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, sexual violence, forced conversions, land grab, assault on festivals, desecration of temples and murtis, hate speech, 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 27 December 2020 to 3 January 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) An alleged Shaivite preacher made derogatory remarks against Hindu Dharma in the presence of DMK Chief at a Christmas function organized by his party. Speaking at a Christmas function organized by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), preacher Kalaiarisi Natarajan, who claims to be a Shaivite, said that Hindu Dharma was only two centuries old and that Islam and Christianity are older than Hindu Dharma.
2) Hindu temples in general and the Tirumala Tirupati, in particular, are being time and again targeted by Christian missionaries encouraged by a Christian CM. Many crypto-Christians seem to have found their way into the TTD board, the managing authority of the Tirupati Mandir. The TTD (Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam) was forced to take down the crosses in the lighting arrangements after facing backlash from devotees on social media (SM). A massive controversy erupted after devotees objected to cross symbols put up on the lighting decorations at the Tirumala Mandir.
3) A Hindu teacher, Ajay Muda (30), was killed and his nephew, Sujeev Muda, seriously injured when the two were stabbed by a mob led by the local butcher community, on Monday night in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh. The incident occurred in the Rajnagar area, Dehat police station area of Damoh town. As per Nai Dunia, a group of men were stealing cattle when they were challenged by Ajay and his nephew. The smugglers called some of their associates via phone and proceeded to attack the two with sharp weapons.
4) Incidents of temple desecration are just not stopping in Andhra Pradesh. On Tuesday, villagers found that the 400-years-old Kodanda Rama temple near Ramateertham village of Nellimarla Mandal in Vizianagaram district had been vandalized. The murti of Sri Rama in the temple at Bodi Konda (a hill) nearby the village had been decapitated. The head of the murti was nowhere to be found and locals suspected it had been dumped somewhere in the forest. The deity’s head was found the next day.
5) Just days after the decapitating of a Sri Rama murti in the famous Kodanda Rama temple near Ramateertham in Vizianagaram district, the two arms of a Sri Subrahmanya murti have been cut off in a Vigneshwara temple in Rajahmundry district.
6) Hindu devotees and pujari objectingwere threatened by Christian pastors for to Christian prayers at a Hindu mandir in Andhra Pradesh.
Pakistan
1) A frenzied mob of slogan-shouting Muslims attacked and burnt down a Hindu temple in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, as per a Pakistani minority rights NGO. The video shared by Voice of Pakistan Minority (VOPM) on their Twitter handle says, “Latest visuals from KPK, an extremist mob of Muslims are burning and razing down a #Hindu temple in Karak. The reason is unknown but look at the hatred they have towards the religious minorities. A little argument is all it takes here to destroy the lives of minorities”.
2) Dead bodies of two young Hindu girls were found in police office ASI Gul Mohammad’s room. The girls have been identified as Babita Meghawar and a Hindu Dongar Meghawar. It is said they were tortured before hanging by police officer ASI Gul Mohammad Sand in Mithi, Tharparker of Pakistan’s Sindh.
3) Pakistan Human Rights Activist Rahat Austin reported about a Hindu girl Miza Kumari D/o Rattan Lal who was abducted for rape & conversion to Islam, village Bahu Bhati, Sialkot of Pakistan’s Punjab. Parents say no one is helping them, they have no resources to pursue their daughter. The police instead of helping them registered a false case against Father.
Bangladesh
4) A Hindu girl was abducted & forcibly converted to Islam by local Muslims at Narail in Rajshahi District.
5) A Hindu family was attacked by Mohammad Nazimuddin who attempted to forcefully kick out Hindus from their land at Sonargaon in the Narayanganj district.
6) A similar incident took place at Nilphamari district’s Hatibanda where Mohammad Shazuddin attacked a Hindu family in an attempt to evict them from their land.
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.
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