APCR Documents 18 Hate Incidents Targeting Muslims During Kanwar Yatra 2026

APCR documented 18 hate incidents during the 2026 Kanwar Yatra, mostly targeting Muslims, across several states.

Across Meerut, Ghaziabad, Haridwar, we have seen a rise in violence during Kanwar Yatra.

(Photo: Vibhushita Singh/The Quint)

During the 13-day Kanwar Yatra in 2026, at least 18 incidents involving alleged violence, coercion, discriminatory measures, and obscene conduct were reported across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, and Bihar. The Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) compiled these incidents, noting that many targeted Muslim individuals and Muslim-owned businesses. The Kanwar Yatra formally took place from 30 July to 11 August, with related incidents occurring before and after the main pilgrimage period.

According to Maktoob Media, the APCR report, titled “Kanwar Yatra 2026: Violence, Vigilantism, Boycott and Public Impunity,” documented nine cases involving physical or coercive violence, at least four instances of boycott or discriminatory measures targeting food and businesses, and at least five reported or viral references involving obscene conduct.

Coverage revealed that several incidents involved alleged assaults and coercion against Muslim individuals. For example, in Hapur, a 24-year-old truck driver named Azeem Ali was dragged from his vehicle and beaten by Kanwariyas following a collision, resulting in his death days later. The report stated that this assault occurred in the presence of a police officer.

In Ghaziabad, a Muslim youth identified as Imran was allegedly assaulted and detained for around 20 minutes by a group of Kanwariyas who accused him of damaging their Kanwar. Police reportedly pacified the crowd by arranging a re-consecration ritual for the Kanwar rather than taking action against the alleged assailants as details emerged.

Other incidents included a Muslim motorcyclist in Rampur district who was allegedly forced to touch the feet of Kanwariyas and apologise after entering a road reserved for the procession. Police later stated that no Kanwar had been damaged in this incident according to official statements.

“The central concern was ‘not religious devotion itself’ but what it described as the ‘unequal enforcement of public order’,” the APCR report stated.

Economic and food-related restrictions were also documented, including measures affecting Muslim-owned businesses and restrictions on the sale of non-vegetarian food along Kanwar routes. In Baheri, Uttar Pradesh, a chicken biryani shop near the main Kanwar route was demolished, and its owner, Mohd Salman, was detained after complaints about the sale of non-vegetarian food. Police described the detention as a “preventive measure” following an alleged public-order disturbance as reporting indicated.

Authorities imposed restrictions on non-vegetarian food along several Kanwar routes, with hotels and dhabas in Muzaffarnagar prohibited from cooking or serving non-vegetarian food and required to display information about the type of food served. State and municipal authorities ordered the closure of meat, fish, and egg shops in several areas, including Uttar Pradesh, Hapur, and Delhi following reports.

The report also noted that the historic Urs-e-Ala Hazrat gathering in Bareilly was rescheduled after coinciding with the Kanwar Yatra, with the gathering directed to serve only vegetarian food. The Supreme Court intervened against directives requiring eateries along the Kanwar route to publicly display the names and details of owners and staff, directing authorities not to compel such disclosures as analysis showed.

“Traffic control can become social control and food restrictions can amount to economic exclusion,” the APCR report argued.

Obscene conduct was another recurring feature, with at least five videos and reports involving alleged vulgar gestures and provocative dances during processions. These performances, amplified on social media, were described as part of a “carnival-like atmosphere” with minimal police intervention, normalising the objectification of women and public display of vulgarity by young men as coverage revealed.

The report concluded that such incidents reinforce a “social script” in which female bodies are treated as spectacle and male aggression is legitimised under the cover of religious devotion, potentially creating conditions that enable more serious crimes against women in similar mass-gathering contexts at the end of the report.

“This puts Muslim women or women from minorities under great threat because we see a direct attack on minorities during the entire yatra in some or the other form,” the report stated.

Note: This article is produced using AI-assisted tools and is based on publicly available information. It has been reviewed by The Quint's editorial team before publishing.