An incident of an Islamist mob attacking the Ram Navami procession has surfaced in Channarayapatana of Hassan district in Karnataka. A Ram Navami procession was taken out by Bajrang Dal members. It was attacked by Islamists when it reached a local mosque. 4 Hindus sustained injuries in this violence. 2 of them sustained stab injuries while another two were injured in the stone pelting by the Islamists. All of them are admitted to the hospital and undergoing treatment. A complaint has been reportedly filed from both sides against each other.
The procession was organised by Bajrang Dal as part of Ram Navami celebrations on Baguru Road in Channarayapatan town. It was opposed by a group of Islamist youths when it was passing by a mosque. According to reports, attackers asked the Hindus to leave the spot and celebrate their festival in their areas. This resulted in a violent clash in which Islamists pelted stones on the procession and Hindus who carried the procession.
The rioters also attacked Hindus with sharp weapons and attempted to stab them. In this violence, 4 Hindus were injured. They are identified as Harsha, Murali, Chetan, and Rakesh. Harsha and Murali received stab injuries. Rakesh and Chetan were injured in stone pelting. They are being treated at the government hospital, India Today reported.
Later, people from both communities filed a complaint against each other. One Azhar Ahmed filed a complaint from the Muslim side. In his complaint he claimed that a few people in the procession were carrying stones and canes with them, police said. He added that participants of the Ram Navami procession shouted slogans such as “Muslims should be chased to Pakistan” and “they should not stay here”.
Azhar Ahmed further alleged in his complaint that he was rounded up by some of the Bajrang Dal activists, while others hurled stones at his vehicle and him. He also alleged that 15 to 20 people tried to attack him and he escaped the spot with the help of two others. Notably, Islamists who attacked a Ram Navami procession in Vadodara city of Gujarat on the same day of Ram Navami had also alleged in the same fashion that it was Hindus who pelted the stones. Local Bajrang Dal leader who organised that procession told OpIndia that none of the participants in the procession had any stones with them, because it was a procession of Lord Rama’s birthday celebrations.
On 30th March 2023, Ram Navami processions were attacked and violence erupted in various places across the country. There were reports of stone-pelting and violence in many cities of the country. One person was killed in West Bengal and one in Maharashtra in these violent incidents. Apart from this, there have also been reports of stones pelting on the Shobha Yatra of Ram Navami in Gujarat, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh.
Ram Navami or the birth anniversary of Lord Rama is an auspicious occasion in the Hindu calendar year. On that day, Hindus seek blessings from Lord Rama, provide food to the needy, perform rituals, take out processions, and so on. But Islamists have attacked these Ram Navami processions at many places in the country, as part of growing attacks on Hindu festivals.
