Muslim vendors who had set up stalls along the Kamakhya Temple route during the Ambubachi Mela in Assam were verbally abused, harassed, and forced to shut shop by Hindu extremists.

Videos recorded by the perpetrators themselves and shared on social media show members of the group questioning vendors, “You are Muslim and are selling Hindu religious items?” before demanding they vacate. In one instance, a man wearing a mala was physically assaulted, struck on his neck, and ordered to produce his Aadhaar card.

The incident is the latest in a pattern of targeted harassment of Muslim traders at Hindu religious gatherings across India.

At the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj in January 2025, a Muslim vendor selling posters and idols of deities was similarly harassed and evicted by Hindutva group members in the presence of police, with right-wing outfits running Aadhaar card verification drives to identify and remove vendors from minority communities.

Karnataka witnessed a sustained campaign of such exclusions at multiple temple fairs beginning in 2022, with Bajrang Dal and allied groups forcibly evicting Muslim traders and erecting banners barring them from stalls.

The Ambubachi Mela, held annually at the Kamakhya Temple on Guwahati’s Nilachal Hills, is considered the largest religious gathering in Northeast India. This year’s edition runs from June 22 to 26, and has drawn an estimated eight lakh pilgrims.

There was no immediate statement from Assam Police or the Kamrup Metro district administration on the incident.