On August 18, 2023, several controversial offensive social media posts against the Hindu deities- Lord Rama and Lady Sita, were made by a 21 year old Muslim resident of Pusesavali village, in the Satara district of Maharashtra, on Instagram and Telegram, which went viral.
In response, the Hindu community organised a protest. Tensions raged for multiple weeks between the two communities. On August 15 and September 10, derogatory comments on Instagram against Lord Rama and the Maratha ruler - Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj went viral. Two 23 year old Muslims and a Muslim teenager from the village were accused of having made the comments.[3] This led to increased tensions; as the city of Satara was the capital of the Maratha Empire, residents of the districts are proud of the legacy, religious and quick to react to any negative comments.
Tensions were already rife in the area when abusive comments on Instagram against the figures named above went viral in June. Muslim teenagers & young adults from the nearby city of Kolhapur were accused of having made the comments.[4]