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 23 July to 29 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) An attempt by a mob of Muslims to install an Islamic flag in front of a Durga Mandir, in Bihar’s Darbhanga city Saturday (22 July) evening led to clashes between Hindus and Muslims late Sunday (23 July) morning. According to reports, a large group of young Muslim men wanted to install a Muharram flag in front of a Durga Mandir at the Shivdhara Bazar Samiti Chowk, in the Sadar police station area of the city Saturday evening. Locals, including traders of the area, objected and that led to heated arguments. The local administration convened a meeting of leaders from both communities to resolve the issue Sunday (23 July) morning.

2) A Catholic priest who was also the principal of a diocese-run college in a Shivamogga in Karnataka has been arrested by local police for sexually assaulting a minor girl belonging to the Banjara community. Kote Police registered a case against Father Francis Fernandes, principal of Sacred Heart College under Shimoga diocese

3) As per sources, police arrested a youth named Muhammad Sahil in the murder of a BJP worker Asim Saha. Also, the police confirmed that there is no political or communal angle in this murder. 

4) In the Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh, a case of love jihad has come to the fore where Khalid Chaudhary posed as Deepak, raped a Hindu woman, forcibly made her eat beef and converted her to Islam.

5) The police are on high alert after a startling instance of love jihad surfaced in Greater Noida West of Uttar Pradesh. The victim accused that one of the accused also forced her to pay 15 lakh rupees by recording an obscene video. The complaint was submitted against Haroon, Monu Khan, Sonu, Aliyar Khan, and Raju Khan.

6) An alarming incident of forced circumcision of a Hindu boy has come to light in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. He has been identified as Vishal and is a resident of Bulandshahr district’s Gulavathi police station neighbourhood. He has filed a complaint in which he stated that he is in a relationship with a Muslim girl and charged her family members with circumcising him by deceit. Reportedly, they spiked his food and circumcised him in an unconscious state and pressurised him to convert to Islam.

7) Muslim man named Asif who is a tile mason by profession and a resident of Daurala, has been arrested for abducting a Hindu girl. She is a college student and reportedly met him through a Muslim friend of hers. Hindu organisations have charged the accused with holding the victim in a madrassa as part of an attempt to convert her to Islam. However, she has now been recovered by the police and further legal action is underway while the matter is being investigated.

8) The Udupi district police have at last lodged a First Information Report (FIR) against the Muslim students who clandestinely recorded private video of Hindu students in the washroom of the Netra Jyoti college in Udupi. A case has been filed against three Muslim students named Alimatul Shaifa, Shabanaz, and Alia, who were responsible for creating the video, as well as against the management board of Netrajyoti College. They are charged with evidence destruction.

9) The Delhi Police’s Crime Branch arrested two men from Bharatpur in Rajasthan for making a sextortion call to Prahlad Singh Patel, Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, and Jal Shakti. The arrested accused were identified as Mohammad Vakil and Mohammad Sahib from Bharatpur, Rajasthan. However, the police informed that the main accused, Sabir, is still absconding.

10) A video circulating on social media captured IUML activists threatening, “We will hang you at temple corridors and burn you alive.” Following this incident, over 300 individuals, primarily from the youth wing of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), were booked.

11) On Thursday, July 27, a Hindu boy was brutally thrashed by a group of Muslim youths in Patel Nagar in Dehradun over a two-month-old dispute pertaining to a social media post. The Muslim mob comprising 25-30 youths attacked Aman Bhandari with swords and lathis on Thursday evening. The BCom student was beaten up when he was returning from his college, Sri Guru Ram Rai (SGRR) University, on his motorcycle.

12) National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested a doctor identified as Adnan Ali Sarkar in Pune in connection with the Maharashtra ISIS module case. The arrested doctor is accused of promoting violent activities of the Islamist terror outfit.

13) A 24-year-old man was arrested within 24 hours of allegedly stealing silver ornaments of the deity at Dakshin Mukhi Hanuman temple in Kalyan. The accused, identified as Sakib alias Mohammad Akhtar Ansari, is a resident of the Jabbar compound in Shantinagar, Bhiwandi.

