Chanting Hate in the Month of the Constitution: How January 2026 Exposed the Vulnerability of Minorities in India

As India marked 77 years of its Constitution, January 2026 told a different story on the ground. This report tracks incidents of mob violence and intimidation during January alone, revealing how minorities faced fear and exclusion in the very month of Republic Day.

As India marked its 77th Republic Day—celebrating the inception of the Constitution —the country was also facing a troubling reality. The values upheld in official celebrations stood in sharp contrast to what unfolded on the ground. In January 2026, several parts of India witnessed mob violence, intimidation, and hate attacks against religious minorities. These ranged from lynchings in Odisha and the vandalism of a centuries-old Sufi shrine in Uttarakhand to the harassment of street vendors and incidents of forced religious chanting. Together, these events highlight the growing insecurity faced by minority communities today. 

We track such incidents across the country, focusing mainly on attacks against Muslim and Christian communities in the month of January, showing the widening gap between the Constitution’s promises and everyday life.

Mob Violence and the Obsession to Force “Jai Shree Ram”

On January 14, a mob lynching of a 35-year-old man identified as Sk Makandar Mahammad came to light. The incident occurred in Balasore district, Odisha, when a group of men opposed the cattle transport by a van, which the victim drove, and assaulted him. The video of the assault went viral on social media.

An X (formerly Twitter) user shared the video of the incident, questioning the atrocity. The caption reads, “Another day, another lynching in India – where’s saviour of men the OG rapist supporter deepika 🤡 A Muslim man, Sheikh Makarand Muhammad, was allegedly lynched in Odisha’s Balasore district. He was reportedly forced to chant “Jai Shree Ram” and beaten with plastic pipes by a mob. Police have not yet released an official statement, and an investigation is underway.”

The culprits can be heard forcing the victim to chant “Jai Shree Ram”. A reply to the video targeted the user’s religion and stated, “No one gives a shit when Hindus died in Bangladesh, all Mullahs were laughing. You deserve this.” Responding to the post rationally, a user remarked, “How would a CAA-style law in Bangladesh help? Good neighborly ties and equal treatment of all citizens by every country are the real solution. India, as big brother, should lead. But no hope from this regime.”

The video clearly shows a group of men beating Sk Makandar Mahammad with sticks and asking him to chant “Jai Shree Ram”.

According to The New Indian Express report dated January 16, the first FIR was lodged based on the Balasore Sadar Police Sub Inspector’s complaint, only the names of the driver and owner of the van, and they were booked under provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, the Orissa Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Later, based on the complaint of the victim’s brother, a second FIR was lodged against five individuals accused of the act. Although the police reached the spot and shifted the victim to the hospital, he succumbed to his injuries while in treatment.

On January 4, an incident occurred in Odisha’s Dhenkanal, a mob of forty people targeted a pastor while he was attending a prayer meeting at a house in Parjang village along with his family and a few others. The New Indian Express reported the incident on January 17. The village is a Hindu-majority village with only seven Christian families. The mob accused the pastor, identified as Bipin Bihari Naik, of conducting forced conversion and was reportedly beaten with sticks and paraded throughout the village with a garland of slippers and red sindoor smeared all over his face. According to his wife’s statement, the pastor was tied to a Hanuman temple in the village, forcing him to eat cow dung and chant “Jai Shree Ram”. The police registered the FIR, but a counter FIR was also filed against the pastor on the allegation of forced conversion.

On January 18, 2026, an X user, Darab Farooqui, shared in the incident along with an AI-generated image depicting the brutality.

Although the majority of the comments condemned the act, several came forward supporting it. A user commented, “Nice, now this priest will never do the melodrama of conversion in India.” In a similar tone, another user stated, “Well, he was insulting Hindu deities, so don’t spread half-baked news. Apart from that, he forcefully converted a few people. I guess it’s a fair treatment. Always playing the victim card.” Talking about the alleged forced conversion, a user remarked, “Stop conversions. Stop rive bag conversion. Bloody brainwashing poor people. Pastor work is not to convert. But mere prayers to God. It will repeat in every village, unfortunately, if missionaries don’t stop conversions.”

