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'''Persecution of Hindus''' refers to the ] inflicted upon ]s. Hindus have been historically persecuted during the ]ic rule in the ] and the ] rule in ]. In modern times, Hindus in ], ], ], ] and ] have suffered persecution. Persecution of Hindus during Islamic rule was conducted by massive "]", forced religious conversion, ], desecration and demolition of Hindu ] and ], and mass-rapes of Hindu women and sexual abuse of Hindu children. ] in ], during the Portuguese rule, included ] of Hinduism through forced conversions, burnings, lootings and other violent means. Persecution also extend to the confiscation or destruction of private Hindu property, or incitement to violence though propaganda. | |||
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}} | |||
{{Status of religious freedom|expanded=persecution}} | |||
{{Violence against Hindus in independent India}} | |||
{{Discrimination sidebar|expand-religious=yes}} | |||
]s have experienced both historical and ongoing ] and ] violence, in the form of ]s, documented ]s, genocides, demolition and desecration of ], as well as the destruction of educational centres. | |||
==During Islamic rule in the Indian sub-continent== | |||
==Medieval India== | |||
The ] led to widespread carnage as Muslims regarding the Hindus as ] slaughtered and converted millions of Hindus. ] argued in his 1935 book "The Story of Civilization: Our Oriental Heritage" (page 459): | |||
{{See also|Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent}} | |||
] is located in ], Uttar Pradesh, India. It was constructed by ] in 1669 upon demolition of an older ] temple]] | |||
Parts of India were subject to Muslim rule from the period of ] till the fall of the ]. There is a tendency among some historians to view the Muslim conquests and Muslim empires as a prolonged period of violence against Hindu culture, with ] calling the ] "probably the bloodiest story in history."{{refn|group=note|] called the Muslim conquest of India "probably the bloodiest story in history".<ref name=willdurant>{{citation|last=Durant|first=Will|title=The Complete Story of Civilization: Our Oriental Heritage |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CfGPAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT458|year=2014|orig-year=first published 1935|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-4767-7971-3|pages=458– |quote=The Mohammedan Conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. It is a discouraging tale, for its evident moral is that civilization is a precarious thing, whose delicate complex of order and liberty, culture and peace may at any time be overthrown by barbarians invading from without or multiplying within. The Hindus had allowed their strength to be wasted in internal division and war; they had adopted religions like Buddhism and Jainism, which unnerved them for the tasks of life; they had failed to organize their forces for the protection of their frontiers and their capitals.}}</ref>}} | |||
] asserts that during the Islamic rule period there was state-sponsored persecution against Hindus, yet it was sporadic and directed mostly at temple buildings, not people. However, he also points to the mentions of socio-religious conflict by poets like ].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lorenzen|first=David N.|date=October 1999|title=Who Invented Hinduism?|url= https://www.jstor.org/stable/179424|journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History|volume=41|issue=4|page=631|doi=10.1017/S0010417599003084|jstor=179424|s2cid=247327484 }}</ref> The extent of persecution of Hindus under Muslim rule is subject to scholarly debate, and there have been criticisms that the historiography of India is being distorted by ] politics. | |||
{{cquote|...the Islamic conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. It is a discouraging tale, for its evident moral is that civilization is a precious good, whose delicate complex order and freedom can at any moment be overthrown by barbarians invading from without and multiplying from within. Almost all the Muslims of South Asia are descendants of weaker elements of the population who had succumbed to forcible Islamic conversion.}} | |||
===Destruction of religious architecture=== | |||
{{cquote|The Mohammedan conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. The Islamic historians and scholars have recorded with great glee and pride of the slaughters of Hindus, forced conversions, abduction of Hindu women and children to slave markets and the destruction of temples carried out by the warriors of Islam during 800 AD to 1700 AD. Millions of Hindus were converted to Islam by sword during this period.}} | |||
According to ], the mutilation and destruction of Hindu religious idols and temples were an attack on Hindu religious practice,{{sfn|Wink|1991|pages=301–306 with footnotes}}{{refn|group=note|Devout Hindus cherish the manifestation of the divine everywhere such as in icons, people, and sacred places.{{sfn|Wink|1991|pages=301–306 with footnotes}} Hinduism is "embedded in its sacred iconography, sacred ] and its sacred geography", states Wink, considered an "aid in contemplating the divine".{{sfn|Wink|1991|pages=301–306 with footnotes}} These form the fundamental structure behind Hindu pilgrimage, mythology, festivals, and community just like the other major Indian religions.{{sfn|Wink|1991|pages=301–306 with footnotes}}}} and the Muslim destruction of religious architecture was a means to eradicate the vestiges of Hindu religious symbols.{{sfn|Wink|1991|pages=315–323 with footnotes}} Muslim texts of this period justify it based on their contempt and abhorrence for idols and idolators in Islamic thought.{{sfn|Wink|1991|pages=315–323 with footnotes}}{{refn|group=note|The Muslim court historians describe the desecrated sacred cities of Hindus in demeaning terms. For example, they describe Mathura – a sacred city of Krishna tradition in Hinduism – as "the work of demons (jinn)", and refer to the sacred idols as well as their worshippers (Hindus) as "devils" (shayatin).{{sfn|Wink|1991|page=327}} The architecture of Hindu temples underwent change under the Muslim rulers and incorporated Islamic influences. The ] temples, built under Akbar, lack ornamentation as imagery was generally prohibited.<ref>{{cite book |last=Allen |first=Margaret Prosser |year=1991 |title=Ornament in Indian Architecture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vyXxEX5PQH8C&pg=PA362 |publisher=University of Delaware Press |page=362 |isbn=978-0-87413-399-8}}</ref> }} ] notes that the Muslim historians of the medieval era viewed the creation and expansion of Islamic Sultanates in Hindustan as "holy war" and a religious conquest, characterizing Muslim forces as "the army of Islam" and the Hindus as infidels.<ref name="Jackson2003p19"/><ref name="Jackson2003c14">{{harvnb|Jackson|2003|pp=278–289}}</ref> According to Jackson, these records need to be interpreted and relied upon with care given their tendencies to exaggerate. This was not a period of "uncompromising iconoclasm", states Jackson. Cities that quickly surrendered to the Islamic army, says Jackson, "got a better deal" for their religious monuments.<ref name="Jackson2003p19">{{harvnb|Jackson|2003|pp=19–22, 126–128, 139–142, 173–175, 213–215}}</ref> | |||
{{Religious persecution}} | |||
There is no official estimate of the total death toll of Hindus at the hands of Muslims. Estimates have stated that over 13 centuries and over the entire subcontinent, the number of Hindus that died at the hands of the Muslims goes up into the millions. There have been several occasions when the ] sultans in central India (1347-1528) killed around 80,000-100,000 Hindus over a short period of time, which they set as a minimum goal, to their anti-Hindu campaigns<ref>{{cite news | first =Koenraad | last =Elst | title =Was there an Islamic "Genocide" of Hindus? | url =http://www.kashmirherald.com/main.php?t=OP&st=D&no=138 | publisher = ]| pages = | page = | date = 2006-08-25 | accessdate =2006-08-25 }}</ref> | |||
According to Richard Davis, targeting sacred temples was not unique to Muslim rulers in India. Some ]s too, prior to the formation of first Islamic sultanates in India, expropriated sacred idols from temples and took it back to their capitals as a political symbol of victory. However, the sacred temples, icons and the looted image carried away was still sacred and treated with respect by the victorious ] and his forces, states Richard Davis. There is hardly any evidence of "mutilation of divine images and intentional defilement" of Hindu sacred icons or temples by armies in control of Hindu rulers. The evidence that is available suggests that the victorious ]s undertook significant effort to house the expropriated images in new, grand temples within their kingdom.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Davis |first1=Richard H. |title=Indian Art Objects as Loot |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |date=February 1993 |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=22–48 |doi=10.2307/2059143 |jstor=2059143 |s2cid=161593825}}</ref> According to Wink, Hindu destruction of Buddhist and Jain places of worship took place before the 10th-century, but the evidence for such 'Hindu iconoclasm' is incidental, too vague, and unconvincing.{{sfn|Wink|1991|pages=309–311 with footnotes}} According to Wink, mutilation and defilement of sacred icons is rarely evidenced in Hindu texts, in contrast to Muslim texts on the Islamic iconoclasm in India.{{sfn|Wink|1991|pages=307–309 with footnotes}} Hindu temples were centres of political resistance which had to be suppressed.{{sfn|Wink|1991|pages=309–311 with footnotes}} | |||
In a 1999 interview, the French journalist and writer ] says <ref>{{cite news | first =Gautier | last =François | title ='The massacres perpetuated by Muslims in India are unparalleled in history, bigger than the Holocaust of the Jews' | url =http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/feb/12rajee1.htm| publisher =] | accessdate =2006-08-26}}</ref>, | |||
===Effect on Hindu learning=== | |||
{{cquote|The massacres perpetuated by Muslims in India are unparalleled in history, bigger than the Holocaust of the Jews by the Nazis; or the massacre of the Armenians by the Turks; more extensive even than the slaughter of the South American native populations by the invading Spanish and Portuguese.}} | |||
], one of the founders of ], had taken steps to rehabilitate Hindu religious and cultural institutions which suffered a serious setback under Muslim rule.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mehta |first=Jaswant Lal |year=1986 |orig-year=First published 1980 |title=Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India |volume=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iUk5k5AN54sC |edition=2nd |publisher=Sterling Publishers |page=287 |isbn=978-81-207-0617-0}}</ref> Buddhists centres of learning decayed, leading to the rise to prominence of Brahmanical institutions.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}} | |||
A lot of Vedantic literature got translated into these{{which|date=June 2024}} languages between the 12th and 15th centuries.<ref>{{harvnb|Ikram|1964|pp=123–132}}</ref> | |||
Prof. ], suggests a calculation in his book '']'' which estimates that between the years 1000 AD and 1500 AD the population of Hindus decreased by 80 million. | |||
Even those Hindus who converted to Islam were not immune to persecution, as per the ] in India as established by Ziauddin al-Barani in the ''Fatawa-i Jahandari''. <ref> by Yoginder Sikand</ref>, where they were regarded as "Ajlaf" caste and subjected to severe discrimination by the "Ashraf" castes<ref name="one"> | |||
{{cite book | |||
| last = Aggarwal | |||
| first = Patrap | |||
| authorlink = Patrap C. Aggarwal | |||
| title = Caste and Social Stratification Among Muslims in India | |||
| publisher = Manohar | |||
| date = 1978 | |||
}} | |||
</ref>. | |||
=== |
===Muhammad bin-Qasim=== | ||
] began in the early 8th century CE with a ]-led army. This campaign is narrated in the '']'' by Bakr Kūfī, a 13th-century manuscript which claimed to be based on an earlier Arabic record.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=ČAČ-NĀMA |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam |edition=Second |year=1981 |publisher=Brill Academic |last1=Friedmann |first1=Y |editor1=P. Bearman |editor2=Th. Bianquis |editor3=C.E. Bosworth |editor4=E. van Donzel |editor5=W.P. Heinrichs |isbn=9789004161214 |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_8436}}</ref> | |||
] began during the early 8th century, when the ] governor of what is now ], ] responded to a ] provided by the kidnapping of Muslim women and treasures by pirates off the coast of ],<ref> Mirza Kalichbeg Fredunbeg: The Chachnamah, An Ancient History of Sind, Giving the Hindu period down to the Arab Conquest. </ref> by mobilizing an expedition of 6,000 cavalry under ] in 712 CE. Records from the campaign recorded in the ] record temple demolitions, and mass executions of resisting ] forces and enslavement of their dependents. This action was particularly extensive of ], of which Qasim is reported to be under orders to make an example of while freeing both the captured women and the prisoners of a previous failed expedition. Bin Qasim then enlisted the support of the local ], ] and ] tribes and began the process of subduing and conquering the countryside. Capture of towns was also usually accomplished by means of a treaty with a party from among his "enemy", who were then extended special privileges and material rewards.<ref> Wink, Andre, "Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World", Brill Academic Publishers, Aug 1, 2002, ISBN 0-391-04173-8 pg. 204</ref> However, his superior Hajjaj is reported at objecting to his method by saying that it would make him look weak and advocated a more hardline military strategy: | |||
<ref> | |||
{{cite book | |||
| last = Trifkovic | |||
| first = Serge | |||
| authorlink = Serge Trifkovic | |||
| title = The Sword of the Prophet: History, Theology, Impact on the World | |||
| publisher = Regina Orthodox Press | |||
| date = Sept. 11, 2002 | |||
}} | |||
</ref> | |||
The '']'' mentions temple demolitions, mass executions of resisting ]i forces and the enslavement of their dependents; kingdoms ruled by Hindu and Buddhist kings were attacked, their wealth plundered, tribute ('']'') settled and hostages taken, often as slaves to Iraq.<ref>{{harvnb|Wink|2002|pp=51, 204–205 }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Wink|2002|p=161}}</ref> According to Wink, a historian specializing in Indo-Islamic period in South Asia, these Hindus were given the choice to either convert to Islam and join the Arab armies, or be sealed (tattooing the hands) and pay Jizya (a tax).<ref name="Wink161" /> The ''Chach Nama'' and evidence in other pre-11th century Persian texts suggests that these Hindu Jats also suffered restrictions and discrimination as non-Muslims, as was then usual elsewhere for the non-Muslim subjects (''ahl adh-dhimma'') per the Islamic law (Sharia), states Wink.<ref name="Wink161">{{harvnb|Wink|2002|pp=161–163 with footnotes}}</ref> | |||