14) Some miscreants allegedly tried to disturb social harmony and stroke communal tensions in Bihar’s Aurangabad district. According to the information received, devotees and locals reportedly found beef inside the Hanuman temple located in the area. This was seemingly done to hurt the sentiments of the Hindu community. Afterwards, locals informed the concerned authorities who took necessary action to prevent any untoward incidents.

15) Jharkhand’s Missionary school Carmel Convent forced a Hindu child to remove ‘Kalawa’ by brutally thrashing the student.

16) Mahesh Nahata, father of an 8-year-old Jain boy is running from post to pillar to get him back from his wife, who converted to Islam and also got his son circumcised by her paramour. The accused, Iliyas Qureshi, is a repeated offender, as he was earlier sentenced to ten years of imprisonment under charges of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offence) Act.

17) A police complaint has been filed against Kerala Assembly Speaker AN Shamseer for insulting Bhagwan Ganesha and Hindu beliefs.

18) Emboldened by SC let-off, propagandist Mohammad Zubair shared an edited video to hide stone pelting by Islamists on Kanwariyas.

19) A Muslim youth named Najibur Rahman (35) murdered his Hindu wife Sanghamitra Ghosh, father-in-law Sanjeev Ghosh and mother-in-Law Junu Ghosh in Golaghat town. Later, Najibur Rahman surrendered to the police.

20) Dalit man Ram Akbal was brutally murdered by Paru, Mehendi and Iqbal in Sitapur and his body was doused in acid and dumped into a canal.

21) ‘Mere’ cross at the entrance and bust of Jesus inside the house is no basis to discard the claim for Hindu Mahar scheduled caste certificate says Bombay HC.

22) The family of the girl, who is a native of Palakkad Ottapalam Kumaranallur, has approached the NIA. The girl was in love with a young man named Muhammad Shibil, a native of Malappuram. But now the girl’s family says that they are trying to convert the girl by threatening her by showing her nude pictures. The family has also pointed out that Shibil promised to get married after the victim converts to his religion.

23) Hindu devotees and the lady shopkeeper were assaulted and robbed inside the famous Mahadev Khola Dham Shiva temple premises in Christian-majority Meghalaya.

24) Former Member of Parliament and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader, Subhashini Ali, shared misleading information about a minor Rashtriya Swayamsewaks. She accused the minor of having been involved in the Manipur sexual assault. However, she faced significant backlash on social media and by the evening she apologised for sharing fake news. Notably, taking cognizance of the matter, the RSS filed a case against Ali.

25) The plot of illegal conversion in the name of a Christian prayer meeting was exposed and 7 persons were arrested in UP.

26) Dholaghat police arrested a teacher for allegedly raping and assaulting a minor girl. Reportedly, the teacher raped the minor girl inside the school premises in South 24 Pargana district. The accused was later identified as Faizuddin Mollah associated with the Dholahat High Madrasa. 

27) Muslims opposed the last rites of Shrikant Paswan in Darbhanga and the media worked overtime to hide the religious identity of the perpetrators.

28) Imtiaz Shaikh raped a married woman by holding her husband at knife-point for defaulting on loan. The incident was reported in Pune’s Hadapsar.

29) Groomed since 14, a disrobed minor girl screams for her clothes in the disturbing video shot by rapist Shakir, Mohd. Alam and others in UP.

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) Three daughters of a Hindu businessman in Pakistan’s Sindh province have been married to Muslim men who first kidnapped them and forcibly converted them to Islam, according to a leading minority rights group in the country. The head of Pakistan Darewar Itehad, Shiva Kachhi, said that the incident took place in Sindh’s Dharki area where Chandni, Roshni and Parmesh Kumari, daughters of a Hindu businessman, Leela Ram, were first abducted and then forcibly converted to Islam.

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) Persecution of Hindu minorities continues in Bangladesh. Now, the news is coming in from Jhalkathi town of Bangladesh where an Awami League leader brutally tortured a poor Hindu woman. The woman worked as a domestic help in the house of that leader.

World

1) Tamil Hindus including the Malaysian Minister condemned VCK chief Thirumavalavan’s anti-Hindu rant at the Tamil conference.

2) Christian conservative editor Zeisloft calls for tearing down Hindu mandirs after ‘conquering India’ for Christ.

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.