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 24 October to 30 November 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) Former MP Shahid Siddiqui blamed Hindus for violence in Sambhal and said there won’t be any peace if “they search for Shivling under every mosque.”
2) In a shocking triple murder case in Balrampur, Chhattisgarh, police have uncovered a grim conspiracy involving two Islamist brothers, Mokhtar and Arif Ansari. Investigations reveal that Mokhtar had a romantic relationship with the mother, Kaushalya Thakur, while Islamist Arif was involved with her daughter, Muskan. The brothers are accused of murdering Kaushalya, Muskan, and her younger brother, Mintu, in a meticulously planned act.
3) A horrific incident in the Nohsa area of Phulwarisharif, near Patna, Bihar, has left the community outraged. A 17-year-old minor maid was raped and murdered; her semi-naked body was found in the bathroom of her employer, Islamist Mohammad Danish.
4) Students and authorities objected after the Sunni Central Waqf Board staked claims to 115-year-old Udai Pratap College in UP’s Varanasi.
5) Akhilesh Yadav joined Islamists to legitimise violence by the Jihadi mob in Sambhal. The SP Chief targeted Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain.
6) The Railway Police arrested a Muslim youth named Arif Ali in the case of a theft in Agninava Mandir. The police also recovered stolen items from the accused youth. Another accused is still absconding.
7) A fresh case of attack on a Mandir was reported from West Bengal’s Birbhum district. A Hanuman Mandir was attacked and the Murti was vandalised.
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) Bangladesh Police arrested Hindu leader Sri Chinmay Krishna Das Prabhu from Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport. Additional Commissioner of Police, Dhaka Mahanagar, Rejaul Mallick confirmed Chinmay Krishna Das Prabhu’s arrest. He said that Chinmay Krishna was arrested at the airport while trying to catch a flight to Chattragram. A sedition and blasphemy complaint was filed at Kotwali Police Station in Chattogram by Muhammad Firoz Khan. Following the complaint, the police initiated a sedition case against Chinmay Krishna Das Prabhu and 14 others.
2) After the arrest of Sri Chinmay Krishna Das Prabhu on alleged sedition charges and the violence on the premises of the Chattragram Metropolitan Court, dangers have mounted on the lives of ISKCON devotees in Bangladesh. Islamists have been rallying in different parts of Bangladesh, with an open call to slaughter ISKCON devotees.
3) An ISKCON centre in Bangladesh’s Shibchar has been forcibly shut down by a group of people, media reports said.
4) In a major development, the Bangladesh police have arrested two aides of former ISKCON priest Chinmoy Krishna Das Prabhu. According to reports, the arrest was carried out when the duo had gone to deliver food to the Hindu spiritual leader in jail.
5) On Friday (29 November), a violent Muslim mob attacked Hindu minorities and vandalised three Mandirs in Patharghata in the Chittagong district after jumma namaz. Shantaneshwari Matri Mandir, the Shoni Mandir, and Shantaneshwari Kalibari Mandir were the religious sites attacked by Islamists.
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.