{{cquote|It appears from your letter that all the rules made by you for the comfort and convenience of your men are strictly in accordance with religious law. But the way of granting pardon prescribed by the law is different from the one adopted by you, for you go on giving pardon to everybody, high or low, without any discretion between a friend and a foe. The great God says in the Koran : "0 True believers, when you encounter the unbelievers, strike off their heads." The above command of the Great God is a great command and must be respected and followed. You should not be so fond of showing mercy, as to nullify the virtue of the act. Henceforth grant pardon to no one of the enemy and spare none of them, or else all will consider you a weak-minded man.}} | |||
] however finds that the ''Chach Nama'' holds that most contemporary religious as well as political authorities collaborated with the invaders, and those who promptly surrendered were not only gifted with huge sums of money but also entrusted to rule conquered territories.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Friedmann |first1=Yohanan |author-link=Yohanan Friedmann |title=Islam in Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VbjXAAAAMAAJ |volume=1 |year=1984 |publisher=Magnes Press, Jerusalem University |isbn=978-965-223-521-3 |pages=30–31}}</ref> Friedmann also notes that bin-Qasim "gave his unqualified blessing to the characteristic features of the society"—he reappointed every deposed Brahmin (of Brahmanabad) to their jobs, exempted them from Jizya, allowed holding of traditional festivals, and granted protection to temples but enforced the caste-hierarchy with enhanced vigor, drawing from Sharia, as evident from his treatment of Jats.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Friedmann |first1=Yohanan |author-link=Yohanan Friedmann |title=Islam in Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VbjXAAAAMAAJ |volume=1 |year=1984 |publisher=Magnes Press, Jerusalem University |isbn=978-965-223-521-3 |pages=31–32}}</ref> Overall, Friedmann concludes that the conquest, as described in the ''Chach Nama'', did "not result in any significant changes in the structure of Indian society".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Friedmann |first1=Yohanan |author-link=Yohanan Friedmann |title=Islam in Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VbjXAAAAMAAJ |volume=1 |year=1984 |publisher=Magnes Press, Jerusalem University |isbn=978-965-223-521-3 |page=34}}</ref> | |||
In a subsequent communication, Hajjaj reiterated that all able-bodied men were to be killed, and that their underage sons and daughters were to be imprisoned and retained as hostages. Qasim obeyed, and on his arrival at the town of Brahminabad massacred between 6,000 and 16,000 of the defending forces.<ref>{{cite news | first =Serge | last =Trifkovic | title =Islam’s Other Victims: India | |||
| url =http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Printable.asp?ID=4649 | publisher =] | accessdate =2006-08-26}} | |||
</ref>. | |||
The historian, Upendra Thakur records the persecution of Hindus and Buddhists: | |||
According to Johnson and Koyama, quoting Bosworth, there were "certainly massacres in the towns" in the early stages of campaign against Hindus in Sind, but eventually they were granted '']'' status and peace treaties were made with them.<ref name="JohnsonKoyama2019">{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=Noel D. |last2=Koyama |first2=Mark |title=Persecution & Toleration: The Long Road to Religious Freedom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1YaEDwAAQBAJ |year=2019 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-42502-5 |pages=279–280 note 3}}</ref> | |||
{{cquote|When Muhammad Kasim invaded Sind in 711 AD, Buddhism had no resistance to offer to their fire and steel. The rosary could not be a match for the sword and the terms Love and Peace had no meaning to them. They carried fire and sword wherever they went and obliterated all that came their way. Muhammad triumphantly marched into the country, conquering Debal, Sehwan, Nerun, Brahmanadabad, Alor and Multan one after the other in quick succession, and in less than a year and half, the far-flung Hindu kingdon was crushed, the great civilization fell back and Sind entered the darkest period of it's history. There was a fearful outbreak of religious bigotry in several places and temples were wantonly desecrated. At Debal, Nairun and Aror temples were demolished and converted into mosques. were put to death and women made captives. The Jizya was exacted with special care. were required to feed Muslim travellers for three days and three nights.<ref name="Thakkur">Sindhi Culture by U.T. Thakkur, Univ. of Bombay Publications, 1959</ref>.}} | |||
After the conquest of Sindh, Qasim chose the ] school of ] which stated that, when under Muslim rule, people of Indic religions such as Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains are to be regarded as '']'' (from the Arab term) as well as "]" and are required to pay ] for religious freedom.<ref>{{Cite conference |title=From Mongols to Mughals: Religious violence in India, 9th–18th centuries |author=Nicholas F. Gier |conference=Pacific Northwest Regional Meeting, American Academy of Religion |place=Gonzaga University |date=May 2006 |url=https://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/ngier/mm.htm |access-date=2023-01-02}}</ref> | |||
Other historians and archealogists such as J E Lohuizen-de Leeuw, takes the following stance of events proceeding the sack of Debal: | |||
{{cquote|In fact, we have clear evidence that the Arabs were very tolerant towards both Buddhists and Hindus during the rest of the campaign and throughout the time they ruled Sind...Of course that does not mean that no monuments were ever destroyed, for war always means a certain amount of damage to buildings but it does prove that there was no wanton and systematic destruction of each and every religious center of the Buddhists and Hindus in Sind.<ref>J E Lohuizen-de Leeuw, ''South Asian Archaeology 1975'', pg 152-153, Jan 1, 1979, Brill Academic Publishers, ISBN 90-04-05996-2</ref>}} | |||
The historicity of the ''Chach Nama'' has been questioned. ] considers the ''Chach Nama'' to be a "historical romance" which was "a late and doubtful source" for information about bin-Qasim and must be carefully sieved to locate the facts; on such a reading, he admired bin-Qasim's proclamations concerning "principle of tolerance and religious freedom".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gabrieli |first=Francesco |date=September–December 1965 |title=Muḥammad ibn Qāsim ath-Thaqafī and the Arab Conquest of Sind |journal=East and West |volume=15 |issue=3/4 |pages=281–295 |jstor=29754928 |issn=0012-8376}}</ref> | |||
===Mahmud of Ghazni=== | |||
] takes a roughly similar stance and lenses the work as a work of "political theory". | |||
] was an ] ] who invaded the Indian subcontinent during the early 11th century. His campaigns across the ] are often cited for their ] and plundering targeting of Hindu temples such as those at ] and looked upon them as ''"]"''<ref>{{cite book | |||
] criticizes the very premises of recovering portions of the ''Chach Nama'' as a historical chronicle of Muslim conquest; he argues that the site and times of production dictated its entire content, and that it must be read in entirety, as an original work in the genre of "political theory" where history is creatively extrapolated with romantic fiction to gain favor in the court of Nasiruddin Qabacha.<ref>{{cite book |first=Manan Ahmed |last=Asif |title=A Book of Conquest |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3QD6DAAAQBAJ |year=2016 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-97243-8 |pages=8–15}}</ref> | |||
|last= Saunders | |||
Wink states that some scholars treat the ''Chach Nama'' and other Muslim texts of its era, as "largely pseudo-history". He concurs that the skepticism about each individual source is justified and the ''Chach Nama'' is part fiction.{{sfn|Wink|2002|pp=192–195}}<ref>{{Cite web |first=Andre |last=Wink |title=Review of Asif, Manan Ahmed, A Book of Conquest: The Chachnama and Muslim Origins in South Asia |work=H-Asia |series=H-Net Reviews |date=May 2017 |url=http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=47738}}</ref> Wink adds, taken together the common elements in these diverse sources suggest that Hindus were treated as ''dhimmis'' and targeted for certain discriminatory measures prescribed in the Sharia, as well as entitled to protection and limited religious freedoms in a Muslim state.{{sfn|Wink|2002|pp=192–195}} | |||
|first= Kenneth | |||
|authorlink = Kenneth James Saunders | |||
|title= A Pageant of India | |||
|publisher = H. Milford, Oxford University Press pg. 162 | |||
}}</ref>. | |||
===Early sultanates (11th–12th century)=== | |||
Pradyumna Prasad Karan further describes Mahmud invasion as one of putting "thousands of Hindu's to the sword" and making a pastime of "raising pyramids of the skulls of the infidels".<ref> {{cite book |last=Karan |first= Pradyumna |authorlink= Pradyumna Prasad Karan |title= The Non-Western World:Environment, Development and Human Rights| publisher= Routledge pg. 344}}</ref><ref> | |||
{{cite book | |||
|last = Barron | |||
|first = Milton | |||
|authorlink = Milton Lee Baron | |||
|title = Minorities in a Changing World | |||
|publisher = Knopf p54 | |||
|year = 1967 | |||
}} | |||
</ref> Holt ''et al.'' hold an opposing view, that he was "no mere robber or bloody thirsty tyrant" . Mahmud shed no blood "except in the exegencies of war",<ref name="Lewis"> P. M. ( Peter Malcolm) Holt, Bernard Lewis, The Cambridge History of Islam, Cambridge University Press, Apr 21, 1977, ISBN 0-521-29137-2 pg 3-4.</ref> and was tolerant in dealings with his own Hindu subjects, some of whom rose to high posts in his administration, such as his Hindu General Tilak <ref name="Lewis"/> | |||
Muslim texts of that period are replete with iconoclast rhetoric, descriptions of mass-slaughter of Hindus, and repeats ad nauseam about "the army of Islam obtain abundant wealth and unlimited riches" from the conquered sites.<ref name="Wink1991p124">{{harvnb|Wink|1991|pages=124–126}}</ref> The Hindus are described in these Islamic texts as infidels, Hindustan as war zone ("Dar-al-Harb"), and attacks on Hindus as a part of a holy war (''jihad''), states ].<ref>{{harvnb|Jackson|2003|pp=6–10 with footnotes}}</ref> However, states Wink, this killing was not systematic and "was normally confined to the fighting men" though the wars and episodes of routine violence did precipitate a great famine with civilian casualties in tens of thousands.<ref name="Wink1991p124"/> The pervasive and most striking feature of the Arabic literature on Sind and Hind of the 11th to 13th-century is its constant obsession with idol worship and polytheism in the Indian subcontinent.<ref name="Wink1991_p319-320">{{harvp|Wink|1991|pages=319–320 with footnotes}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Friedmann |first1=Yohanan |author-link=Yohanan Friedmann |date=June 1975 |title=Medieval Muslim Views of Indian Religions |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=95 |issue=2 |pages=214–217 |doi=10.2307/600318 |jstor=600318}}</ref> There is piecemeal evidence of iconoclasm that began in Sind region, but the wholesale and more systematic onslaught against major Hindu religious monuments is evidenced in North India.<ref name=":1" /> | |||
Mahmud of Ghazni sacked the second ] in ], and looted it of gems and precious stones and the famous ] ] of the temple was destroyed and it's fragments taken away to Ghazni where they were used as stepping stones of a mosque.<ref> | |||
{{cite book | |||
|last = Kakar | |||
|first = Sudhir | |||
|authorlink = Sudhir kakar | |||
|title = The Colors of Violence: Cultural Identities, Religion, and Conflict | |||
|publisher = University of Chicago Press P 50 | |||
}} | |||
</ref> | |||
], Sunil Kumar, ], Richard H. Davis and others argue that these iconoclastic actions were not primarily driven by religious zeal, but were politically strategic acts of destruction in that temples in medieval India were sites associated with sovereignty, royal power, money, and authority.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Eaton|first=Richard M.|title=Temple desecration in pre-modern India|work=Frontline|url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00islamlinks/txt_eaton_temples1.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Dutta|first=Ranjeeta|date=November–December 2009|title=Review of Demolishing Myths or Mosques and Temples? Readings on History and Temple Desecration in Medieval India|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27748619|journal=Social Scientist|volume=37|issue=11/12|pages=89–92|jstor=27748619|issn=0970-0293}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Iyer|first1=S.|last2=Shrivastava|first2=A.|last3=Ticku|first3=R.|date=2017-01-23|title=Holy Wars? Temple desecrations in Medieval India|url=https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/262581|website=Cambridge-INET Institute|language=en|doi=10.17863/cam.7847}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lycett|first1=Mark T.|last2=Morrison|first2=Kathleen D.|year=2013|title=The "Fall" of Vijayanagara Reconsidered: Political Destruction and Historical Construction in South Indian History|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43303558|journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient|volume=56|issue=3|pages=433–470|doi=10.1163/15685209-12341314|jstor=43303558|issn=0022-4995}}</ref> According to Wink, the iconoclasm was a product of "religious, economic and political" and the practice undoubtedly escalated due to the "vast amount of immobilized treasure" in these temples.<ref name=":1" /> As the Indo-Islamic conquests of the 11th and 12th-centuries moved beyond Panjab and the Himalayan foothills of the northwest into the Ganges-Yamuna Doab region, states Andre Wink, "some of the most important sacred sites of Indian culture were destroyed and desecrated,"<ref name="Wink1991p124"/> and their broken parts consistently reused to make Islamic monuments.<ref name=":1">{{harvnb|Wink|1991|pages=320–322 with footnotes}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|Some of the evidence of desecration and destruction of Hindu sacred monuments is independent of the Muslim texts of the period. It is found in Islamic monuments built during this period. As examples, the Qutb mosque in Delhi shows its "reliance on disassembled temple materials", as do the Caurasi Kambha mosque near Bharatpur, the Jami Masjid at Sultankot (also called Ukha mandir mosque), the 'idgah in Bayana.<ref name=Wink142>{{harvnb|Wink|1991|pages=142–143 with footnotes}}</ref>}} ] notes that "medieval Indian religious groups faced a serious crisis as invading Muslim armies sacked temples and defaced sacred image".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Granoff|first=Phyllis|date=December 1991|title=Tales of Broken Limbs and Bleeding Wounds: Responses to Muslim Iconoclasm in Medieval India|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/29756976|journal=East and West|volume=41|issue=1/4|pages=189–203|jstor=29756976|issn=0012-8376}}</ref> | |||
