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 18 September to 24 September 2022, we hope to provide a snapshot of such crimes and hopefully awaken more people around the world to this human rights crisis:

Bharat

1) Dravidian outfits threatened to burn Hindu Vedic shastras in front of Sree Ranganatha Swamy temple on EVR’s birthday.

2) In the first case of conviction under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, a court in Amroha served a five-year jail term to a 26-year-old carpenter. Afzal had reportedly assumed a fake Hindu identity while introducing himself to the girl. Afzal used to visit her father’s nursery to purchase plants.

3) Assam Police on Saturday arrested at least 17 Bangladeshi nationals from Biswanath district for preaching religious activity and violating the visa norms, officials said.

4) Swiggy delivery boy Sheikh Amer reportedly stabbed cook Shiva Prasad after a fight between the two following delay in delivering the order. The attack took place late at night on September 15. Shiva Prasad was admitted to NIMS hospital after sustaining injuries but died subsequently.

5) A 14-year-old girl was allegedly raped repeatedly and pushed into prostitution by a spa operator and her three aides in Gurugram, police said on Thursday. In connection with the case, the police have booked four persons, including King Spa operator Jhuma and her three aides identified as Pooja, Rubel Iqbal and Saddam Hussein.

6) A young Bharatiya woman trapped by a Bangladeshi has finally returned home after a 10-month-long ordeal. The victim is a minor aged 17 and is a resident of Radhakantpur village in Nadia, which is a WB district known for a sudden increase in Bangladesh Muslim immigrants. Two years ago, when she was just 15, she met Omar Ali, the son of Abdul Halim of Kushtia Sadar, a resident of Bangladesh, while playing games online.

7) Karnataka Congress leader Tanveer Sait says adding Bhagavad Gita to the syllabus is “more dangerous than Covid”.

8) A Popular Front of India (PFI) Palakkad district secretary was arrested for his role in the murder of RSS member Melemuri Sreenivasan. Abubakar Siddique, a resident of Pattambi, was arrested by the special investigation team.

9) Last Saturday (September 17), a rally organized by the Popular Front of India (PFI) at Kozhikode became an open session of hate-ridden speeches against Hindus.

10) Delhi police, on Wednesday, September 7, arrested a man named Irshad Ali Khan after a woman filed a complaint of cheating, abduction, assault, and unnatural sex against him. He is also accused of hiding his religious identity to marry the Hindu woman.

11) Actress Debina Bonnerjee promotes ‘Halal cosmetics’ for Durga Pujo.

12) On Monday, September 19, the Pune Police arrested a food delivery man named Raees Shaikh on charges of molesting a 19-year-old girl in the Yewalewadi area of the city. 40-year-old Shaikh is believed to be working with Zomato, a known food delivery company. However, Zomato has denied this.

13) DMK MP Senthil Kumar who earlier created a ruckus at a Bhumi Pujan event and insulted Hindu beliefs has again shown hatred against the ritual. DMK cadres who were present at the event have accused him of kicking and desecrating the bricks smeared with turmeric and Kumkum for the ritual.

Pakistan

Abduction, rape, forced conversion, and marriage of minor Hindu girls are common occurrences in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. At least 1000 minority girls suffer such sex slavery every year in Sindh province alone. Apart from this, Pakistani Hindus face systemic and institutionalized discrimination and neglect, such as frequent attacks on Hindu temples, demonization of education curriculum, police and judicial antipathy, denial of fundamental rights, and even untouchability.

1) Arrest of a journalist covering floods shows Pakistan’s bias against Hindus.

Bangladesh

Attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh are relentless and designed to gradually cleanse the religious minority from the country. 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 some tools used to intimidate and drive Hindus out.

1) A shocking video on social media features several Hindu children who narrate how they are being compelled to study Quranic verses and other Islamic texts.

2) Bangladeshi government officials have been accused of vandalising the gate of the Kali temple.

3) A student Tanushree Majhi (18) committed suicide due to harassment by Muslim stalkers in Koyra, Khulna. Before committing suicide, she wrote the names of three Muslim men on the suicide note.

4) A murti of Maa Durga was vandalized (Tweet archived here) in Sahapara Radha Govinda Temple of Tala Upazila of Satkhira District on September 23.

World

1) Emboldened by UK police & authorities’ weak response to the weeks-long anti-Hindu violence in Leicester and the tacit support of British MPs like Claudia Webbe and mainstream media like the Guardian and BBC, British Islamists are now targeting Hindus in other UK towns.

2) The German embassy has awarded Hinduphobe Meena Kandasamy the PEN Germany award for her ‘dedicated, vocal, and engaging’ work, they said in a tweet. This comes close on the heels of her having admitted that she remained silent on sexual harassment by her leftist colleague.

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, but 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 dropping an email to [email protected]. We also solicit support in maintaining the Hindu human rights tracker database.