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 29 September to 05 October 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) Social media behemoth X, formerly known as Twitter, challenged the Bharatiya government’s order to block Hinduphobic fake news peddler Hindutva Watch’s X account, in the Delhi High Court. The social media company argued that the Bharatiya government provided inadequate justifications to block the account.
2) The severed head of a bovine animal was discovered at the site of an under-construction Durga Puja pandal in Khalisamari village in Sitalkuchi block in Cooch Behar district of West Bengal.
3) In a shocking case of religious conversion and abuse in Uttarakhand, an Islamist man named Nawab Khan lured a woman from Dehradun, subjected her to repeated sexual assault, and pressured her to convert. Not only did he manipulate her, but his family also participated in the harassment. Nawab and his accomplices robbed her of cash and jewellery while she was drugged, turning her ordeal into a horrifying nightmare.
4) Paulina Hemrom has accused her husband Feroze Alam of forcing her to convert her religion. The accused is also reported to have been using casteist words and harassing the victim. As per the reports, he has also thrown the woman out of the house. He reportedly converted 12 women to Islam after marrying them.
5) Even before the beginning of Sharadiya Navratri in Indore city, the controversy in Garba Pandals has escalated. Hindu organisations have raised objections in two major Garba Pandals of the city due to Love Jihad and the attire of the murti of Ma in the burqa.
6) Police uncover the network of illegal Pakistani nationals living under false Hindu identities. The Islamic Mehdi Foundation facilitated illegal immigration, forged documents, and funded their stay.
7) A Muslim man Kabir from Tripura and his Bangladeshi wife were accused of trapping minor girls via Love Jihad and pushing them into prostitution in Chennai. The revelation was made by a young woman named Priya (fake name to protect identity) has exposed the grim details of a sex trafficking racket operating out of Chennai to Janachinda News, after narrowly escaping its clutches. Priya, a Bangladeshi national, shared that she was lured to Bharat through a false romantic relationship and the promise of a job. She was illegally brought across the border without proper documentation and forced into the sex trade.
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) Durga Puja celebrations got off to a rocky start in Bangladesh with the interim government and various Muslim bodies denying permission in several areas. The organising committees were also reportedly asked to maintain silence during Namaaz offerings and pay ₹5 lakh each as ‘jizya’. The developments came in the wake of multiple reports of murti vandalism and looting across the country.
2) Vigrahas of Devi Durga of Sri Sri Gopinath Jiur Akhara were vandalized by some miscreants at Batrish Residential Area near Narasunda Road in the Kishoreganj district headquarters.
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.