===In the Delhi Sultanate=== | |||
The first Muslim Empire of India, the ], was established in 1210 CE by Turkic tribes that invaded the subcontinent from Afghanistan. Many temples were looted and destroyed. Infamous cases are the destruction of the ]/]. | |||
The 11th and 12th-century additionally witnessed the rise of irregulars and then Banjara-like groups who adopted Islam. These were "marauding bands" who caused much suffering and destruction in the countryside as they searched for food and supplies during the violent campaign of Ghurids against Hindustan.<ref>{{harvnb|Wink|1991|pp=142–143 with footnotes}}</ref> The religious icons of Hindus were one of the targets of these Islamic campaigns.<ref name="Wink1991_p319-320"/> | |||
====Muhammad Ghori==== | |||
] conducted genocide of Hindus at Koi (modern ]), Kalinjar and Varanasi, according to Hasan Nizami's Taj-ul-Maasir, 20,000 Hindu prisoners were slaughtered and their heads offered to crows | |||
The 11th to 13th-century period did not witness any systematic attempts at forced conversions of Hindus into Muslims, nor is there evidence of widespread Islamicization in ''al-Hind'' that emerged from the violent conquest. The political power shifted from ]s to Muslim sultans in conquered areas. If some temples were not destroyed in these areas, it did result in a loss to Hindu temple building patronage and an uprooting of Hindu sacred geography.<ref name=Wink294>{{harvnb|Wink|1991|pages=294–295 with footnotes}}</ref> | |||
====Qutb-ud-din Aibak==== | |||
Historical records compiled by Muslim historian Maulana Hakim Saiyid Abdul Hai attest to the iconoclasm of ]. The first mosque built in Delhi, the "]" was built after demolishing the Hindu temple built previously by Prithvi Raj and leaving certain parts of the temple outside the mosque proper <ref name="Hai">Maulana Hakim Saiyid Abdul Hai "Hindustan Islami Ahad Mein" (Hindustan under Islamic rule), Eng Trans by Maulana Abdul Hasan Nadwi</ref>. This pattern of iconoclasm was common during his reign, although an argument goes that such iconoclasm was motivated more by politics than by religion<ref>,''Columbia.edu''</ref>. | |||
====Iltutmish==== | |||
Another ruler of the sultanate, Shams-ud-din ], conquered and subjugated the Hindu pilgrimage site ] in the 11th century and had continued the destruction of Hindu temples and idols that had begun under the first attack in 1194. | |||
The second half of the 13th-century witnessed raids on Hindu kingdoms by Muslim forces controlling the northwest and north India, states Peter Jackson.<ref name=jackson2003p123/> These did not lead to sustained persecution of the Hindus in the targeted kingdoms, because the Muslim armies merely looted the Hindus, took cattle and slaves, then left. The raids caused suffering, yet also rallied the Islamic believers and weakened a Hindu kingdom by weakening its prince's standing among his Hindu subjects.<ref name=jackson2003p123>{{harvnb|Jackson|2003|pp=123–125 with footnotes}}</ref> These raids were into Rajput kingdoms, those in central India, Lakhnawti–Awadh, and in eastern regions such as Bihar.<ref>{{harvnb|Jackson|2003|pp=123–125, 139–145 with footnotes}}</ref> | |||
====Firuz Shah Tughlaq==== | |||
] was the thirdruler of the Tughlaq dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. The "Tarikh-i-Firuz Shah" is a historical record written during his reign that attests to the systematic persecution of Hindus under his rule<ref name="Banerjee"> | |||
{{cite book | |||
| last = Banerjee | |||
| first = Jamini | |||
| authorlink = Jamini Mohan Bannerjee | |||
| title = History of Firuz Shah Tughluq | |||
| publisher = Munshiram Manoharlal | |||
| date = 1967}} | |||
</ref>. In particular, it records atrocities on Hindu Brahmin priests who refused to convert to Islam: | |||
Numerous Islamic texts of that era, states Wink, also describe "forced transfer of enslaved Indian captives (''ghilman-o-jawari, burda, sabaya''), specially women and children" over the 11th-century from Hindustan.<ref name="Wink1991p124"/><ref>{{harvp|Wink|1991|pages=130–135 with footnotes, for specific examples of destruction and plundering in and around what is now Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, eastern Rajasthan, and central India}}</ref> | |||
{{cquote| An order was accordingly given to the Brahman and was brought before Sultan. The true faith was declared to the Brahman and the right course pointed out. but he refused to accept it. A pile was risen on which the Kaffir with his hands and legs tied was thrown into and the wooden tablet on the top. The pile was lit at two places his head and his feet. The fire first reached him in the feet and drew from him a cry and then fire completely enveloped him. Behold Sultan for his strict adherence to law and rectitude<ref name="Banerjee"/>.}} | |||
===Delhi Sultanate (13th–16th century)=== | |||
Under his rule, Hindus who were forced to pay the mandatory ] tax were recorded as infidels, their communities monitored and, if they violated Imperial ordinance and built temples, they were destroyed. In particular, an incident in the village of Gohana in ] was recorded in the "Insha-i-Mahry" (another historical record written by Amud Din Abdullah bin Mahru) where Hindus had erected a deity and were arrested, brought to the palace and executed en-masse<ref name="Banerjee"/>. | |||
The Delhi Sultanate started in the 13th-century and continued through the early 16th-century, when the Mughal conquest replaced it. Jackson states that the Delhi Sultans of this period saw themselves first and foremost as Islamic rulers for the "people of Islam".<ref name=jackson278>{{harvnb|Jackson|2003|pp=278–279 with footnotes}}</ref> They were emphatically not "sultan of the Hindus". The Muslim texts of the Delhi Sultanate era treated Hindus with disdain, remarking "Hindus are never interesting in themselves, but only as converts, as capitation tax payers, or as corpses".<ref name=jackson278/> These medieval Muslim rulers were "protecting and advancing the Islamic faith", with two Muslim texts of this period remarking that the Sultan had a duty "eradicate infidelity and humiliate his Hindu subjects".<ref name=jackson278/> | |||
In 1230, the Hindu King of ] Anangabhima III consolidated his rule and proclaimed that an attack on Orissa constituted an attack on the king's god. A sign of Anangabhima's determination to protect Hindu culture is the fact that he named is new capital in Cuttack “Abhinava Varanasi.” His anxieties about further Muslim advances in Orissa proved to be well founded. In 1361, the Indian region of ] was conquered by the Delhi Sultan ] and he destroyed the ] temple and the stone deity of ], but the indigenous wooden image of the deity was saved. | |||
According to Jackson, some of the conquered Hindu subjects of the Delhi Sultanate served these Sultans were "doubtless usually slaves". These Hindus built the mosques of this era as well as developed the Indo-Islamic architecture, some served the court in roles such as treasurers, clerks, minting of new coins, and others. These Hindus were not persecuted, instead some were rewarded with immunities and tax exemptions.<ref name=jackson279>{{harvnb|Jackson|2003|pp=279–281 with footnotes}}</ref> Additionally, captured Hindu slaves were added as infantry troops in the Sultanate's army for their campaign against other Hindu kingdoms.<ref name=jackson279/> Some Sultans adopted Indian customs such as ceremonial riding of elephants by kings, thus facilitating the public perception of the new monarch. This suggest that the Sultans cultivated some Hindus to serve their aims, rather than indiscriminately persecute every Hindu.<ref name=jackson279/> | |||
=== Vijayanagara=== | |||
{{main|Vijayanagara}} | |||
The city flourished between the 14th century and 16th century, during the height of the Vijayanagar Empire. During this time, it was often in conflict with the kingdoms which rose in the Northern ], and which are often collectively termed the ]. The period saw brutalities from both sides. In 1366, Bukka I captured the Muslim region of Mudkal and slaughtered all but one inhabitant. The lone survivor of this carnage is supposed to have taken the news to Mohammad Shah, the Sultan of the ] sultanate. In response the sultan ravaged the Hindus <ref>Lonely Planet INDIA, 2005</ref>. In 1565, the empire's armies suffered a massive and catastrophic defeat at by an alliance of the Sultanates, and the capital was taken. The victorious armies then razed, depopulated and destroyed the city over several months. The empire continued in slow decline, but the original capital was not reoccupied or rebuilt. | |||
In general, Hindu subjects of Delhi Sultanate were generally accepted as people with ''dhimmi'' status, not equal to Muslims, but "protected", subject to Jizya tax and with a list of restrictions.<ref>{{harvnb|Jackson|2003|pp=282–284 with footnotes}}</ref> Early Sultans of the Delhi Sultanate exempted the Brahmins from having to pay Jizya, thus dividing the Hindus and placing the discriminatory tax burden entirely on the non-Brahmin strata of the Hindu society. Firuz Shah was the first to impose the Jizya on Brahmins, and wrote in his autobiography that countless Hindus converted to Islam when he issued the edict that conversion would release them of the requirement to pay Jizya.<ref name=jackson286>{{harvnb|Jackson|2003|pp=285–287 with footnotes}}</ref> This discrimination against Hindus was in force in the latter half of the 14th-century, though Jackson finds it difficult to establish if and how this was enforced outside of the major centers under Muslim control.<ref name=jackson286/> | |||
===In the Mughal empire=== | |||
The ] was marked by periods of tolerance of non-Muslims, such as Hindus, Christians and Sikhs, as well as violent oppression and persecution of those people.<ref name="Aurangzeb"> ''Aurangzeb profile''</ref> The reign of ] was particularly brutal. No aspect of Aurangzeb's reign is more cited - or more controversial - than the numerous desecrations and destruction of Hindu temples.<ref name="Aurangzeb"/> Aurangzeb banned Diwali, placed a ''jizya'' (tax) on non-Muslims and executed the tenth Sikh guru, ].<ref name="Aurangzeb"/> | |||
The Muslim commanders of Delhi Sultanate regularly raided Hindu kingdoms for plunder, mulct their treasuries and looted the Hindu temples therein, states Jackson.<ref>{{harvnb|Jackson|2003|pp=208–210 with footnotes}}</ref> These conquests of Delhi Sultanate armies damaged or destroyed many Hindu temples. In a few instances, after the war, the Sultans let the Hindus repair and reconstruct their temples. Such instances, states Jackson, has been cited by the Indian scholar P.B. Desai as evidence of "striking degree of tolerance" by Muslim Sultans. But, this happened in frontier areas after they had recently been conquered and placed in direct Muslim rule, where the Sultan's authority was "highly precarious".<ref name=jackson287>{{harvnb|Jackson|2003|pp=287–288 with footnotes}}</ref> Within regions that was already under firm control of the Delhi Sultanate, the direct evidence of this is meagre. One example referred to is of a claimed request from the king of China to build a temple in India, as recorded by Ibn Battuta. Jackson states that it is questionable and has no corroborating evidence. Similar few examples near Delhi, such as one for Sri Krishna Bhagwan temple, cannot be verified whether they were ever built either.<ref name=jackson287/> | |||
During his reign, tens of thousands of temples were desecrated: facades and interiors were defaced and their murtis (divine images) looted.<ref name="Aurangzeb"/> In many cases, temples were destroyed entirely; in numerous instances mosques were built on their foundations, sometimes using the same stones. Among the temples Aurangzeb destroyed were two most sacred to Hindus, in ] and ].<ref name="Mughaltemples"> ''Destruction of Hindu Temples by Aurangzeb</ref> In both cases, he had large mosques built on the sites.<ref name="Aurangzeb"/> | |||
Some modern era Indian texts mention that Hindu and Jain temples of Delhi Sultanate era received endowments from Muslim authorities, presenting these as evidence of lack of persecution during this period. It is "not beyond the bounds of possibility" that in some instances this happened.<ref name=jackson288/> But generally, the texts and even the memoirs written by the some Sultans themselves describe how they "set about destroying new temples and replacing them with mosques", and in one case depopulated a town of Hindus and resettled Muslims there. Jackson clarifies that the evidence suggests that the destroyed temples were "new temples", and not the old one's near Delhi whose devotees were already paying regular Jizya to the Sultan's treasuries.<ref name=jackson288>{{harvnb|Jackson|2003|pp=288–289 with footnotes}}</ref> In some cases, the policies on destroying or letting Hindus worship in their old temples changed as Sultans changed.<ref name=jackson288/> | |||
The ] temple in ], marked the place Hindus believe was the birth place of Shri ].<ref name="Mughaltemples"/> In 1661 Aurangzeb ordered the demolition of the temple, and constructed the Katra Masjid mosque. Traces of the ancient Hindu temple can be seen from the back of the mosque. Aurangzeb also destroyed what was the most famous temple in ]- the ].<ref name="Mughaltemples"/> The temple had changed location over the years, but in 1585 ] had authorized its location at Gyan Vapi. Aurangzeb ordered its demolition in 1669 and constructed a mosque on the site, whose minarets stand 71 metres above the Ganges. Traces of the old temple can be seen behind the mosque. Centuries later, emotional debate about these wanton acts of cultural desecration continue. ] also destroyed the ] temple in 1706.<ref name="Mughaltemples"/> | |||
