Nearly 4,500 Muslims have been booked and 265 people belonging to the Muslim community have been arrested in the aftermath of the ‘I Love Mohammad’ campaign row, claims the civil rights group in India.
The arrests have been made in 23 cities till October 7, after a controversy erupted last month about banners saying ‘I Love Mohammad’ at a Muslim religious procession, a civil rights group has said. In a fact-finding report published last week, the Association for Protection of Civil Rights added that 45 first-information reports had been filed in a span of 30 days.
The report also alleged unjust police actions and administrative targeting of Muslims in Uttar Pradesh after clashes broke out in the district on September 26 in connection with the banners.
The row began on September 4 when a group of Muslims held an ‘I Love Mohammad’ banner during an Eid-Miladun Nabi procession in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur. The Hindu group had objected to the banner, claiming that a new tradition was being introduced at the procession.
“की मोहम्मद ﷺ से वफ़ा तूने तो हम तेरे हैं,
ये जहाँ चीज़ है क्या, लौह-ओ-क़लम तेरे हैं।”“I Love Mohammad ﷺ”#ILoveMohammad #Mumbai #Protest #Byculla #SamajwadiParty #AbuAsimAzmi pic.twitter.com/Fe24SRfUAI
— Abu Asim Azmi (@abuasimazmi) September 19, 2025
The police say that the government rules prohibit introducing new customs into religious processions and festivals, and celebrations. On September 9, the police filed cases against 24 persons, of whom 15 were unidentified, for allegedly introducing a new custom during the procession and disturbing communal harmony.
However, the actions by the police soon sparked protests and processions with I Love Mohammed banner in several districts of Uttar Pradesh and other states. Clashes broke out with police during some of the protests.
In a report, the Association for Protection of Civil Rights claimed that the protests on September 26 were met with baton-charging, mass arrests, and property seizures carried out arbitrarily and ‘without due process’. Authorities also demolished properties linked to persons accused of participating in the clashes.
“Procedures relating to prior notice, lawful arrests, and due process were not followed, leading to violations of human rights and raising concerns about transparency and legality,” the report alleged. “Social and economic impacts extended citywide, with business loss, intimidation, and altered public movement patterns in the Muslim community.”
The findings indicated a pattern of “state action characterised by a lack of transparency, excess force, and breaches in standard legal procedure, primarily impacting the Muslims of Bareilly”, claimed the civil rights group.
The arrests made by the police in Kanpur drew widespread criticism from Muslim political leaders, and protests against police stations spread to other states, including Telangana in southern India, Gujarat and Maharashtra in the west, and in Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir in the north.
In retaliation to the mass arrests, I Love Mohammad hoardings and writings came up across the country from people’s social media handles to t-shirts.
Critics Cite Rising Marginalization of Muslims Under BJP Government
Critics say that the crackdown is only the latest instance of Indian Muslims facing marginalisation and violence since Modi came to power in 2014. In the past 11 years, the incidence of hate speech targeting religious minorities has increased exponentially.
A significant majority of these incidents were reported in the BJP-governed states or places where elections were upcoming. Increasingly, the local Hindu-Muslim dispute now swiftly takes the shape of a national issue.
TO EACH HIS OWN !
I love Mohammed ( SWM) or Jai Shree Ram! In India we all have an equal right to express as long as its not forced upon each other ..#secular #democratic #republic #myright #ILoveMuhammad pic.twitter.com/r3Mt34DpzJ— Mumtaz Patel (@mumtazpatels) September 24, 2025
Read more: Google to invest $15 bn in India, build largest AI hub outside US
The rights group argues that the Indian Constitution Articles 19 and 25 guarantee freedom of expression and religion. The Banner I Love Muhammad does not violate any law as it neither incites hatred nor violence. They accused the authorities are employing legal provisions to justify the illegal arrests and suppress the expressions by Muslim communities. Analysts note that there has been a 74% rise in hate speech incidents in 2023-2024.
Hindu nationalist slogans like ‘I Love Bulldozer’ emerge in response, mocking the Muslim campaign. Amnesty International has also condemned the arrests, labelling them a violation of Constitutional International Law. Associational Protection of Civil Rights has been tracking the cases and legally defending victims. Many of those arrested are young Muslims, including social media users. Analysts fear that the crackdown is deepening alienation and resentment among the Muslim youth, and there is a rising fear and hopelessness about religious freedom and equal treatment in India.