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 18 February to 24 February 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) Shibu Hazra, a local Trinamool Congress leader and one of the two prime accused in the sexual harassment of women at Sandeshkhali in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, has been arrested by the state police. The Main accused, Sheikh Shahjahan, is still absconding.

2) A shocking incident of alleged gang rape of a middle-aged Hindu woman came to light from Gujarat’s Vadodara. The 55-year-old victim was gang raped when she was searching for domestic work to earn a livelihood. The accused knew about this, after which she was gang-raped by the three accused on the pretext of giving her domestic work. The three accused were identified as Vakil Ahmed Pathan, Chaman Khan Pathan, and Shaukat Khan Pathan. 

3) A youth attacked and desecrated the Sree Thirumandhamkunnu Bhagavathy temple at Angadipuram in Malappuram. The incident took place around 8 am during the puja at the temple.

4) A controversy akin to the recent Karnataka hijab row unfolded in Rajasthan as female students arrived at a government school in Jodhpur adorned in hijabs, defying the prescribed dress code. The dispute was ignited at Government Higher Secondary School No. 2 in Pipar City, situated on the rural outskirts of the Jodhpur district.

5) In anticipation of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has pledged a series of concessions and promises aimed at securing the support of minority communities. Speaking at a meeting convened at the Secretariat to address minority concerns, Stalin assured the Muslim community of financial assistance for girls studying in grades one to eight, facilitated through the WAQF board.

6) The family of 13-year-old Prajith Manoj, who committed suicide at Kalavoor in Alappuzha district, filed a complaint against the teachers of his missionary school. The grieving family alleged that the school teachers were physically and mentally harassing the child, even for trivial matters. They alleged that the child took the extreme step due to harassment from the teachers.

7) In a shocking incident, a one-year-old Hindu toddler girl was subjected to a horrifying assault of rape in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich. The Islamist predator, identified as Mohammad Bhondu Rehman, aged 50, lured the innocent child under the guise of offering candies, after which he abducted her from the residence.

8) Days after Gausevak Sadhram Yadav was brutally murdered in Chhttisgarh’s Kawardha, the police booked six accused in the case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Six persons, including Ayaz, Idrish, Mehtab, and Sheikh Rafiq, murdered him in Lalpur village of Kawardha, Chhattisgarh, by slitting his throat like ISIS terrorists.

9) Islamist atrocities are crossing limits with each passing day. Horrific news of a youth being subjected to week-long sexual abuse by a group of Muslim youths has come to the fore from Gujarat’s Banaskantha. He was reportedly ‘punished’ for playing Bajrang Bali during Sri Ram Pran Pratisththa celebrations. The despicable incident took place in Hadad village. The victim is said to be a Hindu youth.

10) The administration of Kashipur in Uttarakhand’s Uddham Singh Nagar district ran a bulldozer over the house of a youth named Fardeen Mohammad, the prime accused in the recent attack on a Hindu girl in Mohalla Khalsa.

11) Ishab, a Mohalla Mohammad Farooq Sadar Kotwali area resident, went to Dinesh Kumar’s house in Mohalla Beni Chaudhary to smoke a cigarette. When some Hindus expressed their displeasure, a stone-pelting ensued, injuring several Hindus, including Ganesh, Vishal, Kullu, Shivam, Himanshu, and Nitin from Mohalla Beni Chaudhary.

12) Three pastors, identified as Uttam Vairagar, Sanjay Vairagar, and Sunil Vairagar, were arrested by Maharashtra Police for the sexual assault of two 10-year-old Hindu girls from the Sonai area of the Ahmednagar district. The accused pastors at a nearby church repeatedly raped the minors under the pretence of exorcism, and they threatened them to remain silent.

13) In a concerning development, the contact number and family pictures of the mother of a female student, who raised her voice against the insult to the Hindu Gods at a private school here, have been made viral on social media.

14) A Muslim professor at Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit (SSUS) made a communal remark on social media that insulted Hindu beliefs. Malappuram resident Abdul Rasheed Kariyath, an assistant professor at the University (established in 1993 in Kalady, Kerala), posted on Facebook mocking Hindu beliefs.

15) In a disturbing turn of events, horrifying footage has emerged capturing the abduction and sexual assault of a 7-year-old Hindu girl by Yaseen, an Islamist minor boy. The incident took place in the Subhash Nagar area of Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh.

16) After Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district, Hindu women are protesting against the torture of the TMC leader in the Panchla area of Howrah district of West Bengal. The women of the area alleged that gangs of TMC leader Sheikh Khalil attacked, abused, beat up and molested them.