The Muslim nobles and advisors of the Sultans championed persecution of Hindus. Jackson shows how the Muslim texts of that era frequently mention themes such as the Hindu "infidels must on no account be allowed to live in ease and affluence", they should not be treated as "Peoples of the Book" and the Sultan should "at least refrain from treating Hindus with honour or permitting idolatry in the capital".<ref name=jackson290/><ref>{{harvnb|Aquil|2008|pp=177–181}}</ref> Failure to slaughter the Hindus has led to polytheism taking root. Another ''wazir'' while theoretically agreeing to these view, stated that this would not be practical given the small population of Muslims and such a policy should be deferred until Muslims were in a stronger position. If eradication of Hindus is not possible, suggested another Muslim official, then the Hindus should at least be insulted, disgraced and dishonored.<ref name=jackson290/> These views were not exceptions, rather consistent with Islamic thinking of that era and are "commonly encountered in polemical writing against the infidel in different parts of the Islamic world at different times", states Jackson.<ref name=jackson290>{{harvnb|Jackson|2003|pp=290–291, 293–295 with footnotes}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Aquil|2008|pp=168–171, 177–179, 181–189}}</ref> This antagonism towards Hindus may have other general reasons, such as the fear of apostasy given the tendency of everyday Muslims to join in with Hindus as they celebrated their religious festivals. Further, the succession struggle after the death of a Sultan usually led to political maneuvering by the next Sultan, where depending on the circumstances, the victor championed either the orthodox segment of the Islamic clergy and jurists, or gave concessions to the Hindus and other groups for support when the Sultanate facing a military threat from outside.<ref name=jackson290/> | |||
The Mughals also destroyed the ] in ], at the birthplace of the Hindu deity Rama. On top of it, they built the ], which has since been a source of tensiosn between the Hindu and Muslim communities. | |||
=== |
=== Madurai Sultanate === | ||
The Hindu minority in ] have also been historically persecuted by Muslim rulers.<ref> {{cite book |last=Firishta |first= Muhammad Qãsim Hindû Shãh |authorlink= |coauthors=John Briggs (translator) |title= Tãrîkh-i-Firishta (History of the Rise of the Mahomedan Power in India)|year=1829- 1981 Reprint |location=New Delhi }} </ref> While Hindus and Muslims lived in harmony for certain periods of time (primarily with the ] Muslims), several Muslim rulers of Kashmir were intolerant to other religions. Sultãn ] of Kashmir (AD 1389-1413) is often considered the worst of these. Historians have recorded many of his atrocities. The Tarikh-i-Firishta records that Sikandar persecuted the Hindus and issued orders proscribing the residence of any other than Muslims in Kashmir. He also ordered the breaking of all "golden and silver images". The Tarikh-i-Firishta further states: "Many of the Brahmins, rather than abandon their religion or their country, poisoned themselves; some emigrated from their native homes, while a few escaped the evil of banishment by becoming Mahomedans. After the emigration of the Bramins, Sikundur ordered all the temples in Kashmeer to be thrown down......Having broken all the images in Kashmeer, (Sikandar) acquired the title of ‘Destroyer of Idols’".<ref>{{cite book |last=Firishta |first= Muhammad Qãsim Hindû Shãh |authorlink= |coauthors=John Briggs (translator) |title= Tãrîkh-i-Firishta (History of the Rise of the Mahomedan Power in India)|year=1829- 1981 Reprint |location=New Delhi }}</ref> | |||
The army of Ala al-Din Khalji from Delhi Sultanate began their first campaign in 1310 against the Hindu kingdom in Madurai region – called Ma'bar by court historians, under the pretext of helping Sundar Pandya. According to Mehrdad Shokoohy – a scholar of Islamic studies and architectural history in Central and South Asia – this campaign lasted for a year during which Madurai and other Tamil region cities were overrun by the Muslims, the Hindu temples were demolished and the towns looted.<ref name= Shokoohy33/> A detailed record about the campaign by Amir Khusrau the destruction and plunder.<ref name= Shokoohy33>{{harvnb|Shokoohy|1991|pp=33–34 with footnotes}}</ref> | |||
==During European rule in the Indian subcontinent== | |||
The ], was established in 1560 by Portuguese missionaries. It was aimed primarily at Hindus and wayward new converts and by the time it was suppressed in 1774, the inquisition had had thousands of Hindus tortured and executed by burning. The ] engaged in a covert and well-financed campaign of ] conversions in the 19th century. While officially discouraged conversions, officers of the Company routinely converted Sepoys to Christianity, often by force. This was one of the factors that led to the ].<ref> | |||
{{cite book | |||
| last = Stokes | |||
| first = Eric | |||
| authorlink = Eric Stokes | |||
| title = The First Century of British Colonial Rule in India: Social Revolution or Social Stagnation?” ''Past and Present'' | |||
| date = 1973 | |||
}} | |||
</ref> | |||
A second destructive campaign was launched by Mubarak Shah, Ala al-Din Khalji's successor. While the looted wealth was sent to Delhi, a Muslim governor was appointed for the region.<ref name= Shokoohy33/> The governor later rebelled, founded the short lived Madurai Sultanate and renamed himself as Sultan Ahsan Shah in 1334. The successive sultans of the new Sultanate did not have the support of the regional Hindu population. The Madurai Sultanate's army, states Shokoohy, "often exercised fierce and brutal repressive methods on the local people".<ref name= Shokoohy34/> The Sultanate faced constant battles with neighboring Hindu states and assassination by its own nobles. Sultan Sikandar Shah was the last sultan. He was killed by the invading forces of Vijayanagara Empire army in 1377.<ref name= Shokoohy34>{{harvnb|Shokoohy|1991|pp=34–35 with footnotes}}</ref> | |||
==Persecution of Dalits== | |||
{{main|Dalit|Indian Caste System}} | |||
], formerly known as "untouchables", include the members of Hindu society who are not included in the "caste system" as having a ]. Many Dalits have converted from Hinduism to Christianity. <ref>http://www.dalitchristians.com/Html/Discrimination.htm DalitChristians.com</ref> <ref>http://www.dalitchristians.com/Html/Discrimination.htm DalitChristians.com</ref> Others, however, have converted back to ] from ] after it was alleged that Christians gave the Dalits "neither financial security nor social status".<ref>,''The Tribune''</ref>.Others enjoy a new era of leadership and university ]s in attempts by ] organizations and political parties to build a stronger Hindu community by ridding Hinduism of the caste system.<ref>http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1797864.cms</ref> | |||
The Muslim literature of this period record the motive of the Madurai Sultans. For example, Sultan Shams al-Din Adil Shah's general is described as leaving for "holy war against the infidels and taking from them great wealth and a vast amount of booty".<ref name= Shokoohy44/> Another record states, "he engaged in a holy war (ghaza) and killed a great number of infidels".<ref name= Shokoohy44>{{harvnb|Shokoohy|1991|pp=44–45 with footnotes}}</ref> Madurai region has several Islamic shrines with tombs built during this period, such as one for Ala al-Din and Shams al-Din. In this shrine, the inner columns are irregular and vary in form showing evidence of "reused material". The "destruction of temples and the re-use of their materials", states Shokoohy, was a "practice of the early Sultanates of North India, and we may assume that this tradition was brought to the south by the sultans of Ma'bar".<ref>{{harvnb|Shokoohy|1991|pp=46–47 with footnotes}}</ref> | |||
Under the 2,500 year old caste system, Dalits were considered as the lowest or outside the system. They were assigned the most menial of jobs, and enjoyed none of the rights that higher-caste Hindus did. They were not allowed to enter toilets, share water or food, or even so much as to touch or let their shadow fall over a higher-caste Hindu. <ref>http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/south/03/12/india.caste/index.html CNN- Woman Burnt To Death in Rape Row</ref> In general, the sons of Dalits also took up these same tasks and in this way the entire Dalit community were relegated in Hindu society and persecuted by some Hindus. The caste system is now formally banned by the Indian government, and acts of violence against Dalits are considered crimes. Dalits are presented with ] which allow them to achieve better paying jobs without as much hard work as the higher castes. They are now encouraged to take on roles of leadership in Hindu society.<ref>http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1797864.cms</ref> | |||
Indologist Crispin Branfoot said that the Madurai Sultanate "sacked and desecrated Hindu temples throughout the Tamil country", and these were restored and reconsecrated for worship by the Vijayanagara rulers.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Branfoot |first1=Crispin |year=2003 |title=The Madurai Nayakas and the Skanda Temple at Tirupparankundram |journal=Ars Orientalis |volume=33 |pages=156–157 |jstor=4434276}}</ref> | |||
===Mughal Empire{{anchor|In the Mughal empire}}=== | |||
Discrimination against Dalits has all but disappeared in the urban public sphere, though prejudices remain in the private sphere<ref name "Mendelsohn">Mendelsohn, Oliver & Vicziany, Maria, "The Untouchables,Subordination, Poverty and the State in Modern India", Cambridge University Press, 1998</ref>. | |||
However some incidents of violence do still occur, especially in rural regions, that Dalits are still subject to some persecution. In the Indian province of Rajasthan alone for instance, between the years 1999 and 2002, crimes against Dalits average at about 5024 a year, with 46 killings and 138 cases of rape.<ref>http://www.indiatogether.org/dalit/articles/bidwai1002.htm</ref><ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6050408.stm</ref> Dalits were targeted by Muslim rioters in the ], many being burnt alive.<ref name="Dalit Human Rights"> by Prof. Suvarna Raval.''Dalithumenrights.com'' archive of ''Mumbai Tarun Bharat''</ref><ref name="Cache"></ref><ref>,''Indian Express''</ref>. | |||
====Akbar==== | |||
==Contemporary persecution== | |||
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2024}} | |||
The Mughal emperor Akbar has been a celebrated unusual example of tolerance. Indologist ] writes that from Akbar's time to today, he has attracted conflicting labels, "from a strict Muslim to an apostate, from a free-thinker to a crypto-Hindu, from a Zoroastrian to a proto-Christian, from an atheist to a radical innovator". As a youth, states Eaton, Akbar studied Islam under both Shia and Sunni tutors, but as an adult he looked back with regret on his early life, confessing that in those days he had "persecuted men into conformity with my faith and deemed it Islam". In his later years he felt "an internal bitterness, acknowledging that his soul had been 'seized with exceeding sorrow{{'"}} for what he had done before launching his campaign to "treat all Mughal subjects, regardless of religion, on a basis of legal equality before the state".<ref name="Eaton2019">{{cite book |last1=Eaton |first1=Richard Maxwell |author-link=Richard M. Eaton |title=India in the Persianate Age, 1000-1765 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aIF6DwAAQBAJ |year=2019 |publisher=Penguin Books |page=233 |isbn=978-0-520-97423-4}}</ref> | |||
====Aurangzeb==== | |||
While the vast majority of Hindus live in Hindu-majority areas of India, Hindus in other parts of South Asia and in diaspora have sometimes faced persecution. The ]'s ''Hindus in South Asia and the Diaspora: A Survey of Human Rights 2005'' report surveyed the status of human rights for Hindus in ], ], ], ], and the Indian state of ].<ref>{{cite news | title = Hindus in South Asia and the Diaspora: A Survey of Human Rights 2005- Executive Summary| url = http://www.hinduamericanfoundation.org/campaigns_human_rights_hhr2005_executive_summary.htm | publisher = ]| accessdate =2006-08-26 }}</ref> The report was based on media coverage, reports from human rights organizations, and firsthand accounts related to human rights violations perpetrated against Hindus because of their religious identity. | |||
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2024}} | |||
] (1658-1707) is a controversial figure in modern India, often remembered as a "vile oppressor of Hindus".<ref>{{harvnb|Truschke|2017|pp=2–9}}</ref> During his rule Aurangzeb expanded the Mughal Empire, conquering much of southern India through long bloody campaigns against non-Muslims. He forcibly converted Hindus to Islam and destroyed Hindu temples.<ref>{{harvnb|Ayalon|1986|p=271}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aurangzeb.info |title=Aurangzeb, as he was according to Mughal Records |website=FACT |publisher=] |access-date=15 May 2017}} More links at the bottom of that page. For a record of major Hindu temple destruction campaigns, from 1193 to 1729 CE, see {{cite journal |last=Eaton |first=Richard |year=2000 |title=Temple Desecration and Indo-Muslim States |journal=Journal of Islamic Studies |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=283–319 |jstor=26198197 |doi=10.1093/jis/11.3.283}}</ref> He also re-introduced the '']'', a tax on non-Muslims,<ref>{{harvnb|Smith|1919|p=438}}</ref> which had been suspended for the previous 100 years by his great-grandfather ].<ref>{{harvnb|Truschke|2017|p=79}}</ref> | |||
===In the Indian subcontinent=== | |||
