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 true depth and breadth of these attacks, driven by disturbing anti-Hindu bigotry, have been ignored by the world. From murders, forced conversions, land grabs, assault on festivals, desecration of temples and murtis, hate speech, 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 17 October to 23 October 2021, we hope to provide a snapshot of such crimes and hopefully awaken more people around the world to this human rights crisis:

Bharat

1) Another golgappa seller from Bihar, Arvind Kumar Sah, was shot dead in Kashmir.

2) Unacademy has once again come to the fore of controversy and this time it is for denigrating the Ramayana. A video has surfaced on social media that shows a derogatory depiction of the sacred Hindu epic Ramayana by the students of AIIMS, Delhi. Soyeb Aftab, a student of 1st-year MBBS, is the video host of this travesty of Ramayana which is part of an Unacademy Vlog, as admitted by him.

3) A car driven by one Mohammed Umar (23) mowed down a Durga Puja procession on Saturday night in Bhopal, MP. Eyewitnesses state that the driver deliberately drove the car back & forth 3-4 times over the crowd.

4) Two more laborers from Bihar – Raja Rishidev, Yogendra Rishidev – have been shot dead and another, Chun Chun Rishidev, is critically injured.

5) A Tamil nationalist Youtuber who exposed the real face of Periyar aka EV Ramasamy has been arrested for “abusing him in an obscene language”.

6) AP police are believed to have helped Christian evangelists in threatening and forcibly preaching Christianity to Chenchu vanvasis in Prakasam district’s Dornala Mandal.

7) Mithun Ghosh, a young BJP leader was murdered last night in West Bengal. It is alleged that he was shot dead by goons of TMC, the ruling party.

8) An undated video on social media (SM) shows Kalkaji Mandir devotees being assaulted by the Delhi police raising questions regarding the lack of sensitivity in dealing with devotees. Claims have also been made of temple doors being closed for devotees. In this regard, a video showing police using batons on devotees outside the temple gates is also in circulation.

9) Hindu organizations have accused missionaries of drawing a cross, burying a corpse near a temple, and proselytizing the devotees in Villupuram, Tamil Nadu. Based on their complaint 13 Christians have been booked for proselytizing in a Hindu temple and desecrating a national monument.

10) The Communist regime in Kerala forced its way into the Mattannur Mahadeva Temple in Kannur and seized it brutally. The Malabar Devaswom Board (MDB) officials with help from local police beat up and arrested devotees before they smashed the temple locks. This happened even though the matter is pending before the Supreme Court.

11) Multiple incidents of violence and violation of administration guidelines were seen during Eid processions yesterday in MP and UP.

12) A mob of around 200 people gathered at Vijay Chowk in Osmanabad, Maharashtra, and pelted stones on vehicles and hoardings. Four policemen were injured while trying to bring the situation under control.

13) An evangelist was caught distributing books that denigrate Hindu dharma and propagating Christianity to the customers of the State Bank of India. The bank’s branch is operating in a rented building and the owner of the building had spread out the books in front of the bank and distributed them to the customers.

14) The Central Government has informed the Delhi High Court that Pakistani Hindu refugees, seeking electricity connection at their camps in North Delhi, are ‘encroaching’ on the land belonging to the Defence Ministry because of which their plea for electricity connections should not be entertained.

15) Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Karnataka, Anantkumar Hegde has written a letter to tyre major Ceat objecting to its recent advertisement which selectively advises against bursting crackers on roads, while staying quiet on the much more serious issue of roads and public spaces being blocked by those offering namaz, or the noise pollution caused all over the country by mosque loudspeakers.

16) Earlier this week, traditional clothing brand Fabindia attracted major backlash from Hindus from all walks of life after just days ahead of Diwali, they launched an ad campaign for their new collection which was branded ‘Jashn-e-Riwaaz’, with the accompanying image showing 4 women, all without bindis. 

17) Popular Bengali actor Parambrata Chattopadhyay, through a wordy Facebook post written in Bangla, has tried to whitewash the recent and ongoing anti-Hindu pogrom in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh

1) Violence against Hindu temples and the minority community during the Durga Puja festival continued for the fourth day in Bangladesh. Yesterday, the violence was concentrated in the Feni district of the Chittagong division. Hindu houses were set on fire, Joykali Mandir, Rajkali mandir, and Ramakrishna Temple in Feni were attacked, as per one journalist.

2) The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), the elite anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit of the Bangladesh Police, has arrested Ruma Sarkar, an assistant professor at the Begum Badrunnesa Government Girls’ College in Dhaka, on charges of spreading a provocative and false video on Facebook.

3) Hindu Maa Kali temple was destroyed by Muslim gangs Daniapara, Shirakdhikhan, Monshiganj district.

4) Maa Shitla Mondirof Lalpur Jutdaivaki village attacked by radicals.

5) Hindu temples, homes & wealth were burned, looted and destroyed at Karmakar Bari, Gupti, and Faridhganj Chandpur on October 20.

6) Rangpur Hindu woman Anita Rani Lost her only income sources, her shops and homes were destroyed and burnt by Muslims at Kasba, Karimpur, Rangpur.

7) A total of 101 Hindu religious sites and 181 shops/homes of Hindus were attacked in 6 days since October 13, 2021, in Bangladesh.

8) Another Hindu temple at Harirampur Gaibandha, Gobindhaganj was attacked on October 22.

9) Hindu homes were burned yesterday (October 22) night at Noabada, Hatibandha, Nilphamari.

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 obvious, 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, but the double standards at play become clear 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 dropping an email to [email protected]. We also solicit support in the maintenance of the Hindu human rights tracker database started by us.