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 institutionalised & 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 15 February to 21 February 2026, we hope to provide a snapshot of such crimes and hopefully awaken more people around the world to this human rights crisis:

Bharat

1) A tragic incident shook the Jamaldah area under West Bengal’s jurisdiction of Mekhliganj Police Station in Cooch Behar district, where a 15-year-old girl allegedly died by suicide following sustained threats and blackmail. The deceased, identified as Shefali Barman, was a resident of Jamaldah and a student of Jamaldah Tulsi Devi High School. Family is blaming Humayun Kabir Miyan for her death as he hid his real identity and entered into a relationship. He even began threatening Shefali after she broke up with him on discovering his real identity.

2) A self-styled Muslim black magic practitioner has been arrested in connection with the deaths of three Hindu individuals found inside a parked vehicle in Delhi’s Peeragarhi area. Investigators now suspect that the accused may be linked to at least five other similar deaths in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, raising concerns about a possible serial pattern.

3) A case of alleged forced Christian religious conversion has surfaced from Bhadravathi in Karnataka’s Shivamogga district, where a man named B Vinay has accused his wife Priyatha R of converting to Christianity and pressuring him and their two minor daughters to follow the same faith. The complaint has been registered at the Paper Town Police Station, and officials have confirmed that an investigation is currently underway.

4) An emotional scene unfolded in Vijayapura after a Nisha Chauhan who had left home returned to the police station with the Islamist man she loved and refused to go back with her parents, insisting she would live only with her Islamist husband Mohammed Salim Sutar. Outside the Gandhi Chowk Police Station, her parents reportedly spent the night in tears, pleading with their daughter to return home. Despite repeated appeals, she refused to step out with them and left with her partner instead.

5) In a deeply disturbing incident that has sparked anger and grief among devotees, murthis at the historic Sri Ramalingeshwara Temple near Shingatalur village in Mundargi taluk, Gadag, Karnataka, were found vandalized on the morning of Maha Shivaratri. The attack on the sacred shrine, a day considered one of the holiest for Bhagwan Shiva worshippers, has left the local community shocked and demanding swift justice.

6) A late-night clash near a Kanwar camp in Uttar Pradesh’s Amroha turned violent on the eve of Mahashivratri, after Muslim youths pelted stones at Kanwar Yatra pilgrims. The incident left at least five people, including a police constable and several Kanwariyas, injured and prompting the registration of an FIR against 29 accused and the deployment of additional force in the communally sensitive Muslim dominated area.

7) Congress spokesperson Lakshmi Ramachandran has triggered fresh political debate after publicly backing controversial remarks linked to Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on “Sanatana Dharma,” while sharing and endorsing comments made by Congress MP Karti Chidambaram during a recent media interaction.

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) Over fifty men and women stood shoulder to shoulder in a silent human chain beneath a pale afternoon sky in Sonadia Union under Hatiya Upazila of Noakhali District. Some held handwritten placards while others stood empty-handed. All of them stood with the same demands of protection, justice and recognition. They were residents of Hatiya upazila in Noakhali district including at least seven Hindu families who say that within 72 hours of Bangladesh’s 13th National Parliamentary Election, their homes were attacked, looted, vandalized and set on fire in multiple instances.

World

1) The Bharat Hindu Samaj (BHS) has alleged that the only Mandir and community center in Peterborough is on the verge of closure following a Peterborough City Council cabinet decision. According to sources, the site may be handed over to an Islamic organization. Devotees say they now face the threat of eviction after their second attempt to purchase the property was unsuccessful, and members of the community have appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help save the temple.

2) The Hindu Canadian Foundation (HCF) has accused Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown and the National Post of “irresponsible framing” after a Hindu religious image was used in an opinion piece about Canada’s growing extortion crisis. In a strongly worded statement, HCF said it was “unacceptable” that a Hindu image was inserted into an article discussing criminal extortion networks and public safety concerns in Peel Region, arguing the image had “zero relevance to the topic”.

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 hindupost.in@gmail.com. We also solicit support in maintaining the Hindu human rights tracker database.