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 19 March to 25 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) Smugglers who came to steal cattle pelted stones at people in the Khajuria locality of the Paloda area of the city. Taking advantage of the darkness, the cattle smugglers managed to flee from the spot. On the complaint of the local people, a case has been registered at Janipur police station. This incident has been reported late Sunday night.

2) A mob of 200-250 miscreants laid siege on a Hindu Jagran, which was organised at College Street in Central Kolkata. Subodh Das narrated that the singer, who was at the helm of the affairs of the Jagran, was also attacked. He informed that about 3-4 devotees were grievously injured in the attack and even the women were not spared.

3) Shocking details of drugging perfectly healthy people to make them “see Jesus” and convert to Christianity have emerged from a home for the mentally ill in Tamil Nadu. The home was in the news recently after police raided it and found that most victims were perfectly normal. An NCPCR team that investigated the victims found that their limbs were broken to make them look physically disabled.

4) Intiyaz and Wasim, who kidnapped two minor sisters and took them to Telangana, were arrested by UP Police.

5) Yet another case of grooming jihad using a fake Hindu identity, sexual and financial exploitation, followed by forced conversion-nikah of a teenage Hindu girl has come to light, this time from Fatehpur district of Uttar Pradesh. And as is often the case, the girl has now been abandoned, with the accused Islamist Rashid Khan making the chilling remark, “By converting you into Islam I got the spiritual benefit equal to going on Haj once, now you are of no use to me.” He also reportedly said, “by bringing a Brahmin Hindu girl into Islam, I am assured of Jannat”.

6) The DMK government in Tamil Nadu has announced its intention to take over schools run by temples and bring them under the control of the School Education Department. The move is seen as an attempt to destroy whatever little rights temples have in running institutions.

7) Police have arrested 7 smugglers and sent them to jail on judicial remand while smuggling 100 cattle worth 20 lakhs through the forest along the Mawai river separating the border of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh near Baikunthpur. The seized cattle have been handed over to Goushala. During interrogation, the smugglers revealed their intention of taking the cattle to the slaughterhouse.

8) Christians like Raja and Suresh usurp Hindu MP/MLA seats by misusing their ‘caste status’.

9) A Hindu Janjatiya girl from a Gond family in Chhattisgarh’s Surajpur was married off to Mohammad Haroon without the knowledge of her parents. That the ‘nikah’ took place under the Congress-government-organised wedding programme raises several questions including whether the Bhupesh Baghel government is encouraging grooming/love jihad.

10) The temple committee of Thirumandhamkunnu temple at Angadipuram in Malappuram infested with commies and pro-Islamists has painted the temple with the colour of the Pakistani flag – green and white – ahead of the Pooram festival. Even more alarming is the sizable presence of Muslims on the festival committee as patrons and members.

11) Aziz killed his wife Nisha in Delhi over her alleged affair with another woman and later committed suicide at his native village in Uttar Pradesh.

12) Mohammad Akram-led ‘Serial kisser’ gang which molested several women were arrested in Bihar’s Jamui.

13) A Hindu boy was beaten by a Christian school principal for taking leave to participate in a ritual. The boy hadn’t intimated prior about taking leave and was beaten by the Catholic priest. He had to be admitted to hospital as the injuries were severe. Later he was forced to post a video saying that there is no religious intolerance in the school.

14) The DMK government has demolished a centuries-old matha on the pretext of removing encroachment.

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) In Tando Allahyar, Sindh, a Pakistani Hindu labourer named Karo Kachhi was assaulted by a police officer Anwar Mallah for not paying a bribe of 50 Pakistani rupees, leaving him bloodied. 

2) Sara Kolhi was abducted for conversion-nikah at a Sufi shrine by her Muslim landlord to ‘pay off debt’ in Sindh’s Umerkot district.

3) Pakistani journalist was arrested by Sindh Police under Blasphemy law for insulting the Hindu deity Hanuman and hurting religious sentiments. A case was filed against him by the satellite police station of Mirpurkhas city.

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) On March 18, ex-students of Cox’s Bazar Government College in Bangladesh were celebrating their diamond jubilee function. Knowing full well that beef is taboo for Hindus, yet the organizing committee served beef not just to the Muslim ex-students, but to Hindus as well.

2) Two Madrasa students were arrested for vandalizing temples in Ulipur’s Kurigram (Tweet archived here).

3) Land of Hindu minority men was forcibly grabbed for the construction of the Model Masjid (Tweet archived here).

4) Unidentified criminals hacked two Hindu women to death in Gopalganj’s Kotalipara (Tweet archived here).

World

1) On Sunday (19 March), the national flag of Bharat flying atop the Bharatiya High Commission in London was grabbed at by a group of protesters waving separatist Khalistani flags. They even were heard raising pro-Khalistani slogans.

2) Hours after Bharat’s High Commission in London was vandalized and our national flag was desecrated, Khalistani extremists attacked the Bharatiya consulate in San Francisco, USA.

3) On March 22 (local time), a video surfaced on social media where a pro-Khalistani Sikh was seen abusing a Gujarati Hindu in London during a protest against the Government of Bharat over the crackdown on Amritpal Singh.

4) In yet another attack on a Bharatiya installation in the UK, alleged Khalistani elements targeted a Punjabi restaurant located in Hammersmith, West London, according to an advocacy group.

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.