, demanded to know their names, and then began beating them with iron rods and sticks.
Aamir and Rizwan managed to escape, but Wasim was caught, tied up, and severely beaten. He remains in a critical condition at a private hospital in Pilkhuwa.
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Speaking to Maktoob Media, Aamir said: “They asked our names. Once they realised we were Muslims, they started abusing us and beating us. They forced us to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’. Wasim could not escape and was badly injured. Had we stayed, they would have lynched us.”
The men also said the attackers used anti-Muslim slurs such as “Mulla”, a derogatory term mocking religious Muslims, and “Katwa”, a pejorative reference to circumcision, used to insult Muslims.
Wasim’s brother Afroz, who lodged the police complaint, alleged: “This was not a random attack. They targeted my brother and his friends for being Muslim. We demand the police arrest them immediately.”
Police have registered a case against four men named by the victims — Deepak, Nikhil, JJ Kant, and Pankaj under sections of India’s criminal code known locally as Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, relating to wrongful restraint and attempted murder.
However, police have publicly downplayed the accusations of sectarian assault or an Islamophobic hate crime.
Investigating officer Sudhir Kumar claimed the fight broke out because the victims were “filming Instagram reels” near a house and were mistaken for thieves.
Superintendent of Police Kunwar Gyananjay Singh insisted action will be taken: “The accused will not be spared. Teams are searching their hideouts. Full support will be given to the victim’s family.”
Rising pattern of violence
The assault in Hapur reflects a wider trend across India in recent years, where Muslims have been attacked and coerced into chanting “Jai Shri Ram” amid growing Hindutva extremism across India.
Human rights groups have documented dozens of mob lynchings and assaults linked to the slogan, which has been weaponised by Hindu nationalist groups.
For many Indian Muslims, the chant is no longer a religious invocation but a tool of intimidation and humiliation.
The Hindutva ideology is a form of extremist Hindu nationalism, a political ideology that dates back to the 19th century. It encompassed a broad range of groups but at its core is a belief that Indian national identity and culture are inseparable from the Hindu religion and that other religions need to be purged.
At the heart of the Hindu nationalist movement in India is the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an all-male Hindu nationalist volunteer group, often described as a paramilitary organisation.
The RSS has been accused of engaging in violent anti-Muslim pogroms in India and radicalising Hindus into the sectarian Hindu supremacist ideology.
Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, has been ruled since 2017 by Yogi Adityanath, a hardline Hindu monk from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). His government has faced repeated criticism for enabling or ignoring violence and discrimination against Muslims.
Several high-profile mob lynchings of Muslims accused of engaging in cow slaughter or love jihad have drawn condemnation from human rights organisations. Also, complaints of a state-backed effort to demolition Muslim homes and mosques in a campaign of eradication have also been widely condemned.
Groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say that hate crimes against Muslims in India have sharply risen under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP government, with Uttar Pradesh often described as the “epicentre” of such Islamophobic violence.
