Yet some Muslims from this supposedly hapless vulnerable community have been stopping Hindus from celebrating their religious festivals in the only country they have left to call their own. Hindu children are being killed in Hindu-majority India for celebrating their festivals. They are not bothering anyone. They are not creating troubles for anyone. Yet simply attending the celebration of one of his religious festivals can get a Hindu child killed in India.

On Saturday, February 5, Hindus celebrated the Saraswati Puja, a festival in honor of Saraswati, the Hindu deity associated with knowledge and wisdom. This puja is mainly observed by students, as they are in the learning phase of their lives; the adults assist them in the rituals. But much like the Durga Puja, which Muslims prevented the villagers of Kanglapahadi from celebrating the same for years; the Ram Navami, which is greeted with stone-pelting every year; and Amarnath Yatra, which has a history of surviving terror attacks; the Saraswati Puja is the latest Hindu ceremony that some irate Muslims cannot abide.

This intolerance has claimed the life of 17-year-old Rupesh Kumar, who died on February 6 after being brutally assaulted on the evening of Saraswati Puja. The incident was reported from the Kariyadpur village of Hazaribagh in Jharkhand. The Hazaribag Superintendent of Police, Manoj Ratan Chothe, states that the violence took place during the procession of the immersion of goddess Saraswati after the closing of the ceremony.

“A named FIR has been lodged against 27 persons besides many unknown people. So far four arrests have been made while a hunt is on for others. Prohibitory orders under section 144 have been imposed in Barhi. Adequate deployment of forces has been done to maintain law and order,” added the SP while talking to media.

The names of the four individuals arrested so far have been concealed by most media platforms; however, some Hindi newspapers report that one of the detainees is Papu Aslam. Names in the FIR include Mohammad Aslam, Mohammad Anis, Mohammad Kaif, Mohammad Gufran, Mohammad Chand, Mohammad Osama, Mohammad Ehtam, and Mohammad Nahid.

As per local newspapers, the Hindu minor was lynched by “people from the other community” (because you cannot name which community, given India’s secular set-up). He was rushed to the local hospital, but the doctors pronounced him dead on arrival. The incident has led to a state of chaos and a law-and-order crisis in the area. Many demanded imposition of section 144, which involves restricting “ a certain number of people or people in general from certain acts in the interest of law and order or general well-being of people,” almost like a curfew.

In another instance of violence, a scuffle broke out during the Sarawati immersion procession in the Markacho region of the Koderma district of Jharkhand. Eight individuals, including a child, were injured in this mayhem. Apparently, some members of the Muslim community had objections to the music being played at the procession. The community that broadcasts their religious sermons over the loudspeakers of millions of mosques in the country five times a day cannot tolerate the music coming from a Hindu procession in an event that takes place once a year. Police have confirmed that the situation is under control now.

But wait: There’s more. Some local Muslims in Firkoria village in Jamtara, again in Jharkhand, stopped Hindus from carrying out the immersion procession. SHO Raushan Kumar accompanied by a huge police contingent reached the spot. They tried to persuade the mob, but they wouldn’t comply. Even a Muslim Circle Officer, Md Gulzar Anjum was brought in to convince the adamant mob to allow the Hindus to carry out their procession. He explained that the roads are government properties and no one has exclusive rights over them, but the mob refused to budge.

In the end, the CO declared that he would carry the idol and complete the ritual; this forced the mob decided to clear the path.