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 institutionalised & 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 31 December 2023 to 6 January 2024, we hope to provide a snapshot of such crimes and hopefully awaken more people around the world to this human rights crisis:

Bharat

1) Truck driver Veer Bahadur Singh was brutally murdered during a robbery by four men in UP’s Kasganj district. Three of the accused – Gufram, Mohammed Wasim, and Shanu – have been arrested, and police are on the lookout for the fourth accused.

2) A case of love jihad took place in Ghaziabad in the state of Uttar Pradesh, where Ali Siddiqui posed as Monu Yadav to lure a minor Hindu girl into a love trap. Ali Siddiqui eloped with the girl on 25 November 2023, luring her on the pretext of marriage and then raped the girl after taking her to his house. The Kavinagar police station’s team arrested Ali on 29 December 2023. The accused in this case of love jihad is booked under relevant sections of POCSO and sections of rape.

3) The Karnataka Congress government launched a witch hunt against elderly activists involved in the Ram Mandir movement. As the Ram Mandir inauguration in Ayodhya is coming closer, the Karnataka police department has taken up cases for investigation against Ram Mandir activists who allegedly indulged in the destruction of property and other cases three decades ago at the height of the movement for Ram Mandir.

4) Goa Police arrested a pastor for reportedly converting people to Christianity through inducement, along with involvement in black magic.

5) Srinivas was mercilessly beaten by a mob of 18-20 Islamists for accompanying a Muslim girl on his motorcycle. The incident took place in Karnataka’s Davanagere city.

6) In Madhya Pradesh’s (MP) Chhatarpur, an incident came to light where a woman named Pinki Sen attempted suicide due to mistreatment by Naushad. Pinki, aged 28, was subsequently hospitalised and was unable to speak after consuming poison. In her statement, she mentioned that Naushad pressured her to convert to Islam and to eat meat.

7) Weeks ahead of the much-awaited Pran Pratishtha in Ram Mandir, Ayodhya, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has put up a poster outside the residence of Lalu-Rabri and their son Tejaswi Yadav in Patna. Attacking the Hindu faith, the poster describes temple worship as a path to mental slavery.

8) A shocking case has come to light from a school in Vadodara where an altercation between students of fourth graders led to a tense situation. Reportedly, a commotion broke out when a Muslim student stabbed a Hindu student with a sharp blade.

9) Alleged journalist Saba Naqvi terms Sri Ram Mandir as ‘bakwaas.’

10) In Uttar Pradesh’s (UP) Kanpur, a case of sexual assault involving a 20-year-old man named Danish has come to light. He was arrested for deceiving a 14-year-old Hindu girl on social media by pretending to be Hindu. Using a false Hindu identity, Danish promised her a wonderful life and then kidnapped and sexually assaulted her.

11) Shehzad Baig trapped a minor Hindu girl and absconded with her. He raped her before selling her to a person named Anees Baig for money. Anees Baig continued the abuse for ten days. The police rescued the victim.

12) A case of deceit and love gone wrong in a small village in Gujarat’s Bharuch has come to the fore. A man named Adil deceived a young woman working in Bharuch City by using Arya Patel on social media. However, he hid the fact that he was already married.

13) A Hijab-Clad woman made casteist attacks on Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, invoking her Brahmin identity. The video was shared by DMK’s Padma Priya, who deleted it after outrage.

14) A theft occurred at the ancient Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple in Haryana’s Rewari. The thief spent about 3 hours inside the mandir, stealing around 70 thousand rupees from the donation box near different Bhagwan’s murti. Shockingly, he even counted the stolen money after the theft. The entire incident was captured on CCTV.

15) A young man named Shivam Sagar in Uttar Pradesh’s (UP) Kanpur took his life after his wife, Khushboo, left him because he didn’t convert to Islam. The woman also accused him of rape, leading to his arrest. After getting out of jail, the man, 25-year-old tragically took his own life by hanging himself, recording a video before doing so.

16) A 33-year-old Janjatiya woman was gang-raped and murdered by her boyfriend, Mohammed Akhtar after the two argued while celebrating a New Year’s party, leading to her death.

17) Habib attempted to crush Ram beneath an SUV in Delhi.

18) Madhya Pradesh Police arrested a Muslim youth identified as Faizan Lala, son of Nizam Lala, for deliberately insulting Sri Rama on social media. The accused is said to have posted a derogatory photo of Prabhu Rama and also posted derogatory remarks further in the comments section of the post. The Police booked and demonised the accused under section 295 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

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 pathetic condition of Hindu minorities in Pakistan.

1) In yet another distressing incident, a minor girl, Bina Kohli, aged 14 years, is said to have been kidnapped from Rajukhani Badin. Her video statement has surfaced in the media in Pakistan. Bina appears visibly disturbed in the video, raising serious concerns about her well-being and safety. Reports suggest that Bina was allegedly abducted and forced into a Nikah against her will.  

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 institutionalised 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) The Chandranath temple is a Shakti Peeth situated in the hill area of Sitakund of the Chattagram district of Bangladesh. Islamist elements have been trying to create terror and chaos in the holy pilgrimage site Chandranath temple. Recently, to prevent such incidents and to keep the sanctity of the sacred site, several Hindu organisations put thousands of posters and banners on the roads to the Chandranath Temple, which Islamists tore down.

2) Bangladesh cricketer and Awami League candidate Shakib Al Hasan allegedly served beef to Hindu party workers in his home. Later, he and other Muslim workers of the Awami League threatened them not to disclose the matter in public.

3) The Jayanti Shakti Peeth is situated at Village Bauorbag in Kanaighat Upazilla, about 55 km from Sylhet (known initially as the organisation headquarters in Bangladesh. The temple of Baurbhag is established on about 5.90 acres of land. It is known that some local miscreants have been encroaching on the bank of the temple pond for a long time.  Dilip Kairi, president of the temple management committee and local teacher Biswajit Dev Sabuj, has grabbed about one and a half acres of land.

World

1) Khalistani terrorist and chief of Khalistani terror organisation Sikhs For Justice, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, issued a fresh threat. In a video message, Pannun called for India’s “economic destruction” by targeting the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on the 31st anniversary of the 1993 Mumbai Blasts, 12 March 2024. Notably, BSE buildings were among the targets of the bomb blasts in 1993.

2) The Vijay’s Sherawali mandir in Hayward, California, USA, has been vandalized with pro-Khalistani graffiti. Two slogans, ‘Modi Is Terrorist’ and ‘Khalistan Zindabad’, were scrawled in black spray paint over a sign with the mandir’s name. This defacement is the third attack on a Hindu mandir in the area over the last two weeks

3) Three Hindu temples have been targeted by unknown miscreants in quick succession in the US state of California’s Bay Area region, leaving members of the community in shock.

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.