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 November to 25 November 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) Tripura’s three small towns have become the primary entry points for Rohingyas into Bharat.

2) The Assam Police arrested Anwar Ali, the mastermind behind the burning of the temple at Ratabari. He was hiding in a remote village in Tripura. He was planning to flee to Bangladesh but was arrested by the police before he could leave.

3) An FIR was filed against a youth in Karnataka’s Udupi district for making a statement on social media, claiming that an opportunity was lost to “finish off” the killer of a Muslim family, police said. The accused, identified as Hafeez Muhammad from Shivamogga, faces a suo motu case under IPC Section 155 (liability of a person for whose benefit a riot is committed) and 505 (2) (making or circulating false statements or information with specific intent).

4) On the orders of the court, the police in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur have booked four people, including a woman teacher, for sexually exploiting a minor boy and forcing him to undergo religious conversion. The victim is a Class 10 student. His parents, from Unnao, have alleged that the schoolteacher forced the boy to have sexual relations and later pressured him to convert to her religion.

5) A child development officer in Kerala’s Thrissur was suspended after a probe found her guilty of conducting a Christian prayer at the workplace to remove “negative energy”. K.A.Bindhu had held a prayer at one of the Child Development Offices in Thrissur, leading to her suspension.

6) Devotees were angered after the SHO closed the ghats of Chhath Puja with mud. The incident occurred in the Mandavali area of ​​Delhi.

7) Muslim youth Mani Khan trapped Anju Dorjee and started to stay with her in a live-in relationship. A week ago, the dead body of Anju was recovered from the rented flat while Mani was absconding. At last, the Police arrested the accused, Mani Khan, from Dispur. 

8) A Nihang Sikh, previously a Muslim, threatened Shri Dhirendra Shastri based on utter lies. Khalistani Nihang Sikh, identified as Harmandeep Singh alias Toofan Singh released a video on his Instagram account threatening Bageshwar Dham Sarkar Dhirendra Krishna Shastri.

9) Two non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating from Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin, ‘Jesus Redeems‘ and ‘New Life Society,’ have come under scrutiny for their involvement in activities that raise serious concerns about the freedom of religion guaranteed under Article 25 of the Constitution of India. LRPF (Legal Rights Protection Forum) has written to NCPCR (National Commission for Protection of Child Rights) against the NGOs highlighting their evangelical activities.

10) Controversial ‘activist’ Teesta Setalvad, who is known for the fabrication of evidence in cases concerning the 2002 Gujarat riots, has now begun targeting the BJP leaders ahead of the elections scheduled in several states. Recently, Setalvad filed a complaint to the Election Commission through Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) against BJP leader Tiger Raja Singh claiming that the latter delivered a hate speech against the minority community ahead of the elections in Telangana.

11) A young Hindu man, identified as Rohit Kumar, tragically took his own life in the Auraiya district of Uttar Pradesh, reportedly succumbing to pressure from individuals who sought to coerce him into converting to Islam. In a viral video, Rohit said that the accused, Sattar and Salman, had filed a false case against him, compelling him to marry a Muslim girl and embrace Islam.

12) Samajwadi Party (SP) general secretary and former Uttar Pradesh Minister Swami Prasad Maurya is unstoppable when it comes to making statements against the Hindu religion. Maurya has now issued a statement condemning the recommendations of a seven-member committee of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) regarding the inclusion of epics like Ramayan and Mahabharat in textbooks.

13) Instagram influencer Athulya Ashokan who married a Muslim and posted a worrying message, says she is ‘safe.’

14) A 17-year-old girl from Himachal Pradesh’s Palampur has filed a police complaint against a guy named Muzafar, reportedly hailing from Jammu under the POCSO Act, accusing him of molestation, sexual abuse, and love jihad.

15) The Maharashtra State Police arrested Rihan Gulamnavi Rangrez (19) for abducting a minor girl from the Pimpalgaon region of Maharashtra’s Nashik district. The accused is said to have blackmailed the victim and threatened her with death. He also is said to have established sexual relations with the victim without her will.

16) Actions against drug mafias are in full swing in Assam, and Assam Police’s Special Task Force (STF) arrested drug peddlers Mujakkir Hossain, a resident of the Karahbari area and Saiful Islam of the Bhella area under the jurisdiction of Barpeta Police Station. The STF seized 29,000 Yaba tablets from their possession. The seized drugs are valued at nearly ₹ 7.25 Crore.

17) A case of love jihad has surfaced in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra, where the daughter of a Hindu cold storage facility owner was tricked into falling into a love trap by Furqan, a leather belt maker who initially befriended her on Instagram. Kamla Nagar police filed a case after being notified of the incident by her father and arrested the accused within three days as well as recovered the 19-year-old girl from Delhi.

18) Bharat Rashtra Samiti president KC Rao vowed to set up a special information technology (IT) park for Muslim youth at Pahadishareef if BRS was voted back to power for the third time. Telangana chief minister announced this Muslim-appeasement idea while he was addressing a public meeting at Maheshwaram. Telangana’s Education Minister, Sabitha Indra Reddy, is contesting the assembly polls from this constituency.

19) The Karnataka government issued a non-bailable warrant against National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) president Priyank Kanoongo over comparing children’s condition in Bengaluru orphanage ‘Darul Uloom Sayideeya Yateemkhana’ to medieval Taliban life.

20) Tamil Nadu Police filed cases against RSS route march organisers in three districts.

21) In Karnataka, controversy surrounds former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s pledge to erect a 100-foot-tall statue of Tipu Sultan, responding to the demand from Congress MLA Tanveer Sait. The Karnataka government is alleged to have included lessons on Tipu Sultan in the curriculum, portraying him as a hero and emphasising his role in rebuilding Hindu temples previously vandalised.

22) ‘Maulvi’ Sarfaraz was arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad for coercing a Hindu woman to convert to Islam under the pretext of getting rid of ‘evil powers’ and ‘ghosts’.

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) Former Pakistani cricketer Javed Miandad was seen spewing venom against Sri Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. He said that Hindus visiting Ram temple will come out as Muslims.

2) Shahdadpur city in the Sanghar district of Pakistan’s Sindh is reeling from a distressing incident where Pangla Bheel, a Hindu mother of four, was forcibly abducted from her home. The situation escalated when Pangla and her four children fell victim to forced conversion to Islam against their will, with Pangla allegedly being married off to a Muslim man. The gravity of the case deepened with a shocking confession from the purported husband.

3) Pakistan continues to eliminate the final remnants of Hindutva from the country as the authorities now have attacked two prominent Hindu places of worship. The assault on religious minorities claimed the existence of the Hinglaj Mata Mandir (temple) in Sindh province, where officials in the Tharparkar District demolished the holy place in the city of Mithi under the pretext of a court decision. Furthermore, the Sharda Peeth Mandir, which is another Hindu shrine along the Line of Control (LOC), has been destroyed. The anti-Hindu action transpired notwithstanding a permanent Supreme Court judgment meant to safeguard the temple.

World

1) A US Democrat senator introduced a racist Hinduphobic resolution.

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.