On Thursday (19th February), a Shivaji Jayanti event was interrupted after stones were thrown at the procession in Bagalkote, Karnataka. The devotees were passing through the vicinity of the Panka mosque in the old city during the occurrence, which transpired despite adequate force. A light lathi-charge was executed to disperse the mob and restore order.
“We were all present at the spot. The procession began around 3 to 3:30 pm yesterday. As it approached the mosque, two stones were thrown from a distance toward us,” informed Superintendent of Police Siddharth Goyal. He mentioned that one stone hit a constable and the other fell on his shoulder, based on initial reports and recordings analysed by the authorities. He added, “No one sustained any major injuries. After that, the procession continued smoothly, and the atmosphere remained peaceful.”
Bagalkot, Karnataka: SP Siddharth Goyal says, "It was the Shivaji Jayanti procession, and we were all present. When the procession began around 3–3:30 PM, we were there with sufficient force and devices. As the procession approached the mosque, two stones were thrown from a… pic.twitter.com/Tughf8Ap8j
— IANS (@ians_india) February 20, 2026
Security was significantly heightened throughout the old town after the brief disturbance. The authorities outlined that the procession was eventually permitted to return to its intended path. According to them, the situation remained under control and proper security measures had been put in place for the procession.
Goyal stated, “The area where the incident occurred has been covered with CCTV cameras. We had also recorded the procession. We are reviewing the video footage. Strict action will be taken against those involved in this.” Police are on high alert in troubled parts of the city to uphold communal harmony, although no official arrests were made public right away.
Now, section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has been invoked from the midnight of 19th to 24th February in some neighbourhoods of Bagalkote. Officials declared that the limitations forbid gatherings of more than four persons in public areas. Additionally, carrying lethal weapons, participating in activities that could jeopardise public safety and planning assemblies, celebrations or sit-ins without prior authorisation are also prohibited.
The move is intended to preserve law and order and counter any escalation. The leaders of Hindu organisations have also demanded strict action.
A similar escalation was narrowly averted when communal tensions flared in Amberpet of Hyderabad. However, the police swiftly managed to control the situation. A Shivaji Jayanti procession passed through a mosque while Ramazan prayers were being conducted after which an argument arose between the two sides regarding loud music and slogans.
The police rushed to the spot after the altercation and scattered the crowd as things normalised shortly thereafter. No injuries or acts of violence were reported but police have been stationed in the area as a precautionary measure. They have told the public to refrain from spreading rumours.
Attack on Durga Mandir in Jabalpur
On the other hand, a Durga Mandir was targeted by a Muslim throng in the Sihora tehsil of Jabalpur district in Madhya Pradesh. The temple and mosque are located across from each other at Azad Chowk in Sihora’s Ward Number 5. During the aarti, a group of Muslims also visited the mosque for namaz, sparking a disagreement that turned violent.
They started to attack the grille in front of the temple and shouted slogans. Stones were also pelted, creating a situation akin to a stampede. There were also reports of stones-throwing from an adjacent building’s rooftop. Many people escaped from the unexpected violence as officers from the Sihora police station arrived at the scene.
Tear gas shells were employed to deal with the deteriorating scenario. Officers from nearby locations were also summoned. However, order was reinstated owing to the immediate action after which more than 15 perpetrators were taken into custody. Further investigation into the matter is underway.
The onslaught on Hindus and their religion
Hindu processions, temples and places of worship have consistently been targeted by radical members of the Muslim community. Last month, 24 attacks were surfaced during the Saraswati Visarjan in India and Bangladesh, which has a long-standing history of Hindu persecution that has only grown worse over time. These instances are not limited to a specific area, state or festival but emerge whenever the community attempts to observe any special or religious occasion.
Islamists have not overlooked any chance to inflict chaos. Importantly, the list is extensive and not every violent episode comes to light, as many have gone unreported or unidentified, while Hindus suffer in silence in a “secular” democracy. The media has been inundated with accounts of stone pelting and assaults on devotees and religious processions from Durga Puja to Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti.
Moreover, parts predominantly inhabited by the second-largest community are designated as Muslim regions to serve as a justification for strikes against Hindus who dare to use them, specifically during religious occasions. The Garba celebrations are likewise not spared as they are especially utilised as hunting grounds to perpetrate love jihad during Navratri.
The tactics might change, but the objective to harm Hindus and their religious sentiments has been unwavering over the years. Hindu temples have endured similar experiences with even trivial or nonexistent issues being used to assert offence and then act on malicious intentions. If this proves difficult to execute, sacrilegious acts and attacks are performed by feigning mental illness.
Notably, any assertion of the Hindu faith has functioned as a tool to instigate these elements while simultaneously claiming victimhood and crying minority persecution in India. The truth is that the existence of Hindus, particularly as the largest community in India, enrages them and their “delicate sensibilities,” which cannot bear the presence of any religion other than their own.
This unwarranted aggression and bloodthirst are the reasons that Hindus have been on the verge of extinction in Islamic nations like Pakistan and Afghanistan with Bangladesh also following suit. The Muslim extremists aim to reproduce this in India and therefore seek every single opportunity to set their sinister scheme in motion.
The aforementioned three incidents are merely extensions of this strategy. Unfortunately, such attacks will not come to an end unless a coordinated approach is adopted to confront the Muslim fundamentalists and the principles of secularism are genuinely embraced, rather than catering to one community at the expense of another.