Aurangzeb ordered the desecration and destruction of temples when conquering new lands and putting down rebellions, punishing political leaders by destroying the temples that symbolized their power.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Eaton |first=Richard |year=2000 |title=Temple Desecration and Indo-Muslim States |journal=Journal of Islamic Studies |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=283–319 |jstor=26198197 |doi=10.1093/jis/11.3.283}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Talbot |first=Cynthia |year=1995 |title=Inscribing the other, inscribing the self: Hindu-Muslim identities in pre-colonial India |journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=692–722 |jstor=179206 |doi=10.1017/S0010417500019927 |s2cid=111385524}}</ref> In 1669 he issued orders to all his governors of provinces to "destroy with a willing hand the schools and temples of the infidels, and that they were strictly enjoined to put an entire stop to the teaching and practice of idolatrous forms of worship".<ref name=smith437>{{harvnb|Smith|1919|p=437}}</ref> According to Eaton these orders appear to have been directed not toward Hindu temples in general, but towards a more narrowly defined "deviant group".<ref>{{Cite news |first=Richard M. |last=Eaton |url=http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl1726/17260700.pdf |title=Temple Desecration and Indo-Muslim States |year=2000 |work=] |pages=73–75 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106040012/http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl1726/17260700.pdf |archive-date=6 January 2014}}</ref> The number of Hindu temples destroyed or desecrated under Aurangzeb's rule is unclear and subject to scholarly debate.{{refn|group=note|Number of temples destroyed:<br />* {{harvtxt|Avari|2013|p=115}} citing a 2000 study, writes "Aurangzeb was perhaps no more culpable than most of the Sultans before him; they desecrated the temples associated with Hindu power, not all temples. It is worth noting that, in contrast to the traditional claim of hundreds of Hindu temples having been destroyed by Aurangzeb, a recent study suggests a modest figure of just fifteen destructions."<br />* {{harvtxt|Truschke|2017|p=85}}: "Nobody knows the exact number of temples demolished or pillaged on Aurangzeb's orders, and we never will. Richard Eaton, the leading authority on the subject, puts the number of confirmed temple destructions during Aurangzeb's rule at just over a dozen, with fewer tied to the emperor's direct commands. Other scholars have pointed out additional temple demolitions not counted by Eaton, such as two orders to destroy the Somanatha Temple in 1659 and 1706 (the existence of a second order suggests that the first was never carried out). Aurangzeb also oversaw temple desecrations. For example, in 1645 he ordered mihrabs (prayer niches, typically located in mosques) erected in Ahmedabad's Chintamani Parshvanath Temple, built by the Jain merchant Shantidas. Even adding in such events, however, to quote Eaton, "the evidence is almost always fragmentary, incomplete, or even contradictory". Given this, there were probably more temples destroyed under Aurangzeb than we can confirm (perhaps a few dozen in total?), but here we run into a dark curtain drawn across an unknown past."<br />In contrast, the historian Abraham Eraly estimates Aurangzeb era destruction to be significantly higher; "in 1670, all temples around ] were destroyed"; and later, "300 temples were destroyed in and around Chitor, ] and ]" among other Hindu temples destroyed elsewhere in campaigns through 1705.<ref>{{cite book |last=Eraly |first=Abraham |author-link=Abraham Eraly |year=2000 |title=Emperors of the Peacock Throne: The Saga of the Great Mughals |url=https://archive.org/details/emperorspeacockt00eral |url-access=limited |publisher=Penguin Books |pages=–399 |isbn=978-0141001432}}</ref>}} Some suggest he may have built more temples than he destroyed.{{Citation needed|reason=Request to quote the book that has been linked, perhaps as a note|date=June 2024}}<ref name="Copland2013">{{cite book |author1=Ian Copland |title=A History of State and Religion in India |author2=Ian Mabbett |author3=Asim Roy |author4=Kate Brittlebank |author5=Adam Bowles |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-136-45950-4 |page=119}}</ref> According to Ikram, "Aurangzeb tried to enforce strict Islamic law by ordering the destruction of newly built Hindu temples. Later, the procedure was adopted of closing down rather than destroying the newly built temples in Hindu localities. It is also true that very often the orders of destruction remained a dead letter."<ref>{{harvnb|Ikram|1964|pp=198–199}}</ref> Some temples were destroyed entirely; in other cases mosques were built on their foundations, sometimes using the same stones. Idols in temples were smashed, and the city of Mathura was temporarily renamed as Islamabad in local official documents.<ref name=smith437/><ref>{{cite book |last=Braudel |first=Fernand |author-link=Fernand Braudel |year=1994 |title=A History of Civilizations |others=translated by Richard Mayne |publisher=Penguin Books/Allen Lane |pages= |isbn=978-0-713-99022-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofciviliz00brau/page/232}}</ref> | |||
Hindus, like Muslims, Sikhs, and members of other religious groups, experienced severe dislocation and violence during the massive ] associated with the ], as members of various communities moved to what they hoped was the relative safety of an area where they would be a religious majority. Hindus were among the between 200,000 and a million who died during the rioting and other violence associated with the partition.<ref></ref>. | |||
The persecution during the Islamic period targeted non-Hindus as well.{{refn|group=note|Avari writes, "Aurangzeb's religious policy caused friction between him and the ninth ] guru, Tegh Bahadur. In both ] and Kashmir the ] leader was roused to action by Aurangzeb's excessively zealous Islamic policies. Seized and taken to Delhi, he was called upon by ] to embrace ] and, on refusal, was tortured for five days and then beheaded in November 1675. Two of the ten Sikh gurus thus died as martyrs at the hands of the ].<ref>{{harvnb|Avari|2013|p=115}}</ref>}} In some cases, such as towards the end of Mughal era, the violence and persecution was mutual. Hindus too attacked and damaged Muslim tombs, even when the troops had orders not to harm religious refuges of Muslims. These "few examples of disrespect for Islamic sites", states Indologist Nicholas Gier, "pale in comparison to the great destruction of temples and general persecution of Hindus by Muslims for 500 years".<ref name="Gier2014p18">{{harvnb|Gier|2014|pp=17–18}}</ref> Sources document brutal episodes of persecution. Sikh texts, for example, document their "Guru Teg Bahadur accompanying sixteen Hindu Brahmins on a quest to stop Mughal persecution of Hindus; they were arrested and commanded to convert to Islam on pain of torture and death", states Gier, "they all refused, and in November 1675, Mati Das was sawed in half, Dayal Das was boiled alive, Sati Das was burned alive, and Teg Bahadar was beheaded."<ref>{{harvnb|Gier|2014|pp=19–21}}</ref> | |||
====India==== | |||
=====Jammu and Kashmir===== | |||
According to Deepa Ollapally, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb was clearly discriminatory towards Hindu and all other non-Muslims, displaying an "unprecedented level of religious bigotry", but perhaps this was a consequence of the opposition he faced from a number of his family members.<ref>{{harvnb|Ollapally|2008|p=29}}</ref> During the medieval span, she states, "episodes of direct religious persecution of Hindus were rare", as were communal riots between Hindus and Muslims.<ref>{{harvnb|Ollapally|2008|p=31}}</ref> | |||
Indian authorities have alleged that Pakistan has been covertly and financing Islamic ]. Islamic terrorists have routinely engaged in attacks on Hindu pilgrims in both Kashmir and neighboring ]. Kashmiri militants have consistently persecuted Hindus in the region, as well as moderate Muslims suspected of siding with the India. ] Hindus, who have been residents of ] for centuries, have been ethnically cleansed from Kashmir by Islamic militants.<ref>{{cite news | title =Atrocities on Kashmiri Hindus by Pakistan-Trained Terrorists | url =http://www.kashmiri-pandit.org/atrocities/index.html | accessdate =2006-08-26 }}</ref><ref> {{cite web|url=http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/kpsgill/2003/chapter9.htm |title=The Kashmiri Pandits: An Ethnic Cleansing the World Forgot |accessdate=2006-08-26 |last=Gill |first=Kanwar Pal Singh|authorlink=Kanwar Pal Singh Gill |publisher=South Asian Terrorism Portal}}</ref>. In particular, the ] in ] was an incident in which 24 Kashmiri Hindus were gunned down by ]s disguised as Indian soldiers. Many Kashmiri Hindus have been killed and thousands of children orphaned over the course of the conflict in Kashmir. | |||
Authorities on pre-Modern India, like Eaton, claim that even though Aurangzeb destroyed temples, available records show it was a little more than a dozen and not thousands, as has been widely believed, and that this was done for political, not religious reasons. The emperor also extended safety and security to people from all religions.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Sheikh |last=Saaliq |title=How India’s Hindu nationalists are using a long-dead emperor for anti-Muslim politics|work=]|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/how-indias-hindu-nationalists-are-using-a-long-dead-emperor-for-anti-muslim-politics|date=June 3, 2022|access-date=10 December 2024}}</ref> | |||
=====Northeast India===== | |||
===Historiography and distortion=== | |||
In recent years, large parts of Northeastern India have become Christianized owing to the fervent activities of missionaries. In these states, especially ] Hindus are not able to celebrate ] and other essential festivals due to harassment and killing by Christian Terrorist groups. In Tripura, the ] has targeted Swamis and temples for attacks. The ] Church of Tripura is alleged to have supplied NLFT with arms and financial support and encouraged the murder of Hindus, particularly infants.<ref> {{cite news | first =Subhir | last =Bhaumik |title = 'Church backing Tripura rebels'| url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/717775.stm | publisher =] |accessdate =2006-08-26 }}</ref> A conventional tactic of the terrorists is to torch houses of Hindus with the residents still in it. They have been known to raid Hindu sanctuaries and shoot all the members.<ref>{{cite news | first = Knapp| last = Stephen| title = Thirteen years of killings| url =http://www.stephen-knapp.com/thirteen_years_of_killings_in_tripura.htm |accessdate =2006-08-26 }}</ref> | |||
According to Nicholas Gier, there were harmonious Hindu-Muslim relations in most Indian communities,<ref name="Gier2014_p9">{{harvnb|Gier|2014|p=9}}: 'Quite apart from Akbar, most Indian medieval communities experienced harmonious relations, as Stuart Gordon explains: "No Muslim or Hindu enclaves were seized; populations were not expelled on the basis of religion. No prince publicly committed himself and all of his resources to the annihilation of the Other. Both Hindus and Muslims were routinely and without comment recruited into all the armies of the period."'</ref> and the Indian population grew during the medieval Muslim times. No populations were expelled based on their religion by either the Muslim or Hindu kings, nor were attempts made to annihilate a specific religion.<ref name="Gier2014_p9" /> | |||
{{see also|Hinduism in India}} | |||
According to ], with the onset of Muslim rule all Indians, higher and lower caste were lumped together in the category of "Hindus". While higher-caste Indians regarded lower castes to be impure, they were now regarded as belonging to a similar category, which partly explains the belief among many higher caste Indians ".. belief among many upper caste Hindus today that Hinduism in the last one thousand years has been through the most severe persecution that any religion in the world has ever undergone." Thapar further notes that "The need to exaggerate the persecution at the hands of the Muslim is required to justify the inculcation of anti-Muslim sentiments among the Hindus of today."<ref name="Thapar2021">{{Cite web |date=2018-02-21 |title=Syndicated hinduism |url=https://indianculturalforum.in/2018/02/21/syndicated-hinduism-romila-thapar/ |access-date=2021-03-05 |website=Indian Cultural Forum |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
=====West Bengal===== | |||
{{main|Morichjhanpi}} | |||
The ] communist party government of the state of ] executed a brutal massacre of low-caste Hindus in ] in 1978. The ] massacre was perpetrated by the communist government on poor ] Hindu refugees who were ethnically cleansed from Muslim-majority ]/] during the ]. They were migrating from other states in India where they had settled as refugees after the ]. The attempt was seen by the communists as an "aggressive encroachment" so they manufactured allegations of "violating the forest act" and used it as a pretext to harass the refugees.The Morichjhanpi incident refers to the actions throughout 1979 when thousands of settler families were brutally evicted from the island. The incident resulted, directly or indirectly, in hundreds of deaths, including 36 refugees killed in police firings on January 31, 1979. In spite of a pathetic fightback by some of the islanders, several thousand settlers were eventually removed over the course of the year. | |||
Thapar states that the belief in a severe persecution in the last millennium brushes away the "various expressions of religious persecution in India prior to the coming of the Muslims and particularly between the Śaiva and the Buddhist and Jaina sects". She questions what persecution means, and if it means religious conversions, she doubts that conversions can be interpreted as forms of persecution. According to Thapar, it is quite correct to mention that Muslim iconoclasts destroyed temples and the broke images of Hindus but it should also be mentioned that Muslim rulers made donations to Hindu sects during their rule.<ref name="Thapar2021" /> | |||
====Bangladesh==== | |||
As part of the scholarly debate on Indian historiography, many have criticized ] for using ] to whitewash some of the atrocities committed by Muslim rulers.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India|quote=Marxists who always try to cover up the black spots of Muslim rule with thick coats of whitewash|first=Kishori Saran|last=Lal|publisher=Aditya Prakashan|page=67}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Indian Politics, Then and Now: Essays in Historical Perspective|first=K|last=Seshadri|publisher=Pragatee Prakashan|page=5|quote=certain attempts made by some ultra-Marxist historians to justify and even whitewash tyrannical emperors of the medieval India}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Studies in World Affairs, Volume 1|first=KR|last=Gupta|year=2006|publisher=Atlantic Publisher|page=249|isbn=9788126904952|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hw9uf7sRKtIC&pg=PA249}}</ref>{{sfn|Wink|1991|p=309}} ] criticized Marxists, as he deemed them to be unaware or ignorant of the specifics of caste issues.<ref>Padovani, Florence. Development-Induced Displacement in India and China: A Comparative Look at the Burdens of Growth. Rowman & Littlefield. Bhimrao Ambedkar himself, who criticized Indian Marxists</ref><ref>Jadhav, Narendra (1991). "Neglected Economic Thought of Babasaheb Ambedkar". Economic and Political Weekly. 26 (15): 980–982. ISSN 0012-9976. JSTOR 4397927.</ref> | |||
The HAF report documents the long history of ] atrocities in Bangladesh, a topic that many Indians and Indian governments over the years have preferred not to acknowledge. Such atrocities, including targeted attacks against temples, open theft of Hindu property, and ] of young Hindu women and enticements to ] to ], have increased sharply in recent years after the ] joined the coalition government led by the ]. | |||
