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 30 April to 6 May 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1) Congress leader and former Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah has assured that cow slaughter and anti-conversion laws will be repealed if Congress comes to power. He said this in an interview with The News Minute claiming that farmers, minority communities, and backward communities were not living happily under the BJP rule due to such laws.
2) A man, who urinated inside Maa Durga temple located at Kalyani Chowk in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur city, has been arrested, police said on Sunday. The accused is identified as Moinuddin, a resident of Diwan Road in the city.
3) Hemadpanti-style ancient Sri Mahalaxmi Mandir lies neglected amid garbage and encroached in a Muslim-majority area in Maharashtra’s Beed.
4) Ahmedabad police arrested Ansar and Irshad for running a sextortion racket.
5) Mandir land grab continues in Kashmir as KPSS says Durga Nag trust land encroached in Srinagar.
6) Married Mohammad Jamal posed as Sonu to trap a Hindu woman, converted her to Islam, married her, and then gave her triple talaq.
7) A 22-year-old Hindu youth Koushik Dey was brutally attacked in Odisha’s Cuttack at 11 in the night on April 23. His crime? His dogs barked at the accused when Koushik had taken his pet for a walk. Kalinga Rights Forum (KRF) shared details regarding the incident.
8) Four Muslim youths murdered a Bajrang Dal worker Arvind Sagar in Uttarakhand’s Ramnagar.
9) Two new instances of Land jihad have come to the fore, one from Maharashtra and the other from Andhra Pradesh (AP). Islamists have captured temple land in both instances, videos of which have gone viral on social media (SM).
10) Islamist and HINO ‘journalists’ spread fake news of a half-cremated woman’s body being raped in Rajasthan.
11) Mukhtar Ansari grabbed temple land worth crores of rupees to build Ansari University.
12) Beef mafia breaks open cow shelter twice in 24 hours, slaughter at least 18 animals and assault villagers in UP’s Etah.
13) Naga Baptist Church carrying out a missionary onslaught on Assam’s Hindu religious-cultural capital Majuli.
14) The Hindu Meitei community has been demanding that it be included in the Scheduled Tribe category for a long time now. Manipur High Court (HC) issued a directive in this matter on April 19. Following their demand, protests backed by churches and militant groups turned violent across different districts in Manipur.
15) To defame Hindu priests, the DMK regime accused them of marrying off their underage daughters and forced the minors to undergo a ‘virginity test’, driving some of them to attempt suicide.
16) DYFI (Democratic Youth Federation of India) militants and Popular Front of India (PFI) covert operatives attempted to disrupt the festival at Omallur Raktakanda Ayyapa Swami Temple under Travancore Devaswom Board. To counter the saffron flags and decorations used in the temple premises, DYFI activists demanded their flag poles should also be tied in the temple premises.
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) A murti of Bhagwan Shiva was desecrated inside the famous ashram of Baba Lokenath Brahmachari in the Baradi area of Sonargaon sub-district, Narayanganj district in central Bangladesh.
2) Mukti Rani Barmon was hacked to death in Netrokona by Mohammad Kowsar (Tweet archived here).
3) Rahul Karmaker was brutally murdered at Boalkhali (Tweet archived here).
4) A 13-year-old minor girl Ritu Mondal was forcefully abducted from Domuria by Mohammad Salman and Arafat (Tweet archived here).
5) Minor boy Anik Chandra Shil’s dead body was found at Barguna’s Patharghata (Tweet archived here).
6) A Hindu temple was attacked and murtis of all Devis were beheaded at Rangpur’s Mithapukur (Tweet archived here).
World
1) Luiza Kosykh, a 40-year-old woman who entered Bali on an investment visa, had posed nude and indecently dressed in front of a 700-year-old banyan tree. It is revered by Hindus as a sacred spot. After her pictures went viral on social media authorities were informed and she was put on a flight to Moscow by immigration officials.
2) Sri Lankan Tamils are facing more threats from missionaries every day. Recently an issue of illegally building a church next to a temple to provoke Hindus has come to light. Despite Hindus objecting to the blatant attempt at disturbing communal harmony in the initial stages, the church was allowed to be built.
3) Nazi-Like Propaganda? Ukraine’s Ministry Of Defense celebrates strike in Crimea with post caricaturing Maa Kali.
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.
