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 07 April to 13 April 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) Karnataka Police registered an FIR against shopkeeper Mukesh, who was assaulted for playing ‘Hanuman Chalisa.’

2) A shocking case of rape has surfaced in the Jaunpur region of Uttar Pradesh, where a married Dalit woman was drugged and sexually violated by autorickshaw driver Sajjad, also known as Sabir. He also held her hostage for five days.

3) Four incidents of love jihad were reported from Delhi, Indore, Rae Barelli, and Agra, where Islamists trapped Hindu girls.

4) A case of forcible conversion of a non-Muslim by his employer has now surfaced in Srinagar (Kashmir). The Jammu & Kashmir Police (JKP) has filed a case against Anayat Muntazir, a resident of Nowhatta (Srinagar), for allegedly forcing his servant Sandeep Kumar to adopt Islam. Sandeep, working as domestic help at the house of Anayat Muntzir of Nowhatta in Srinagar, was taken to Hazratbal Dargah and forcibly converted during a brief ceremony.

5) Gujarat Police raided a samosa shop in Vadodara and arrested six persons, including Yusuf and Naeem Sheikh, for selling samosas stuffed with beef. The police conducted a raid at the ‘Huseni Samosa’ in the Chhipwad area and seized the stock. Police investigation revealed that the owners of this samosa shop were operating without a license as well.

6) Ahmednagar Police have booked Hamid Sayyed for sexually assaulting a minor Hindu girl belonging to the SC/ST community. The accused first developed a ‘friendship’ with the minor and then sexually assaulted her. He also captured derogatory photos and videos of the minor and threatened her to obey him, failing which he said he would publicize her images.

7) Islamists allegedly attacked a Raksha Kali Puja immersion procession in the Kalagachhia area of Sarisha. Devotees organised the puja of Raksha Kali Mata in Kalagachhia. As per the tradition, the Murti is immersed in the same night.

8) Condoms, stones, and tobacco were found stuffed inside samosas in the canteen of Tata Motors in Pune, Maharashtra. The police have registered an FIR against five people in this case. It has now come to light that the accused—Rahim Shaikh, Azhar Shaikh, Mazar Shaikh, Azar Shaikh, and Vicky Shaikh—committed the crime in anger after the company cancelled their contract. One accused has also been arrested while further investigation is underway.

9) In Uttar Pradesh’s (UP) Bulandshahr, a shocking incident has come to light where a Hindu youth named Vikas Saini was severely injured after boiling oil was poured on him with the intention of killing him. Another youth, Subhash, also got caught in the attack while trying to save Vikas. The incident took place in the Gulavathi police station area.

10) A tragic incident unfolded in the Sunny Enclave area of Kharar, SAS Nagar district, Punjab, resulting in the loss of a young woman’s life. The victim, a Hindu girl identified as Ekta, aged 27, was stabbed to death by a 29-year-old Islamist man named Anas Qureshi, reportedly a friend, in her own home.

11) A case of love jihad has surfaced in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, where Islamist Mohammad Abdul Salam posed as Ajay and befriended a Hindu girl from Nepal residing in Delhi. Their relationship progressed to marriage, and they had a daughter together. However, the girl was shocked to discover that Abdul Salam was an Islamist from Muzaffarnagar. When she threatened to file a complaint, Abdul and his family began harassing her, leading the victim girl to demand justice for the coercion and abuse she endured.

12) In a shocking case of Love Jihad, a Hindu girl is murdered by her boyfriend in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Then, her boyfriend allegedly dumped the body in the river. After the primary investigation, the police arrested boyfriend Raju Sheikh and his two friends.

13) Children studying at Gyansthali Public School in Sirmaur were sent messages asking them to wear hijab, kurta pyjama, and Islamic caps. Workers from Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal received this information and went to the school. They found that some nursery children were indeed wearing hijab and Islamic caps, as instructed by the school management for the Eid program. When questioned, the children confirmed that Gyansthali school asked them to wear these clothes. After showing the message to the school administration, which clearly allowed wearing caps and hijabs, the school admitted its mistake and promised it wouldn’t happen again.

14) Two teenage girls from Kankarkheda and Mawana areas in Uttar Pradesh’s (UP) Meerut District have been kidnapped by youths from the Muslim community, leading to a search by their families and police complaints.

15) The body of a Hindu girl who went missing three days ago was found in a well near her house on 10 April. The family suspects Shahrukh Khan, a young Muslim man from the neighbourhood who used to threaten their daughter, is responsible for her murder. The incident was reported in Madhya Pradesh’s (MP) Shivpuri District. The discovery of the victim’s dead body caused unrest in the area.

16) A horrific incident has come to light where a Hindu woman was abducted, tortured, and stabbed by Islamist individuals allegedly due to her son’s marriage to a Muslim girl. The victim, who was abducted by four Islamist youths, endured three days of physical torture in Jabalpur before managing to escape.

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 group of Islamists took an oath to do Jihad in Bharat. Workers and leaders of the Bangladesh-based Islamic organisation ‘Hefazat-e-Islam’ took oath in the presence of Mufti Harun Bin Ezhar.

World

1) As they can’t fight Hindu culture expansion, they do the obvious by trying to take over by wearing a new mask, as Gungadin Dev Patel does by wearing a Hanuman Mask to push a Hinduphobic narrative in his latest movie, ‘Monkey Man’.

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.