a weekly overview of hate crimes, persecution and discrimination against Hindus

Attacks on Hindus and Hinduism, both in Bharat and abroad, are frequent and relentless. In many regions of the world, this persecution is a genocide that is slowly unfolding before our eyes. For decades, the world has ignored the true depth and breadth of these attacks, which are driven by disturbing anti-Hindu intolerance. From killings, forced conversions, land grabbing, attacks on festivals, desecration of temples and murtis, hate speech and sexual violence to institutionalized and legal discrimination, Hindus are facing an increasing assault on their very existence, coupled with unprecedented Hindu hatred.

In this weekly overview for the period September 8 to September 14, 2024, we hope to provide a snapshot of such crimes and hopefully wake up more people around the world to this human rights crisis:

Bharat

1) In Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh (UP), a woman complained against Islamist Altaf. She accused him of assuming the false identity of “Akash” to lure her into a relationship, sexually exploiting her and trying to force her to convert to Islam.

2) A government school in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, became the centre of attention after a Teachers’ Day event where spiritual speaker Mahavishnu of the Paramporul Foundation delivered a speech on rebirth and karma, sparking outrage and political backlash from Dravidianists and members of the INDIAlliance in Tamil Nadu. D Stocks demanded #Resign_AnbilMahesh.

3) Al Kaswa, a Tamil YouTube channel dedicated to spreading the ‘message of Islam’ to its viewers, has a sister channel called Kaswa TV Exclusive. In a In a video that has gone viral on social media, the presenter, Binth Hanifa, claims to be from Al Kaswa TV and asks non-Muslim women and young girls on the streets of Tamil Nadu (it is not clear in which part of the state) to take part in a Hijab challenge.

4) Meerut police arrested a Muslim honey trap gang. The group, which had seven members, including two women, lured unsuspecting men using fake Hindu identities. The arrested persons are Asif Sayed, Aniket, Deepak, Firoz, Faheem, Ruhina (alias Simran) and Summaiyaa (alias Shalu).

5) ‘Journalist’ Dnyanesh Maharao used the Sambhaji Brigade Convention to spew venom against Hindu Dharma. He insulted Prabhu Sri Ram, Warkari Sampraday and Swami Samarth. During this time, his boss Sharad Pawar and Member of Parliament (MP) Shahu Chhatrapati were present on the dais to listen to Maharao’s tirade. The event took place in late August.

6) A shocking case of attempted rape of a Hindu woman in a Madrasa has come to light in Amroha district of Uttar Pradesh. The police have arrested the accused Maulana. He has been identified as Maulana Mansoor. He was spreading superstitions by claiming that he could cure patients through exorcism. The victim fell for his claims of exorcism and she visited the Madrasa to get a Tabeez (amulet) for her sick child. However, in the name of exorcism, the accused tried to rape the woman who promptly called the police to help and rescue her.

7) A tense situation arose in Madhya Pradesh’s (MP) Ratlam district when a Ganesh Chaturthi procession was greeted with stone-pelting, allegedly aimed at disrupting the peace and celebrations of the Hindu community. The incident took place when devotees were carrying the murti of Bhagwan Ganesh to a pandal for Sthapna when the procession was attacked near the Mochipura area.

8) Police have started an investigation into the incident of stone pelting at a Ganesh Mandap in Syedpura in Gujarat. In a shocking revelation, it has been revealed that a gang of minor Muslim youths was behind the stone pelting. The mastermind behind this gang planned to attack 10 Ganesh Pandals daily. This gang comprising of 6 minors tried to pelt stones at the Ganesh idol of ‘Variali Cha Raja’ but failed. A day later, the minor Muslim attacked the Syedpura Ganesh pandal.

9) On September 11 evening, tensions flared up in Mandya district of Karnataka when a Ganesh Visarjan procession was attacked by Islamists near a dargah at Nagamangala, located on Mysuru Road.

10) In yet another attempt to disrupt communal harmony, a Ganesh puja pandal was attacked in UP’s Lucknow. Reports said that 20-25 Islamists surrounded the puja pandal, which was set up outside a resident’s house, and started pelting stones while chanting slogans of “Allahu Akbar.”

11) The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has strongly criticised the madrassa education system in Bharat, alleging that these religious institutions violate the fundamental rights of children to education. “Textbooks in madrassas claim that Islam is the supremacy,” NCPCR told the Supreme Court. It also alleged that forced conversions, child exploitation and extremist indoctrination are taking place in madrassas.

12) In a shocking incident in Loni Border area of ​​Ghaziabad, a juice shop was found mixing urine in juices that were being sold to customers. Aamir Khan, owner of Khushi Juice Corner, and his assistant were severely beaten up by locals on the charges of mixing urine in juice and serving it to customers. On receiving information from people, the police reached the spot and rescued Aamir alias Shazid Khan and his assistant from the mob and took him into custody.

13) Dehradun police on Tuesday arrested 92 vendors in the city’s Paltan Bazar, citing lack of business permits. The development comes after a woman filed a sexual assault case against a shopkeeper in the area. The verification drive for street vendors in the area comes after police arrested a man from Uttar Pradesh, identified as Umar.

Most hate crimes are driven by anti-Hindu intolerance that is encoded in certain religious teachings and political ideologies. While anti-Hindu hatred is evident in Muslim countries, there is a more subtle form of anti-Hindu sentiment within the institutions and public sphere of ostensibly secular states (such as India) that provides a stimulating environment for Hinduphobia and hate crimes. This subtle, everyday discrimination can be missed unless one studies the prevailing laws and patterns. The gradual ban on firecrackers during Diwali is a good example – it may seem related to pollution on the surface. Yet, the double standards at play become apparent when one looks at the bigger picture of restrictions on Hindu festivals and the lack of sound reasoning behind the ban.

We ask all readers to share other anti-Hindu hate crimes that we may have missed during this period in the comments below or by emailing us at (email protected). We also ask for support in maintaining the Hindu human rights tracker database.