Video of female Muslim student praying on campus sparks angry protests at Indian university

Far right Hindu organisations staged protests at a university in Uttarakhand after a video of a female Muslims student offering prayer on campus emerged online.

Hundreds of students at Quantum University in Roorkee participated in the demonstration, chanting "Jai Sri Ram" slogans in opposition to the Muslim prayer observed on university grounds.

The video circulating online showed someone secretly filming the female student while she prayed within the campus.

According to Indian watchdog Hate Detector, the extremist group Bajrang Dal alleged that the prayer incident was linked to "Love Jihad" or religious conversion.

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In #Uttarakhand's #Roorkee, a protest erupted against a woman offering Namaz at #QuantumUniversity after a video of the incident went viral.

Students responded by chanting "#JaiShriRam," while members of #BajrangDal claimed it was related to #LoveJihad and conversion. pic.twitter.com/BUbf9NKMZe

— Hate Detector 🔍 (@HateDetectors) October 29, 2024

Violence against Muslims has increased in India, with incidents of mob lynchings and harassment continuing to surface on a daily basis.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who assumed office for a third term, made inflammatory speeches against Muslims during his election campaign. 

During his campaign, Modi referred to Muslims as "infiltrators" and "those who have many children." In one speech, he framed the election as a choice between "Ram Rajya" (the rule of the Hindu god Ram) and "Vote Jihad."

Earlier this year, Amnesty International condemned the use of “punitive demolitions” of Muslim homes and businesses as discriminative measure to intimidate the minority community.