A shivling was vandalized in Himachal Pradesh’s Nagrota town, igniting protests led by right-wing groups who blamed the local Muslim community and demanded their evacuation.
The incident occurred on Friday, September 27. However, the situation worsened on Sunday when protesters started assembling at Gandhi Maidan and raising anti-Muslim slogans. Local Hindutva groups quickly attributed the act to the Muslim community demanding the evacuation of Muslims from the locality.
The protests marched through streets and also raided Muslim-run shops demanding them to evacuate while chanting slogans such as “Na mullon ka, na qaazi ka, ye desh hai veer Shivaji ka”.
In response, local police swung into action and addressed the growing unrest, assuring the agitated crowd of a thorough investigation.
However, during investigations, CCTV footage exposed the perpetrator as a 35-year-old woman Nisha Devi. The footage shows her entering and leaving the temple around 3 am.
In a video statement senior police officer stated, that Nisha Devi, a resident of Yol is mentally challenged. “This was not her first instance of vandalism. She had previously damaged other shivlings as well,” the officer added.
On this revelation, people have flagged concern about how attributing blame without evidence consideration can perpetuate harmful stereotypes and exacerbate societal division. This tendency has often led to unjust scapegoating of Muslims across India.
Himachal Pradesh has witnessed a surge of anti-Muslim protests and hate speeches across the districts in recent weeks. A senior head of the Hindu Jagran Manch, Kamal Gautam introduced the Roko (stop), Toko (refuse), and Thoko (kill) campaigns—which has raised concerns about inciting violence against the Muslim community.
Activists and politicians including All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president, Asaduddin Owaisi have expressed concern over the Congress party’s silence on these incidents, despite its long-standing stance against communalism.
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