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 7 January to 13 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) Bharuch police in Gujarat have arrested a man named Adil Abdul Patel of Chavaj village for luring a Hindu girl using a fake social media ID. Adil, using the name ‘Arya Patel’, trapped the girl through social media.

2) In a shocking case of moral policing, Sachin Lamani (age 18) and his Muslim cousin Muskan Patel (age 22) were attacked in Belagavi by Muslim goons who assumed them to be lovers. Eight persons were arrested in connection with this case.

3) In a concerning turn of events, a heated social media dispute between a Hindu youth and one Nihal Khan has taken a dangerous turn. Nihal Khan from Gujarat made derogatory remarks about the Hindu deity Mahadev and emperor Chhatrapati Shivaji on Instagram. In retaliation, a 17-year-old Hindu boy from Madhubani, Bihar, expressed his anger by allegedly posting offensive comments about Muslims.

4) In a distressing incident from Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand, a grave situation has emerged at the Bharamal Temple near the India-Nepal border. Tragically, two individuals, including Baba, were found dead, while another sevadar sustained severe injuries in an attack that occurred during the night.

5) Uddhav Thackeray announced that his party will conduct a ‘Maha Aarti’ on the banks of the Godavari River in Maharashtra’s Nasik on the Pran Prathishta day of the Ram Temple on 22 January. His remark implies he is trying to project Ayodhya as a Mandir of ‘Upper Castes’ and Kalaram Mandir as that of ‘common people’ in a reminder of Jitendra Awhad’s Shri Ram was a deity of ‘Bahujan’ remark.

6) Sringeri Math issued a statement calling out Dainik Jagran for spreading fake news using HH Shankaracharya’s name.

7) The Pune police eventually apprehended Juned Ejaz Shaikh and his gang members after a series of violent acts, including vandalism, that endangered the lives of Yerwada residents and damaged multiple vehicles in the region.

8) In a shocking incident in Shajapur, Madhya Pradesh, an Islamist mob attacked volunteers participating in an Akshat distribution drive organised for the pran pratishtha of the Ram Mandir at the revered Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya. The clash unfolded during the Shri Ram Pheri in the Somwariya region, turning a peaceful religious event into a violent confrontation.

9) Unknown miscreants reportedly vandalised a temple near DAV School in the Bariatu area of Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi. In a conspiracy to stroke communal tensions, some miscreants entered the temple and broke the murtis of many deities, including Sri Ram and Hanuman.

10) Former Uttar Pradesh Minister and Samajwadi Party (SP) National General Secretary, Swami Prasad Maurya, who had triggered a controversy with his comments on the Ramcharitmanas in the past, has kicked up another row by justifying the firing on ‘kar sevaks’ in Ayodhya in 1990 when SP founder, the late Mulayam Singh Yadav, was the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister.

11) Clashes erupted in Telangana’s Siddipet district over Ram Mandir Akshata distribution after Hindus were asked to seek permission from the Christian caste head.

12) Ahead of the consecration ceremony of Sri Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, a youth from West Bengal, Sabyasachi Chakraborty, is continuously posting derogatory pictures insulting Prabhu Shri Ram. He also posted another picture targeting Bhagwan Shiva.

13) Instagram reels-obsessed Rani Rai killed her husband Maheshwar Rai with the help of her Muslim ‘friend’ Shehzad in Bihar’s Begusarai.

14) A Hindu woman from Gurugram has said that she and her two children were held captive in a house in Moradabad, UP, by a Mulsim family, where she was gang-raped, and she and her children were also forcibly converted to Islam in a nearby mosque.

15) In a shocking incident from Manipur, men from the Meitei Hindu community, out to collect firewood, were shot dead by suspected Kuki terrorists.

16) Two minor Dalit girls were gang-raped in Bihar’s Patna. One of them was found murdered, and the other is in critical condition.

17) A fresh case of Love Jihad has been reported from the Silchar town of Assam. Mumin Uddin, allegedly a Bangladeshi citizen, trapped and sexually exploited a Hindu girl.

18) A shocking case of rape under the fake pretence of marriage and forced conversion of a 27-year-old Hindu woman to Islam has come to light in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow. The accused Muslim man has been identified as Afifullah, a resident of Rampur who, according to the victim, prevented her from doing pooja (a Hindu form of worship). He also took her to a cleric and assaulted her when she refused to convert to Islam.

19) CPM leader PK Biju has asked people to turn off TVs on Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha day. He also said teachers should show children pictures of the Babri structure instead.

20) Three Hindu Sadhus were brutally tortured in the Purulia district of West Bengal. Based on rumours, local residents tortured them. Later, the Police recovered them. 

21) The Telangana Congress government is funding meetings of the ‘terror gateway’ organisation Tablighi Jamaat. High Court has issued a notice.

22) After TMC MLA Sayani Ghosh, now TMC MP Satabdi Roy made derogatory statements about Prabhu Sri Ram. While addressing a gathering, Satabdi Roy questioned the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. She said, “Is Ram BPL (below the poverty line) that BJP is giving the house to him? I hear they say they are making a home for Ram.” She continued, “They (BJP) should give house to his son Luv and Kush under the same BPL quota.” 

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) In Sirajganj, Islamists, along with cadres of the Awami League, attacked Hindu minorities. They tortured and beat up women, vandalised homes and looted valuable things. Islamists also attacked a temple in Sirajganj and broke the Murti of the temple.

2) Borun Ghosh, a supporter of defeated Awami League (AL) candidate Tahzeeb Alam Siddique Sami, was hacked to death in the Ghoshpara area.

3) A gang of Islamists attacked a Kali Mata temple at Panchar Union under the Ranishankaul Upazila of Thakurgaon district. Islamists cut all the trees around the temple, broke the temple and the Murti and burnt them. Some local Hindu minorities tried to stop the Islamists. But, Islamists were armed with sharp weapons, so they fled in fear.

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.