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 16 July to 22 July 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) On 17 July, Ujjain Police arrested three Islamists, including two juveniles, for spitting on the second Baba Mahakaal Procession. As per reports, a group of young men were spotted spitting water on the procession.
2) On Monday (July 17) as the country was celebrating the second Monday of the auspicious Shravan (Sawan) month, a 70-year-old priest of a Shiv Mandir in Bihar’s Vaishali district was brutally lynched to death by unknown miscreants. He was reportedly murdered by four boys who took offence to the bhajans which were being played in the Shiv Mandir to celebrate the holy day. The priest was identified as Shiv Narayan Giri. However, the Vaishali Police has denied these allegations.
3) Another case of forced conversion to Islam has emerged from Mira Bhayandar in Mumbai. Reportedly, a 22-year-old girl filed a police complaint against one Amin Azam Sheikh, and his family members at the Naya Nagar police station. The victim alleged that Amin, his mother, and other accused, not only caused her physical harm but also harrassed her mentally. Based on the victim’s statement, the Naya Nagar police registered a case against Amin, his mother Reshma Azam Shaikh, Qazi Muftin Ismail, Jariab Saleem Sayyed, and an unknown person.
4) American Pastor boasted about Christian Conversions in Bharat and revealed how superstitions like ‘demon-possession’ are used to trick villagers.
5) A shocking case of rape of a minor Hindu girl has come to light in Kotwali Nagar of the Ayodhya district, Uttar Pradesh. Here, some clerics reportedly forced a 16-year-old girl to drink Zamzam (Islamic holy water) in an effort to convert her to Islam.
6) Another shocking instance of love jihad has been reported from the Fatehpur district of Uttar Pradesh. Here, a Muslim man by the name of Mohammed Raju alias Rajul lured a minor Hindu girl and kidnapped her. Furthermore, he raped the victim and forced her to embrace Islam before marrying her.
7) Angry locals blocked the road at Rangirkhari Point protesting against the alleged rape and murder of the missing girl Pinki Roy (19). Citing police inaction to recover the girl, locals blocked the road for hours. When the talks didn’t bring any result, police fired gunshots in the air at last to disperse the crowd.
8) In a case that has been reported from the Loni region of Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district, a 20-year-old Hindu girl was harassed and threatened with death by an accused person who has been identified as Salman Sayyed. Sayyed is said to have taken the help of his friend Ajay Gunjal who has also been named as an accused in the case.
9) Two individuals were arrested by the police in Uttar Pradesh’s Kaushambi district for their involvement in converting Hindus to Christianity under the guise of quack medical treatment.
10) A woman in the Alwar district of Rajasthan filed a case at Sadar police station alleging that a Muslim man lured her into marrying him by posing as a Hindu. The complainant alleged that Junaid Khan, a resident of Kakrali village pretended to be Rohit, got married to her and raped her for over a year.
11) Terrorists fired and injured labourers Saurav and Akshay in J&K’s Anantnag.
12) Hailakandi police arrested Jubair Ahmed Talukdar, who was the main accused in the abduction, gangrape and murder of a minor Hindu girl. As per sources, Jubair was arrested from the Dohaliya area of Karimganj district during a raid the previous night. He was absconding since the heinous incident of abduction, gang rape and murder of minor girls in Barnee Bridge of Hailakandi district.
13) In yet another case of love jihad (grooming jihad), a 22-year-old girl accused Amin Azam Shaikh and his family of her trapping her, physically and mentally torturing her, and eventually forcibly converting her to Islam. The incident was reported from Mumbai’s suburb Mira Road in Thane District.
14) Roshan Ali posed as Roshan Lal to marry Lakshmi Kumari in the temple and had conversion nikah after Vidai.
15) Assam Police accused of arresting Hindus peacefully holding a program after Islamists raised an objection.
16) Five Muslim thieves were arrested who dressed up as Kanwariyas to steal mobile phones from the Kanwar camp in Muzaffarnagar. 100 phones were recovered from the thieves.
17) In Uttarakhand, stones were pelted at Kanwariyas. A case was registered against unknown people and police are identifying the accused through video footage.
18) Nine including Sahil and Anwar were arrested in UP for forcibly trying to get an 11-year-old kidnap & rape victim married.
19) Manjarul Haque, who tried to abduct a minor Hindu girl in Karimganj, was arrested by the Assam police.
20) A Muslim mob beat street hawker Ram Vilas to death over a petty fight in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, which is the latest hub of illegal Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh.
21) Aditya Chandran (22), a young Hindu lady was found dead in a rented house near Kozhikode. There are allegations that she is a victim of grooming jihad (‘love’ jihad). On 13 July, Aditya was found dead in a rented room near Ganapatikunnu, Kozhikode. She was staying in a rented house that she shared with 22-year-old Parakkal Muhammad Amal from Mavoor.
22) A case of love jihad has surfaced in the Singhia block of Bihar’s Samastipur district. An 18-year-old Muslim individual named Guddu alias Firoz, son of Mohammed Bechan, from Basti Patti hamlet in the Thana region, is reported to have married a 15-year-old Hindu girl after he pretended to be from the same religion. Afterwards, he took her to his place in Bihar and assigned her a Muslim name.
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 an appalling incident of hate crime, 150-year-old Mari Mata Temple in Soldier Bazaar was razed to the ground by the local authorities on Friday night (July 14).
2) On Sunday morning (16 July) a gang of dacoits attacked a Hindu temple with rocket launchers in Sindh’s Kashmore region. The assailants reportedly targeted Hindu believers as they attacked the temple and the adjoining homes belonging to Hindus. They opened fire indiscriminately at the temple and adjoining houses.
3) A rights group in Pakistan has raised alarm about reports of organised criminal gangs holding hostage 30 members of the minority Hindu community, including women and children. The incident has been reported from the districts of Kashmore and Ghotki in Sindh.
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 the night of 20 July, around 9.30 PM, Maa Durga Temple of Niyamatpur village under Sahazadapur Union of Sarail Upozila of Bramhanbaria district was attacked by a youth. Eyewitnesses narrated that the youth entered the temple with a stick in hand and started hitting the Murtis while shouting Allahu-akbar.
World
1) Oxford University publication refused to remove lies about Hindu American Foundation.
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 emailing [email protected]. We also solicit support in maintaining the Hindu human rights tracker database.
