Attacks on Hindus and Hindu Dharma, both in Bharat and overseas, are frequent and unrelenting. In many regions of the world, this persecution is like a genocide slowly unfolding before our eyes. For decades, the world has ignored the actual depth and breadth of these attacks, driven by disturbing anti-Hindu bigotry. From murders, forced conversions, land grabs, assault on festivals, desecration of temples and murtis, hate speech, and sexual violence to institutionalized & legal discrimination, Hindus are facing an increasing assault on their very existence along with an unprecedented Hindu hatred.
In this weekly summary for the period from 25 February to 4 March 2023, we hope to provide a snapshot of such crimes and hopefully awaken more people around the world to this human rights crisis:
Bharat
1) DMK govt interrupts Hindu Religious Conference, an 85-year-old affair in Mandaikadu temple.
2) The government has asked multiple departments to work in tandem to unearth further details about this practice of land jihad by Islamists in the state, says the report. It was found that thousands of Muslims have settled around the Asan Barrage on the border of Uttarakhand adjacent to Paonta Sahib in Himachal Pradesh. It is believed that these Muslim settlers have come from Saharanpur and surrounding areas of Uttar Pradesh under a well-planned conspiracy.
3) Uttar Pradesh police arrested a pastor and his aides for trying to convert poor Hindus by offering things. They were trying to convert the family at their house when the police caught them.
4) Shri Sanjay Sharma, s/o Shri Kashinath Sharma, resident of Achan, Pulwama, was shot dead on February 27 when he was on his way to the market with his wife to make some purchases. His job was as a guard at a local bank.
5) A Gaurakshak family paid the price of police insensitivity as his pregnant wife lost their unborn child due to Rajasthan police brutality. According to Shrikant Pandit’s mother, his 9-month-pregnant wife was kicked by the police due to which the child died in the womb.
6) Ismail Yusuf was arrested for raping and killing a two-year-old girl in Surat.
6) Harish was murdered by his wife’s family after inter-faith marriage in Telangana’s Hyderabad.
7) Two men accused of cow slaughter were arrested following an encounter with police on March 1. The accused sustained bullet injuries in their legs during the operation that was carried out by police personnel from two police stations of the district, they said. “Zafar-ur-Rehman Kalia was wanted in a case of cow slaughter and another case and carried a reward of Rs 25,000 on his head. He along with his friend Taslim was surrounded by our police team following an intelligence input,” said Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Akhilesh Chaurasia.
8) Proselytization attempts by Christian missionaries at the World Book in Delhi’s Pragati Maidan. The protests took place on Wednesday (March 1) after it came to light that missionaries were distributing objectionable content against Hindus. The missionaries were also found to be distributing free bible and influencing non-Christians to accept Christianity as their new faith.
9) Shaikh Khader Basha slashed the throat of an 8-year-old Hindu girl in Nellore.
Pakistan
Abduction, rape, forced conversion, and marriage of minor Hindu girls are common occurrences in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. At least 1000 minority girls suffer such sex slavery every year in Sindh province alone. Apart from this, Pakistani Hindus face systemic and institutionalized discrimination and neglect, such as frequent attacks on Hindu temples, demonization of education curriculum, police and judicial antipathy, denial of fundamental rights, and even untouchability. This latest instance of the brutal rape and murder of a Bheel woman in Pakistan is yet another proof of the pitiable condition of Hindu minorities in Pakistan.
1) Minor Meena Bhatt (14) was declared ‘adult’ by the medical board and handed over to her abductor.
2) Dr Daulat Ram was brutally assaulted in the Ghorabari area of Thatta district, Sindh, as per a video posted shared by a Pakistani rights activist.
Bangladesh
Attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh are relentless and designed to cleanse the religious minority from the country gradually. According to a study by Prof. Abul Barakat of Dhaka University, no Hindus will be left in Bangladesh by 2050 due to systemic and institutionalized persecution. Temple desecration, land grabbing, mob attacks after false blasphemy charges, rape/forced conversion of women, and hate speech are tools used to intimidate and drive Hindus out.
1) Sanjit Adhikary and Prosenjit Adhikary, residents of Bagerhat were attacked on February 27 by Mohammad Sattar Khalifa and Abul Bashar Khalifa (Tweet archived here).
2) Islamists attempted to abduct a minor girl named Purabi Dey at Chittagong’s Coxbazar (Tweet archived here).
3) Minority communities who were the lawful owners of the lands were kicked out by the local administration from their ancestral land at Chittagong’s Bashkhali (Tweet archived here)
Most hate crimes are driven by anti-Hindu bigotry encoded in certain religious teachings and political ideologies. While the anti-Hindu hate in Islamic countries is evident, there is another subtler form of anti-Hindu sentiment within institutions and the public sphere of ostensibly secular states (like India) that provides an enabling environment for Hinduphobia and hate crimes. This subtle, everyday discrimination can be missed unless one studies prevailing laws and patterns. The gradual ban on firecrackers during Diwali is a good example – it might seem pollution-related on the surface. Still, the double standards at play become apparent when one looks at the larger picture of restrictions on Hindu festivals and the lack of sound reasoning behind the ban.
We request all readers to share other anti-Hindu hate crimes that we might have missed in this period in the comments below or by dropping an email to [email protected]. We also solicit support in maintaining the Hindu human rights tracker database.