The Hindutva approach to historiography has been accused of ] history, by minimizing or outright excluding the contributions Muslim rulers to Indian society, with the ] (BJP) being accused of saffronising school textbooks that they deemed to have overt Marxist or ] political overtones.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Bhattacharya|first=Neeladri|date=2009|title=Teaching History in Schools: The Politics of Textbooks in India|journal=History Workshop Journal|volume=67|issue=67|pages=99–110|doi=10.1093/hwj/dbn050|jstor=40646212|s2cid=154421051}}</ref> ] has been criticized for being inducted as a historian despite being trained as a sociologist in service of saffronisation.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Clash Within : Democracy, Religious Violence, and India's Future.|last=Nussbaum|first=Martha Craven|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=2007|isbn=9780674030596|oclc=1006798430}}</ref> Her ''Medieval India'' was criticized as being a monoscopic clash-of-civilizations narrative between the forces of good (Hindus) and evil (Muslims), and as having portrayed the exactions of the ] rulers and the ] as anti-Hindu acts, with all of their contributions to the social, cultural and political ignored.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sundar|first=Nandini|date=2004|title=Teaching to Hate: RSS' Pedagogical Programme|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=39|issue=16|pages=1605–1612|issn=0012-9976|jstor=4414900|doi=10.1057/9781403980137_9}}</ref> Journalist ], who is an advocate of Hindutva, has framed the Muslim violence against Hindu expressions of faith as a "Hindu Holocaust".<ref>Angana P. Chatterji (2009), ''Violent Gods: Hindu Nationalism in India's Present : Narratives from Orissa'', p.43: "In 2003, the idea of a ' Hindu Holocaust Museum ' was proposed by French journalist and Hindutva - ally, François Gautier."</ref> | |||
Bangladesh has had a troublesome history of persecution of Hindus as well. A US-based human rights organisation, Refugees International, has claimed that religious minorities, especially Hindus, still face discrimination in Bangladesh.<ref>{{cite news| title =Discrimination against Bangladeshi Hindus: Refugees International | url =http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/aug/09bang.htm | publisher =] | date =August 09, 2003 13:19 IST | accessdate =2006-08-26}}</ref> | |||
The government of Bangladesh, a nationalist party openly calls for ‘Talibanisation’ of the state.<ref name="Karlekar"> | |||
Bangladesh: The Next Afghanistan? by Hiranmay Karlekar. New Delhi: Sage, January 2006. ISBN 0-7619-3401-4</ref><ref>{{cite web| title = The 'Talibanization' of Bangladesh | url = http://www.thenation.com/doc/20020527/baldwin20020517 | publisher = The Nation | date =May 18, 2002 13:19 IST | accessdate =2007-01-28}}</ref> | |||
<ref>{{cite web| title = The Talibanization of Bangladesh| url = http://www.metransparent.com/texts/abdullah_elmadani/abdullah_elmadani_talibanization_of_bengladesh_english.htm | publisher = metransparent.com | date =August 09, 2003 13:19 IST | accessdate =2007-01-28}}</ref>However, the prospect of actually "Talibanizing" the state is regarded as a remote possibility, since Bangladeshi Islamic society is generally more progressive than the extremist ] of Afghanistan. Political scholars conclude that while the Islamization of Bangladesh is real, the country is not on the brink of being Talibanized<ref name="Karlekar"/>.In 1971 at the time of the liberation of Bangladesh from East Pakistan, the Hindu population accounted for 15% of the total population. Thirty years on, it is now estimated at just 7%.<ref> {{cite web|url=http://www.hinduhumanrights.org/Bangladesh/bnpandbangladesh.htm |title=Hindus in Bangladesh |accessdate=2006-08-26 }} </ref> The ‘Vested Property Act’ previously named the ‘Enemy Property Act’ has seen up to 40% of Hindu land snatched away forcibly. Since this government has come into power, of all the rape crimes registered in Bangladesh, 98% have been registered by Hindu women. Hindu temples in Bangladesh have also been vandalised <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hinduhumanrights.org/temples/temples.html|title=Hindu temples|accessdate=2006-08-26 }}</ref><ref> {{cite paper | |||
| author = Frank Pallone | |||
| title = Persecution Of Hindus In Bangladesh (article mirrored from the US Library of Congress) | |||
| date = 2004-05-17 | |||
| url = http://www.hvk.org/articles/0504/110.html | |||
| accessdate = 2006-08-26 | |||
}}</ref>. The United States Congressional Caucus on India has condemned these atrocities.<ref>{{cite news| title =Congressman Pallone Condemns Persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh Following Meetings with Hindu American Foundation | url =http://www.hinduamericanfoundation.org/media_press_release_pallone-bangladesh.htm | publisher = ]| date =2004-05-20| accessdate =2006-08-26 }}</ref> | |||
==European colonial rule== | |||
Bangladeshi feminist ]'s 1993 novel '']'' deals with the anti-Hindu riots and anti-secular sentiment in Bangladesh in the wake of the destruction of the ] in India. The book was banned in Bangladesh, and helped draw international attention to the situation of the Bangladeshi Hindu minority. | |||
===Portuguese Goa=== | |||
On October 2006, the United States Commission on International Religion Freedom published a report titled 'Policy Focus on Bangladesh', said that since its last election, 'Bangladesh has experienced growing violence by religious extremists, intensifying concerns expressed by the countries religious minorities'. The report further stated that Hindus are particularly vulnerable in a period of rising violence and extremism, whether motivated by religious, political or criminal factors, or some combination. The report noted that Hindus had multiple disadvantages against them in Bangladesh, such as perceptions of ] with respect to ] and religious beliefs that are not tolerated by the politically dominant ] of the ]. Violence against Hindus has taken place "in order to encourage them to flee in order to seize their property".The previous reports of the ] were acknowledged and confirmed by this non-partisan report<ref name="USCIRF">,''Rediff.com''</ref>. | |||
{{Main|Goa Inquisition}} | |||
On ], ], USCIRF criticized Bangladesh for continuing persecution of minority Hindus. It also urged the ] administration to get ] to ensure protection of religious freedom and minority rights before Bangladesh's next national elections in ] ]<ref name="USCIRF"/>. | |||
{{see also|Hinduism in Bangladesh}} | |||
During the Portuguese rule of ], several Hindus were coerced into accepting Christianity by the passage of laws that made it difficult for them to practice their faith (such as the ban on the practice of ]) or harassed them under pretences or petty complaints. Other Hindus, especially the upper caste ]s and ]s were convinced into accepting Christianity by offering favourable status to converts (indiacatos) and ]s in terms of laws and jobs.<ref>{{harvnb|Machado|1999|pp=94–96}}</ref> An ] - which literally means a period of prolonged and intensive questioning, was established in 1560 by Portuguese officials in the ]. The ] was directed against backsliding ]s (that is, former Hindus and Muslims who had recently converted to Christianity), and it has been recorded that around 57 ] were executed over a period of two hundred and fifty years, starting in the year 1560.<ref name="Salomon, H. P 2001 pp. 345-7">Salomon, H. P. and Sassoon, I. S. D., in Saraiva, Antonio Jose. ''The Marrano Factory. The Portuguese Inquisition and Its New Christians, 1536–1765'' (Brill, 2001), pp. 345–7.</ref><ref name="rediff.com">{{Cite news |title=Goa Inquisition was most merciless and cruel |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/sep/14inter1.htm |work=Rediff.com |date=14 September 2005 |access-date=17 May 2016}}</ref> The inquisition was proposed by St. Francis Xavier, to ensure that the new converts were aware about the aspects of Christianity.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rao |first=R.P |year=1963 |title=Portuguese Rule in Goa: 1510-1961 |url=https://archive.org/details/portugueserulein0000unse |url-access=registration |publisher=Asia Publishing House |page= |oclc=3296297}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/education/student/Goa-Inquisition/2015/09/03/article2979630.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118130358/http://www.newindianexpress.com/education/student/Goa-Inquisition/2015/09/03/article2979630.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 November 2015|title=Goa Inquisition|work=The New Indian Express|access-date=17 May 2016}}</ref> | |||
====Pakistan==== | |||
According to ], Hindus faced some persecution along with some fortitude under the Portuguese in Goa.<ref name="P.P. Shirodkar">{{cite book|last=Shirodkar|first=P.P.|author-link=Prakashchandra Pandurang Shirodkar|chapter=Evangelisation and its Harsh Realities in Portuguese India|editor-last=de Souza|editor-first=Teotónio|editor-link=Teotónio de Souza|title=Discoveries, Missionary Expansion, and Asian Cultures|year=1994|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|page=80|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vtf1eRE8FC8C&q=persecution|access-date=30 January 2014|isbn=978-81-7022-497-6}}</ref> Vicar general Miguel Vaz had written to the ] in 1543 from Goa requesting that the Inquisition be established in Goa as well. Three years later, St. Francis Xavier made a similar request in view of the Muslims in the region and some New Christians abandoning their faith. On hearing of the excesses of the Inquisition in Goa, Lourenco Pires, Portuguese ambassador at Rome, expressed his displeasure to the crown while warning that this zeal for religion was actually becoming a disservice to God and the kingdom. Again according to Shirodkar, the Inquisition led to the downfall of the Portuguese Empire in the East.<ref name="P.P. Shirodkar"/> | |||
There have been severe persecution of Hindus by Muslims in ] since its formation in ]. The increasing Islamization has caused many Hindus to leave Hinduism and seek emancipation by converting to other faiths such as Buddhism and Christianity. Such Islamization include the blasphemy laws, which make it dangerous for religious minorities to express themselves freely and engage freely in religious and cultural activities <ref>{{cite news | first = | last = | author = | coauthors = | title =Pakistan asks Hindus to quit military area | url = http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/nov/07pak.htm| publisher =] | date =November 07, 2003 10:04 IST | language = }}</ref>.Minority members of the Pakistan National Assembly have alleged that Hindus were being hounded and humiliated to force them to leave Pakistan.<ref>{{cite news | first =B. Murlidhar | last =Reddy | title = Hindus in Pakistan allege humiliation| url =http://www.hindu.com/2005/09/23/stories/2005092314831800.htm | | publisher =The Hindu | accessdate =2006-08-26 }}</ref>. In addition to the ethnic cleansing of ] following the ] in ], the Hindus in Pakistan are subjected to anti-blasphemy laws, hate propaganda, attacks, and forced conversions. Hindus in what is now Pakistan have declined from 23% of the total population in 1947 to less than 2% today. The HAF report condemns Pakistan for systematic state-sponsored religious ] against Hindus through "anti-]" laws. It documents numerous reports of Hindus being held as "bonded laborers" in ]-like conditions in rural Pakistan, something repeatedly ignored by the Pakistani government. Pakistan aggressively portrays its struggle against India as a Hindu-Muslim conflict, making it clear that its own Hindu minority is fair game for persecution. | |||
===British India=== | |||
=====1971 Bangladesh Atrocities===== | |||
{{Persecution of Hindus in pre-1947 India}} | |||
{{main|1971 Bangladesh atrocities|Operation Searchlight}} | |||
Muslim and Hindu communities in British India have lived in a delicate balance since the end of Muslim rule. Violent clashes have often appeared, and the ] in 1947 has only perpetuated these confrontations. | |||
During the ] there were widespread killings and ] of civilians in ] (then ] under Pakistani occupation) and widespread violations of human rights carried out by the Pakistan Army, which was supported by political and religious militias during the Bangladesh Liberation War. In Bangladesh, the atrocities are identified as a genocide, which is disputed by Pakistan. Many of the victims were ], and the total death toll was in the millions<ref name="bangladeshobserver">Editorial ''''in The ] December 30, 2005</ref> | |||
<ref name="Dr.N.Rabbee">Dr. N. Rabbee '''' Star weekend Magazine, The ] December 16, 2005</ref>.] magazine reported that ''"The Hindus, who account for three-fourths of the refugees and a majority of the dead, have borne the brunt of the Muslim military hatred."''<ref>,''Time Magazine''</ref> | |||
==== |
====Mappila Riots (1836–1921)==== | ||
{{Main|Mappila riots}} | |||
On ], ], police in Nowshera, NWFP, arrested Christian janitor Yousaf Masih on blasphemy charges. Witnesses claimed Masih had burned pages of the Qur'an while disposing of trash for his employer. Following his arrest, a mob of between 300 and 500 protesters destroyed a Hindu temple and houses belonging to Christian and Hindu families in the city. While police arrested some perpetrators after the fact, under the terms of a deal negotiated between Islamic religious leaders and the Hindu/Christian communities, police released all of them without charge. Police released Masih from custody on bail on August 6, 2005<ref name="usdep"></ref>. | |||
''Mappila Riots'' or ''Mappila Outbreaks'' refers to a series of riots by the ] (Moplah) ]s of ], ] in the 19th century and the early 20th century (c.1836–1921) against native ]s and the state. The ] of 1921 is often considered as the culmination of Mappila riots.<ref name="brill">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Miller |first=R. E. |year=1988 |editor1-last=Bosworth |editor1-first=C. E. |editor2-last=van Donzel |editor2-first=E. |editor3-last=Lewis |editor3-first=B |editor4-last=Pellat |editor4-first=Ch. |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Islam |title=Mappila |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ChEVAAAAIAAJ&pg=PG461 |edition=New |publisher=E. J. Brill |volume=VI |isbn=90-04-08825-3 |page=461}}</ref> Mappilas committed several atrocities against the Hindus during the outbreak.<ref>{{Cite book|author= A. Sreedhara Menon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZF0bAAAAIAAJ|title=Kerala District Gazetteers: Kozhikode (supplement)|date=1962|publisher=Superintendent of Government Presses|volume=4 | pages= 179–183}}</ref><ref name="Desai">{{cite book |last=Desai |first=A. R. |year=1979 |title=Peasant struggles in India |publisher=Oxford University Press |page= |isbn=978-0-19-560803-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/peasantstruggles0000unse/page/622 }}</ref> ] reported that Muslim Mappilas forcibly converted many ] and killed or drove away all Hindus who would not apostatise, totalling the driven people to one lakh (100,000).<ref>{{cite book |last=Besant |first=Annie |author-link=Annie Besant |title=The Future of Indian Politics: A Contribution to the Understanding of Present-Day Problems |publisher=Kessinger Publishing, LLC |page=252 |isbn=978-1-4286-2605-8 |quote=They murdered and plundered abundantly, and killed or drove away all Hindus who would not apostatize. Somewhere about a lakh of people were driven from their homes with nothing but the clothes they had on, stripped of everything. Malabar has taught us what Islamic rule still means, and we do not want to see another specimen of the Khilafat Raj in India.|date=1 June 2006 }}</ref> | |||
==== |
====Noakhali riots==== | ||
{{Main|Noakhali riots}} | |||
