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 28 April to 04 May 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) Shopkeeper Atharuddin sends obscene texts to a minor Hindu girl who had gone to his shop for a mobile recharge and threatens to abduct her. The case pertained to the Kotwali area of Uttarakhand’s Haldwani. A woman living there filed a police complaint charging that her 17-year-old minor daughter had gone to recharge a mobile phone a few days ago. The shop is named ‘Delhi Mobile Shop’ and is run by Atharuddin who took the number of the girl. Later he started sending dirty messages to her.

2) In a disturbing incident unfolding in Madhya Pradesh’s (MP) Gwalior, a harrowing case of coercion, blackmail, and religious intimidation has come to light. The victim, a 27-year-old Hindu woman from Taraganj, has accused Islamist Sabir Khan, a married man from her locality, of subjecting her to over three years of captivity, physical and sexual assault, and relentless pressure to convert to Islam.

3) A case of Love Jihad has come to light from MP’s Indore where a man named Alfez Khan is accused of forcing a Hindu girl to convert to Islam after developing a friendship with her. It is also alleged that he threatened the victim when she declined to convert to Islam. Based on the complaint of the victim’s family, the Chhoti Gwaltoli Police arrested the accused Alfez Khan.

4) In a horrifying incident, journalist Kavi Tiwari fell victim to a brutal assault by assailants identified as Mohammad Monis, Mohammad Ehsan, and several others. Kavi Tiwari, known for his fearless reporting, was ambushed while en route to a temple, with attackers wielding sharp knives, leaving him with severe injuries, including mutilation of his fingers and mouth.

5) In Uttar Pradesh’s (UP) Siddharthnagar, a wedding function of a Hindu family came under attack by a mob of Islamist miscreants. They assaulted the victims after the members of the family confronted them and asked them not to take photos and videos of the women attending the wedding. The accused in this case have been identified as Naved, Aftab, Saddam, Naushad, Salman, Iltaf, Haroon, Afzal, Ilyas, and Israr.

6) The body of a woman, subsequently identified as Poonam Kshirsagar, was discovered in a suitcase in Uran Town. The 27-year-old victim was a resident of Mankhurd’s Sathenagar and allegedly in a ‘relationship‘ with taxi driver Nizam Khan Shaikh for four years. Nizam Khan (Nizamuddin Ali Shaikh as per certain news reports) has been arrested by the Navi Mumbai Police in connection with the brutal murder of Poonam.

7) A shocking incident has come to light from MP’s Indore, Madhya Pradesh where a Hindu girl was found dead in mysterious circumstances. Her body was found hanging in the room of Hotel Vatik, located in Pithampur Sector One. As per reports, a man named Junaid Khan is accused of taking the girl to the hotel and soon after he left the hotel, the body of the girl was found hanging in the hotel room. Following the incident, Police have apprehended Junaid in this matter.

8) A disturbing incident unfolded in Raichur as Islamist Mohammad Rafi, accompanied by a group of twenty-six individuals, allegedly launched a violent attack on Hindu driver Aravind. The altercation reportedly stemmed from a minor road dispute where Aravind was unable to give way to Rafi while driving. The situation quickly escalated as the group assaulted Aravind with sticks, causing injuries, and subsequently vandalized his residence.

9) Muslim youths assault and brandish pistol at a Hindu professor in Shibhi college, claiming ‘Bhagwa love trap’ over a maliciously shot video that was made viral.

10) Kishan Kumawat, who runs a grocery shop, was attacked by Islamists near a temple in Ochchan village, Gujarat. He and his wife were injured in the attack. People who tried to help were also assaulted by the Islamist mob. The attackers wanted to kill the man. The police have filed a case against 11 people, including two juveniles.

11) A case of a religiously motivated hate crime against a Hindu woman was reported from Nayanagar Police Station in the Mira Road area, Mumbai. The accused person, identified as Mohsin Sheikh, forced her to convert her religion to Islam after she had refused his ‘proposal’ for marriage. He also fed her some inebriated substance and raped her several times. The police arrested the accused.

12) In UP’s Lakhimpur a disturbing incident has been reported involving the alleged abduction and assault of a minor SC (Dalit) Hindu girl by Islamists. According to initial reports, the perpetrators forcibly took the girl to nearby fields where she was subjected to a traumatic ordeal of gang-rape.

13) In a shocking turn of events, a series of menacing statements made by an Islamist individual have sent shockwaves across the nation, sparking fears of unrest and violence. The individual, purportedly speaking on behalf of a faction of Indian Muslims, issued a chilling warning, asserting, “Only Muslims will rule Hindustan. Neither Modi nor Amit Shah or Yogi will stay alive.” The ominous declaration, captured on video and circulated widely on social media, underscores a disturbing trend of radical rhetoric aimed at destabilizing the country.

14) A minor dispute with Islamists cost Akshay Narvekar his life while his friend Akash Sable is in critical condition. Mulund Police arrested prime accused Imran and his brother Salim, along with three others, in connection with the murder.

15) TMC MLA Humayun Kabir openly threatened Hindus with dire consequences if they did not behave ‘rightly.’ In an undated video, he made hateful remarks about the Hindus of the Murshidabad district of West Bengal. Notably, the Hindus are the minority community in the Murshidabad district. 

16) Hindu couple assaulted and wife allegedly molested by Islamist youths in UP’s Shahjahanpur.

17) The theft of the Hanuman Temple in Chhattisgarh’s Lakhanpur was caught on CCTV cameras. The theft caused uproar, with Hindu devotees demanding strict action against the accused. The accused were identified as Mohammed Faisal and Soni Khan who even attempted to desecrate Bhagwan Hanuman’s murti.

18) A Hindu girl from Sitarganj in Uttarakhand was subjected to rape and coerced into conversion by a man identified as Afzal. The victim’s complaint states that Afzal misrepresented himself as a Hindu to establish a relationship with her. Serious accusations have been made against Afzal and his family members by the victim.

19) An accused in a “love jihad” case was shot in the leg during a police encounter and arrested in Karnataka’s Dharwad city. The accused, identified as 19-year-old Saddam Hussain Limbuwale, a resident of Eshwarnagar in Hubballi city, was on the run after a case was lodged against him on the charges of raping a 17-year-old minor girl in Navanagar police station in Hubballi city.

20) In a shocking incident of crime against a minor, a Taxi driver named Haji Muhammad has been booked under the POCSO act for sexually harassing a minor girl who hails from the Dalit community in Rajasthan.

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) Sanjay Rakshit (40) has been arrested and sent to prison by Bangladesh Police for quoting two lines of a song by internationally acclaimed philosopher and lyricist Lalon Sai, also known as Lalon Fakir. According to media reports, this disturbing incident took place in Bhedarganj upazila under Shariatpur district.

2) Unknown miscreants attacked two temples in the Panchagarh district. Both temples are situated in the Deviganj Upazila. In both temples, Kali Mata was worshipped. The miscreants vandalised the temples and the Murtis. The Murtis were broken and thrown out.

World

1) In a shocking turn of events, two Hindu girls, aged 15 and 14, were forcefully abducted from their residence in Dhanusha, Nepal, by a group comprising six Islamist men and two Islamist women. The abduction, which occurred under the cover of darkness, has plunged the community into turmoil and sparked widespread outrage. According to local sources, the Islamist gang is suspected of involvement in the human trafficking of Hindu girls across various cities in Bharat, adding a grave dimension to the incident.

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.