17) The Gujarati film Kasoombo was released on 16 February and has caught attention for its historical content. The movie’s director, Vijaygiri Bava, has alleged that the censor board forced him to remove Hindu shlokas from the film before allowing it to pass the censor board certification.

18) Police detained Mangaluru City South MP D Vedavyas Kamath, Mangaluru City North MP Dr Y Bharath Shetty, VHP leader Sharan Pumpwell, organizers Sandeep Garodi, Bharath Kumar and others today who had demonstrated in front of St Gerosa’s English Upper Primary School in Mangaluru, Karnataka, last week when a teacher of the school was accused of hurting Hindu sentiments and condemning Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the post-Godhra riots in Gujarat in 2002.

19) The Karnataka government passed the anti-Hindu HR&CE amendment bill, allowing the appointment of a non-Hindu to the management committee.

20) Mumbai North’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Gopal Shetty has reportedly written to the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) asking them to ‘regularise’ an unauthorised madrasa in Kandivali’s Govardhan Nagar. The matter was brought to light by Legal Rights Observatory, which has rightly raised concerns about leaders like Shetty sheltering illegal constructions when action is being initiated against such madrasas across Bharat.

21) Urdu has reportedly replaced Hindi in MHCET entrance exam language options. Sahyadri Rights Forum, an organization for safeguarding the fundamental rights of Sahyadri natives in particular and Bharatiyas in general, has brought the issue to light.

22) National Investigation Agency (NIA) officers arrested Popular Front of India (PFI) terrorist Bhimantavida Jafar from Kannur earlier this month. All PFI terrorists accused in the former RSS Palakkad district Sharirik Shikshan Pramukh A. Sreenivasan murder case were provided weapons training by Jafar. He is also the main accused in the hand amputation case of Prof. T.J. Joseph in early July 2010.

23) A shocking case of love jihad has come to light in the Agra district of Uttar Pradesh, where 21-year-old Dilshan pretended to be Deepak Kumar and befriended a minor Hindu girl. Afterwards, he formed a physical relationship with her under the pretext of love. He even used to tie a ‘kalawa’ (sacred thread) around his wrist and apply sandalwood ’tilak’ (sacred mark) on his forehead to identify himself as a Hindu.

24) Thane police filed an FIR against Javed Khan for allegedly molesting schoolgirls during a school trip. The 27-year-old accused was apprehended following a complaint from students of CP Goenka School in Maharashtra’s Thane. The school administration is also conducting an inquiry into the involvement of teachers in the incident. Khan had accompanied the school trip as a provider of food items.

25) The Grooming Jihad case led to the disturbing discovery that 125 PM Awas Yojana houses were captured, masjid-mazar were built illegally and systematic targeting of Hindu women.

26) Known for its controversial fatwas, the Darul Uloom madrasa of Deoband, situated in the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, has stirred controversy once again with its recent issuance of an anti-India fatwa, drawing attention from various quarters. In this fatwa, Darul Uloom has acknowledged the concept of Ghazwa-e-Hind, as mentioned in Islamic scriptures, asserting that individuals who perish during an invasion of India will be revered as great martyrs and rewarded with entry into Jannat.

27) A Muslim mob of 100 to 200 allegedly attacked a group of Hindu youths who went to file a complaint at the Navapura Police Station against a Muslim youth for making abusive and hateful remarks against a Hindu businessman during his Instagram Live. The Navapura Police arrested the Muslim youth as well as ten involved in the stone pelting incident after it filed 2 FIRs in the case.

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) A minor Hindu girl was abducted and compelled to convert to Islam and marry her abductor in Moro, district Shaheed Benazirabad (formerly Nawabshah), in Sindh province of Pakistan. Pooja Thakur, the daughter of Sono Thakur, was reportedly kidnapped and converted to Islam by one Nadeem Ali Mashori.

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) A journalist was given death threats by some religious zealots in Chittagong city in Bangladesh. Islamists threatened journalist Jewel Aich for raising the issue of the forcible abduction and conversion of a minor Hindu girl.

2) The foundation stone of a temporary temple, located within the campus of Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University in Dinajpur city in the Rangpur Division of Bangladesh, came under attack from university authorities.

3) Islamists Lutfar Khan and Mahmud Khan grabbed the land of Titu Saha. Islamists, in large numbers, threatened the family and grabbed their land. They cut all the trees and built a boundary wall around the land.

4) A Hindu girl of the Chattagram became a victim of Love Jihad and converted to Islam. After the conversion, the girl married an Islamist, who is already married. The victim girl is identified as Pushpita Das (18). After conversion, she became Jannatul Naima Chowdhury and married an Islamist named Sabbir Chowdhury (42). 

5) Islamists have grabbed one hundred acres of land of Adinath Temple at Maheshkhali in Bangladesh.

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.