Forced and coerced conversions of religious minorities to Islam occurred at the hands of societal actors. Religious minorities claimed that government actions to stem the problem were inadequate. Several human rights groups have highlighted the increased phenomenon of Hindu girls, particularly in Karachi, being kidnapped from their families and forced to convert to Islam. | |||
In 1946, around seven weeks after ] (in which both Muslims and Hindus were targeted in communal attacks), violence was directed against the Hindu minority in rural ] and ].<ref>{{harvnb|Chatterji|2002|p=239}}: "The riots in Noakhali and Tippera, in which local Muslims, reacting ... to rumours of how their fellow-Muslims had been massacred in Calcutta and Bihar, killed hundreds of Hindus in reprisal ..."</ref><ref name="Bashabi">{{harvnb|Fraser|2008|pp=19–20}}</ref> Rioting in the region began in the Ramganj police station area.<ref name="Batabyal2005p272">{{harvnb|Batabyal|2005|p=272}}</ref> The rioting spread to the neighbouring police station areas of Raipur, Lakshmipur, Begumganj and Sandip in Noakhali and Faridganj, Hajiganj, Chandpur, Laksham and Chudagram in Tippera.<ref name="Batabyal2005p272"/> From 2 October, there were instances of stray killings.<ref>{{harvnb|Batabyal|2005|p=280}}</ref> Relief operations took place and ] visited the place on a peace mission even as threats against the Hindus continued.<ref>{{harvnb|Chakrabarty|2004|p=104}}</ref> While claims varied, the official Muslim League Bengal Government estimates of those killed were placed at a conservative 200.<ref>{{harvnb|Batabyal|2005|p=273}}</ref> According to ], 9,895 people were forcibly converted in Tippera alone.<ref>{{harvnb|Batabyal|2005|p=282}}</ref> Ghulam Sarwar Hossain, a religious leader who belonged to a local political party dominated by Muslims,<ref>{{harvnb|Chatterji|2002|p=114}}: "] was an influential Noakhali ] who had led the extreme wing of the Noakhali Krishak Samiti."</ref> was the main organiser of the riot.<ref name="Chakrabarty2004p107">{{harvnb|Chakrabarty|2004|p=107}}</ref> According to political scientist ], Hindus widely believed that the local administration had planned the riot and that the police helped Ghulam Sarwar escape arrest.<ref name="Chakrabarty2004p107"/> A large number of victims were ] (a Bengali Hindu lower caste).<ref>{{harvnb|Chatterji|2002|p=202}}: "Namasudras and other low-caste and tribal groups ... When Noakhali experienced one of the worst carnages in Bengal's bloody history of communal conflict, many of the victims were Namasudras."</ref> According to a source quoting from the State Government Archives, in Naokhali 178 Hindus and 42 Muslims were killed while in Tippera 39 Hindus and 26 Muslims were killed.<ref name="Chakrabarty2004p106">{{harvnb|Chakrabarty|2004|p=106}}</ref> Women were abducted and forced into marriage.<ref name="Bashabi"/><ref name="Chakrabarty2004p106"/> | |||
Hindu women have also been known to be victims of kidnapping and forced conversion to Islam.<ref> {{cite news | first =Grant | last =Swank| title =Kidnap Hindu Girl, Force Marriage to Muslim: Pakistan | url =http://www.michnews.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/242/11159 | accessdate = 2006-08-26}}</ref> ], a Hindu member of the ], came into news recently for manhandling Qari Gul Rehman.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/print.asp?page=2005%5C12%5C09%5Cstory_9-12-2005_pg1_7 |title= Opp MNAs fight in PM’s presence|accessdate= 2006-08-23}}</ref>. | |||
In retaliation, Muslims were massacred in ] and in ] in the United Provinces.<ref name="Batabyal2005p272"/> These attacks began between 25 and 28 October 1946 in the Chhapra and Saran districts of Bihar and then spread to Patna, Munger, Bhagalpur and a large number of scattered villages of Bihar.<ref name="Batabyal2005p272"/> The official estimates of the dead at that time were 445.<ref name="Batabyal2005p272"/> | |||
On October 18, 2005, Sanno Amra and Champa, a Hindu couple residing in the Punjab Colony, Karachi, Sindh returned home to find that their three teenage daughters had disappeared. After inquiries to the local police, the couple discovered that their daughters had been taken to a local madrassah, had been converted to Islam, and were denied unsupervised contact with their parents<ref name="usdep"/>. | |||
==== |
====Partition of India==== | ||
{{See also|Partition of India}} | |||
Several Hindu temples have been destroyed in Pakistan. A notable incident was the destruction of the ] in former ]. The temple was bulldozed by the Pakistan Army on ], ].The ] was severely damaged during the ], and over half of the temple's buildings were destroyed. The main worship hall was taken over by the Pakistan Army and used as an ammunitions storage area. Several of the temple custodians were tortured and killed by the Army though most, including the Head Priest, fled to their ancestral villages and to India and therefore escaped death. | |||
Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and members of other religious groups, experienced severe dislocation and violence during the massive ] associated with the ], as members of various communities moved to what they hoped was the relative safety of an area where they would be a religious majority. Hindus were among the between 200,000 and a million who died during the rioting and other violence associated with the partition.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://necrometrics.com/20c300k.htm |title=Secondary Wars and Atrocities of the Twentieth Century |last=White |first=Matthew |author-link=Matthew White (historian) |website=Twentieth Century Atlas - Death Tolls and Casualty Statistics for Wars, Dictatorships and Genocides |access-date=1 October 2017}}</ref> | |||
In ], the last Hindu temple in ] was destroyed to pave the way for construction of a multi-storied commercial building. The temple was demolished after officials of the Evacuee Property Trust Board concealed facts from the board chairman about the nature of the building. When reporters from Pakistan-based newspaper "Dawn" tried to cover the incident, they were accosted by the henchmen of the property developer, who denied that a Hindu temple existed at the site<ref>,''Dawn''</ref>. | |||
=====Mirpur massacre and Rajouri massacre===== | |||
Several political parties in Pakistan have objected to this move, such as the Pakistan People's party and the Pakistani Muslim League-N<ref>,''Rediff.com''</ref><ref>,''Times of India''</ref>. The move has also evoked strong condemnation from | |||
{{main|1947 Jammu massacres}} | |||
in India from minority bodies and political parties, including the ] (BJP), the ], as well as Muslim advocacy political parties such as the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat<ref>,''Times of India''</ref>. A firm of lawyers representing the Hindu minority has | |||
approached the Lahore High Court seeking a directive to the builders to stop the construction of the commercial plaza and reconstruct the temple at the site. The petitioners maintain that the demolition violates section 295 of the Pakistan Penal Code prohibiting the demolition of places of worship <ref>,''Gulf News''</ref>. | |||
The 1947 Mirpur massacre and the 1947–1948 Rajouri massacre of Hindus and Sikhs in the ] of the former ] of ], began in November 1947, some months after the ]. The Rajouri Massacre ended in early 1948, when Indian troops retook the town of ]. | |||
{{see also|Hinduism in Pakistan}} | |||
== |
==Present-day South Asia== | ||
===India=== | |||
{{See also|Insurgency in Punjab|Ajmer rape case|Category:Islamic terrorism in India}} | |||
Post 1947, especially after the 1980s, there have been a number of attacks on Hindu temples and Hindus by Muslim militants in India. Prominent among them are the ], the ], the 2002 ] allegedly perpetrated by Islamic terrorist outfit ],<ref>{{cite news |title=Bajrang Dal launches campaign |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20021021/ldh1.htm#6 |newspaper=The Tribune |date=21 October 2002}}</ref> resulting in many deaths and injuries. | |||
The Hindus of Nepalese origin have been living in ] since nineteenth century.<ref> </ref>. On a 1980 census, the Bhutanese ] autocracy found a significant population of ethnic Nepalese (mostly Hindus) which they interpreted as a danger to the Druk domination. <ref name="CRIN"> </ref> The monarch imprisoned a ] democratic movement leader ] and forced the Hindus "to observe dress codes and etiquette characteristic of Northern Bhutanese, under threat of punishment"<ref name="CRIN"/>. The Hindus were then tortured and expelled from the nation. Approximately 103,000 of such refugees including Hindus, Kirats etc are living in ], <ref> </ref> which was the only Hindu nation left when they were exiled. | |||
The ] on 27 February 2002 killed 59 people, including 25 women and 15 child Hindu pilgrims. In 2011, the judicial court convicted 31 people saying the incident was a "pre-planned conspiracy".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Mahurkar |first=Uday |date=22 July 2002 |title=Fuelling the Fire |url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/godhra-massacre-forensic-report-come-in-handy-for-rival-politicians/1/219241.html |magazine=India Today |access-date=13 April 2014}}</ref><ref name=Hindu1>{{cite news |last=Dasgupta |first=Manas |date=6 March 2011 |title=It was not a random attack on S-6 but kar sevaks were targeted, says judge |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article1513008.ece |newspaper=The Hindu |access-date=22 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Godhra verdict: 31 convicted, 63 acquitted |url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/godhra-verdict-31-convicted-63-acquitted-86991 |publisher=NDTV |date=1 March 2011}}</ref> This event eventually led to escalation into the ]. | |||
===In other countries=== | |||
The Hindu presence in countries outside South Asia is small but growing. Historically, there have been large Hindu populations in ],], ] and the ]. There have been Hindus in ], ],and ] since the 19th century. The twentieth century saw the growth of Hindu communities in ],],the ], and the ]. | |||
On 2 May 2003, eight Hindus were ] by a Muslim mob at Marad beach in ] district, ]. One of the attackers was also killed. The judicial commission that probed the incident concluded that members of several political parties were directly involved in planning and executing the killing.<ref name="IndianExpress-Sep-27-2006">{{cite news|date=27 September 2006|title=Marad report slams Muslim League|newspaper=The Indian Express|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/marad-report-slams-muslim-league/13497/}}</ref> The commission affirmed "a clear communal conspiracy, with Muslim fundamentalist and terrorist organisations involved".<ref name="IndianExpress-Sep-27-2006" /> The courts sentenced 62 Muslims to life imprisonment for committing the massacre in 2009.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2009-01-16|title=62 get life term for Marad killings|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/62-get-life-term-for-marad-killings/|access-date=2023-01-02|work=The Indian Express|language=en}}</ref> | |||
The persecution of Hindus have risen in several of these countries, especially in ] dominated countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia. | |||
==== |
==== North-east ==== | ||
The ] regime in Afghanistan had committed atrocities on the Hindu minority in the country. 500 Hindu families disappeared in Afghanistan shortly after the Taliban came to power. | |||
In Tripura, in 2000 the ] (NLFT) attacked a Hindu temple and killed a spiritual leader there. They are known to have forcefully converted Hindus to Christianity.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hindu preacher killed by Tripura rebels |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/899422.stm |work=BBC News |date=28 August 2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/tripura/terrorist_outfits/nlft.htm |title=National Liberation Front of Tripura, India |publisher=South Asia Terrorism Portal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401215735/http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/tripura/terrorist_outfits/nlft.htm |archive-date=1 April 2015}}</ref> | |||
During the ] regime, ]s were passed in ] which forced Hindus to wear ]s in public to identify themselves as such. Hindu women were forced to dress according to Islamic ], ostensibly a measure to "protect" them from harassment. This was part of the Taliban's plan to segregate "un-Islamic" and "idolatrous" communities from Islamic ones<ref>,''CNN''</ref>. In addition, Hindus were forced to mark their places of residence identifying them as Hindu homes. | |||
In ], in 2020 the ] (HNLC) gave an ultimatum to Bengali Hindus, from Bangladesh, to leave Ichamati and Majai regions. | |||
The decree was condemned by the ]n and ] governments as a violation of religious freedom<ref></ref>. Widespread protests against the Taliban regime broke out in ],]. In the United States, chairman of the ] ] compared the decree to the practices of ], where ] were required to wear labels identifying them as such<ref>,''People's Daily''</ref>. The comparison was also drawn by California Democrat and ] survivor Tom Lantos, and New York Democrat and author of the bipartisan 'Sense of the Congress' non-binding resolution against the anti-Hindu decree Eliot L Engel<ref>,''Rediff.com''</ref>.In the ], congressmen and several lawmakers<ref>,''Rediff.com''</ref> wore yellow badges on the floor of the Senate during the debate as a demonstration of their solidarity with the Hindu minority in Afghanistan<ref name="cns">,''CNSnews.com''</ref>. | |||
This was a response to a ] youth, identified as Lurshai Hynniewta, 35, a resident of Khliehshnong Sohra, who was attacked by non-tribals at Ichamati, died at Sohra CHC on Friday. The HNLC has seen a Hindutva connection in the killing of the Khasi youth.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Meghalaya: HNLC issues 'leave Ichamati, Majai' notice to Hindu-Bengalis |url=https://nenow.in/north-east-news/meghalaya/meghalaya-hnlc-issues-leave-ichamati-majai-notice-to-hindu-bengalis.html|access-date=5 March 2020}}</ref> | |||
==== Punjab ==== | |||
Indian analyst Rahul Banerjee said that this was not the first that Hindus has been singled out for state-sponsored oppression in Afghanistan. Violence against Hindus has caused a rapid depletion in the Hindu population over the years<ref name="cns"/>. Since the 1990s many Afghan Hindus have fled the country, seeking asylum in countries such as ]<ref>,''pluralism.org''</ref>. | |||
{{See also|Insurgency in Punjab|List of bus killings during Punjab insurgency}} | |||
{{seealso|Hinduism in Afghanistan}} | |||