A trend targeting Muslim vendors is on a rise recently in different parts of India, where vendors are harassed and asked to chant “Jai Shree Ram”. Two separate incidents allegedly from Orissa suggest that Muslim vendors from West Bengal’s Hooghly being intimidated by individuals and forced to chant “Jai Shree Ram”. X users shared the video of the incident on January 21 and January 22.

The X post shared on January 21 shows an individual asking a street vendor selling blankets about his whereabouts. When the vendor states that he is from Hooghly in West Bengal, the individual asks for the Aadhar card and calls him a “Bangladeshi”. In a similar manner, the X post from January 22 shows another street vendor being harassed and assaulted, calling him a Bangladeshi citizen. The individuals can be heard asking the vendor to clear the area.

In a similar incident that occurred in Yamunanagar, Haryana, a local resident harassed a Kashmiri youth selling shawls. The Instagram account incrediblejammukashmir7 shared the video of the incident on January 17.

Users call the shawl seller a “sleeper cell” and “traitor” in the comments.

The Times of India reported the incident on January 22, and as per the report, the incident occurred  in Kalawar village, when Kashmiri vendors were trying to sell their products. The report also states that the individual who harassed the vendors was identified as Kala, a cow vigilante. In the viral video Kala can be seen consistently asking the vendor to chant “Jai Shree Ram”, and when the vendor refused, he also threatened the vendor to leave the village.

On January 22, an X user shared a video which shows a similar incident from Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.

The video shows Muslim street vendors being asked by an individual to chant “Jai Sree Ram”. The Amar Ujala report dated January 21 identifies the individual as Rahul Sharma, a social media influencer and reveals that the incident occurred in Theog, a town in Shimla. According to the report, the Theog police summoned the influencer, took down the video, and asked him to issue an apology.

Vandalism of the Sufi Shrine in Uttarakhand

On January 23, the Hindu Raksha Dal vandalised the shrine of the 18th Century Sufi saint and poet Bulleh Shah — a symbol of love, tolerance, and religious harmony. The video of the incident went viral on social media and shows miscreants vandalising the shrine rising slogans such as “Jai Shree Ram,” and “Jai Bajarang Bali”. According ot The Telegraph report from January 27, Members of the Hindu Raksha Dal claimed responsibility of the attack.

We noticed that a week before the attack, several right-wing accounts on social media targeted the shrine.

On January 13, Team Hindu United shared the video of the shrine on X with a caption,”Massive mazars popping up on forest land in Dehradun! The Forest Department won’t spare even 1 inch for locals, but freely allows construction for others. Next? Waqf will claim it as their property!”

The post on January 28 garnered 89,500 views, 9,000 likes, and 4,700 reposts.

Alleging “Land Jihad,” a user responded, “100% These are jihadis who came from Bangladesh and Rohingya, who have no work, so they are being told in madrasas to do land jihad. Hindus come to bow their heads at Muslim shrines like Ajmer, and they become famous and earn billions of rupees. We will earn in Devbhoomi too.” Another user remarked, “Why can’t the Uttarakhand Govt uproot and remove the illegal structure from the land grabbing mafia or jihadist?”

Post the shrine was vandalised, the right-wing media Sudarshan News celebrated the incident as “Sudarshan News Impact”

The Hindi caption of the video report shared on Facebook on January 25 translates to, “Big impact of the news of Sudarshan News Mussoorie’s ‘Illegal Shrine’ was broken with slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’. Public anger was awakened after the report of Sudarshan News. The encroachment on forest land was destroyed.”

The Hindi caption of the video report shared on Facebook on January 25 translates to, “Big impact of the news of Sudarshan News Mussoorie’s ‘Illegal Shrine’ was broken with slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’. Public anger was awakened after the report of Sudarshan News. The encroachment on forest land was destroyed.”

Hate campaigns

Apart from these on-ground atrocities, the minorities are subjected to hatred on a daily basis on social media by accounts having a strong right-wing lineation. Offbeat Concerns analysed two major hate campaigns in January 2026, one targeting Shah Rukh Khan and the other targeting AR Rahman.

Upon reflecting on January 2026, it’s clear that, following the celebration of the 77th Republic Day, a disconnect between the principles of the Constitution and actual circumstances persists. These events highlight the urgent need for accountability, protection of minority rights, and reaffirmation of India’s pluralistic and democratic values.