From the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, there was an armed campaign by the militants of the ] for a separate Sikh state, and in this period of insurgency, there were many incidents of targeted killings of Hindus by the militants.<ref name="Jayanta484">{{cite book |last1=Ray |first1=Jayanta Kumar |title=Aspects of India's International Relations, 1700 to 2000: South Asia and the World |date=2007 |publisher=Pearson Education India |isbn=978-8131708347 |page=484 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nyk6oA2nOlgC&q=khalistan |access-date=23 July 2018 |archive-date=30 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330072148/https://books.google.com/books?id=Nyk6oA2nOlgC&q=khalistan |url-status=live}}</ref> There were multiple killings of Hindu bus passengers by the pro-Khalistan militants in the 1980s.<ref name="Jayanta484"/> Major incidents included the ] of 38 ] bus passengers on 6 July 1987, by the ] militants near ], ], India.;<ref name="IT_1987">{{cite journal |author1=Tavleen Singh |author2=Sreekant Khandekar |title=Terrorists kill bus passengers in Punjab and Haryana mercilessly |journal=India Today |date=1987-07-31 |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19870731-terrorists-kill-bus-passengers-in-punjab-and-haryana-mercilessly-799092-1987-07-30 |access-date=2023-01-17}}</ref> and ] on 7 July 1987, in which 34 Hindus on two buses were killed.<ref name="AP">{{cite news |author=Dilip Ganguly |title=Sikhs Kill 34 Hindus on Two Buses, Bringing Two-Day Toll To 72 |publisher=AP |date=1987-07-07 |url=https://apnews.com/article/7934b6194b2743fb8e54b5ff29feae9d |access-date=2023-01-17}}</ref><ref name="IT_1987"/><ref name="WP_1987">{{cite news |author=Richard M. Weintraub |title=Gunmen kill 38 passengers on crowded bus in India |date=1987-07-07 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/07/07/gunmen-kill-38-passengers-on-crowded-bus-in-india/4a06cc82-9ab5-4b50-94b6-9cf74e029842/ |access-date=2023-01-17 |agency=Washington Post}}</ref> In most of these incidents, the attackers shot the Hindu passengers using automatic rifles.<ref name="IT_1987"/> | |||
According to the former Chief Minister of Punjab, ], there were 35,000 Hindus killed during militancy in Punjab.<ref>{{Cite news |date= 4 April 2014|title=Capt Amarinder questions Jaitley's silence over killing of 35000 Hindus during militancy |newspaper=Business Standard India |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/capt-amarinder-questions-jaitley-s-silence-over-killing-of-35000-hindus-during-militancy-114040401237_1.html}}</ref> From ] figures no more than 4,500 Hindus died in militancy. The data from court cases of the ] gives a lower death toll for Hindus at 3,817.<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite book |last1=Jaijee |first1=Inderjit Singh |url=https://archive.org/details/PoliticsOfGenocide-Punjab1984-1998 |title=Politics of Genocide: Punjab, 1984–1998 |date=1999 |publisher=Ajanta Publications |isbn=978-81-202-0415-7 |language=en |oclc=42752917|pages=152–153}}</ref> | |||
====Fiji==== | |||
Hindus in Fiji constitute approximately 38% of the population. During the late 90's there were several riots against ] by radical elements in Fiji. In the Spring of 2000, the democratically elected Fijian government led by Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry was held hostage by a guerilla group, headed by George Speight. They were demanding a segregated state exclusively for the native Fijians, thereby legally abolishing any rights the Hindu inhabitants have now. The Hindu minority are denied any land owning rights and are routinely attacked and harassed. Several dozen Hindu temples have been vandalized or destroyed by arson or looting. | |||
==== Jammu and Kashmir ==== | |||
The methodist church of Fiji repeatedly calls for the creation of a Christian State and has endorsed forceful conversion of Hindus after a coup d'etat in ]<ref>,''Dateline''</ref>. | |||
{{see also|Hinduism in Fiji|Church involvement in Fiji coups}} | |||
The ] population living in the Muslim-majority region of ] has often come under threat from Islamic militants in recent years. Historian ] has argued that the rise in Islamic militant activity in Kashmir and the rise of ] in the rest of India "began independently, yet each legitimized and furthered the other".<ref>{{cite book|last=Guha|first=Ramachandra|title=India After Gandhi|year=2007|publisher=MacMillan|pages=640–680}}</ref> This threat has been pronounced during periods of unrest in the Kashmir valley, such as in 1989. In 1986, the ] broke out, where protesters targeted properties of ] and temples.<ref name="Indian Express 2020">{{cite news |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/exodus-of-kashmiri-pandits-from-valley-6232410/ |title=Explained: The Kashmir Pandit tragedy |work=The Indian Express |date=24 January 2020 |access-date=8 March 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220307115414/https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/exodus-of-kashmiri-pandits-from-valley-6232410/ |archive-date=7 March 2022 }}</ref> Along with the Hindus, large sections of the Muslim population have also been attacked, ostensibly for "cooperating" with the Indian state. Some authors have found evidence that these militants had the support of the Pakistani security establishment.<ref>{{cite news |title=Under renewed threats, pandits may flee the Valley |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/Under-renewed-threats-pandits-may-flee-the-Valley/H1-Article1-477268.aspx |newspaper=Hindustan Times |date=17 November 2009 |access-date=13 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012052145/http://www.hindustantimes.com/Under-renewed-threats-pandits-may-flee-the-Valley/H1-Article1-477268.aspx |archive-date=12 October 2011 }}</ref>{{Failed verification |date=March 2024}} The incidents of violence included the ] in 1998, in which 23 Kashmiri Hindus were gunned down by Muslims disguised as Indian soldiers.<ref>{{cite news |title=Villagers massacred in Kashmir |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/50620.stm |website=BBC News |publisher=BBC |access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> Many Kashmiri Non-Muslims have been killed and thousands of children orphaned over the course of the conflict in Kashmir. The ] was another such incident where 30 Hindu pilgrims were killed en route to the ].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Terrorists massacre Amarnath yatris |url=http://www.kashmirsentinel.com/augsept2000/2000.9.3.html |magazine=Kashmir Sentinel |date=16 August – 15 September 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040807151335/http://kashmirsentinel.com:80/augsept2000/index.html |archive-date=7 August 2004}}</ref> | |||
====Indonesia==== | |||
{{Expand-section|date=January 2007}} | |||
Hinduism and Islam relationship in Indonesia have been benign for most parts of Indonesia due to the ingrained cultural influence. Hinduism was the indigeneous religion in Indonesia before the arrival of Islam in the 14th century, until the conversion of the local Acheh ruler to Islam. With the ruler's conversion, the majority of the people gradually converted to Islam. Islam spread east from Acheh to Java and gradually converted the people to Islam. Traces of Hindu influence remain in the Indonesia language, literature and arts. Early Hindu architecture can be seen in temples built by the Srivijaya, Kediri and Majapahit kingdoms. | |||
In the ] region, approximately 300 ] ].<ref name="red19Jan2005"/> In early 1990, local Urdu newspapers ''Aftab'' and ''Al Safa'' called upon Kashmiris to wage ] against India and ordered the expulsion of all Hindus choosing to remain in Kashmir.<ref name="red19Jan2005"/> In the following days masked men ran in the streets with ] shooting to kill Hindus who would not leave.<ref name="red19Jan2005"/> Notices were placed on the houses of all Hindus, telling them to leave within 24 hours or die.<ref name="red19Jan2005"/> | |||
In the present day, Hindus are subjected to renewed persecution to convert their faith by Christian missionary group and Christian evangelism in the temple town of Terupati has angered Hindus.Also, Hindus in ] are persecuted by certain segments of the Muslim population. | |||
As of 2005, it is estimated that between 250,000 and 300,000 Kashmiri Pandits have migrated outside Kashmir since the 1990s<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/spotlight/kashmirtheforgottenconflict/2011/07/2011724204546645823.html |title=Kashmir: The Pandit question |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=1 August 2011 |quote=Refugee Council suggests that 250,000 Pandits have been displaced since 1990. And a CIA report suggests a figure of 300,000 displaced from the whole state.}}</ref><ref name="red19Jan2005">{{cite news |last=Gupta |first=Kanchan |date=19 January 2005 |title=19/01/90: When Kashmiri Pandits fled Islamic terror |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/jan/19kanch.htm |work=Rediff.com}}</ref> due to persecution by ].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Kashmiri Pandits in Nandimarg decide to leave Valley |url=http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=131481 |magazine=] |date=30 March 2003 |access-date=30 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214010522/http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=131481 |archive-date=14 February 2009}}</ref> The proportion of Kashmiri Pandits in the Kashmir valley has declined from about 15% in 1947 to, by some estimates, less than 0.1% since the insurgency in Kashmir took on a religious and sectarian flavour.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Dalrymple |first=William |date=1 May 2008 |title=Kashmir: The scarred and the beautiful |url=https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2008/05/01/kashmir-the-scarred-and-the-beautiful/ |magazine=The New York Review of Books |page=14}}</ref> | |||
====Kazakhstan==== | |||
In 2005 and 2006 Kazakh officials persistently and repeatedly tried to close down the Hare Krishna farming community near Almaty. | |||
Many ]s have been killed by ] in incidents such as the ] and the ].<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/jan/27kash.htm | title = I heard the cries of my mother and sisters | publisher = ] | date = 27 January 1998 |access-date=30 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071111151938/http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/jan/27kash.htm |archive-date=11 November 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040428/j&k.htm#1 |title=Migrant Pandits voted for end of terror in valley |newspaper=] |date=27 April 2004 |access-date=30 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071124100342/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040428/j%26k.htm |archive-date=24 November 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ASIANOW/south/08/01/india.kashmir.massacre/ |title=At least 58 dead in 2 attacks in Kashmir |publisher=CNN |date=2 August 2000 |access-date=30 November 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061206120548/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ASIANOW/south/08/01/india.kashmir.massacre/ |archive-date=6 December 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/41306901.cms | title = City shocked at killing of Kashmiri Pandits | newspaper = ] | date = 25 March 2003 |access-date = 30 November 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Reeves |first=Phil |date=25 March 2003 |title=Islamic militants kill 24 Hindus in Kashmir massacre |newspaper=] |quote=24 Hindus ... were massacred by Islamist militants ... snatched weapons from four police guarding the Kashmiri "Pandits" - members of an upper-caste Hindu minority - and began firing ... In January 1998, there was a similar incident in which 23 Kashmiri Pandits were killed.}}</ref> | |||
On November 20, 2006, three buses full of riot police, two ambulances, two empty lorries, and executors of the Karasai district arrived at the community in sub-zero weather and evicted the Hare Krishna followers from thirteen homes, which the police proceeded to demolish. | |||
In October 2021, three terrorists shot a Kashmiri pandit school teacher and a Sikh school principal after checking their identity cards and segregating them from their Kashmiri Muslim colleagues in a government run school. Pakistan-based ] affiliated TRF claimed responsibility of the killings.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pandit |first=M. Saleem |date=8 October 2021 |title=Kashmir Terrorist Attack: Terrorists check ID, shoot Sikh principal, Pandit teacher in J&K {{!}} India News |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/terrorists-check-id-shoot-sikh-principal-pandit-teacher-in-jk/articleshow/86853303.cms |access-date=2021-10-08 |work=The Times of India |language=en}}</ref> | |||
The ] reported, "Riot police who took part in the destruction threw personal belongings of the Hare Krishna devotees into the snow, and many devotees were left without clothes. Power for lighting and heating systems had been cut off before the demolition began. Furniture and larger household belongings were loaded onto trucks. Officials said these possessions would be destroyed. Two men who tried to prevent the bailiffs from entering a house to destroy it were seized by 15 police officers who twisted their hands and took them away to the police car."<ref> {{cite news |title = KAZAKHSTAN: State bulldozes Hare Krishna commune, bids to chair OSCE | url =http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=873 | publisher = Forum 18 News Service | accessdate =2007-01-24 }}</ref> | |||
=== Bangladesh === | |||
The Hare Krishna community had been promised that no action would be taken before the report of a state commission – supposedly set up to resolve the dispute – was made public. On the day the demolition began, the commission's chairman, Amanbek Mukhashev, told Forum 18, "I know nothing about the demolition of the Hare Krishna homes – I'm on holiday." He added, "As soon as I return to work at the beginning of December we will officially announce the results of the Commission's investigation." Other officials also refused to comment. | |||
{{See also|Hinduism in Bangladesh|List of massacres in Bangladesh| Bangladesh Genocide| Freedom of religion in Bangladesh|2024 Bangladesh anti-Hindu violence}} | |||
According to the ] (USCIRF), Hindus are among those persecuted in Bangladesh, with hundreds of cases of "killings, attempted killings, death threats, assaults, rapes, kidnappings, and attacks on homes, businesses, and places of worship" on religious minorities in 2017.<ref>, US State Department (2019), pages 11–12</ref> The 'Vested Property Act' previously named the 'Enemy Property Act' has seen up to 40% of Hindu land get snatched away forcibly. Hindu temples in Bangladesh have also been vandalised.<ref>{{USCongRec|2004|H3057|date=17 May 2004}}</ref> | |||
The United States urged Kazakhstan's authorities to end what it called an "aggressive" campaign against the country's tiny Hare Krishna community.<ref> {{cite news |title = U.S. Embassy urges Kazakh authorities to end harassment of Hare Krishna | url =http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/07/asia/AS_GEN_Kazakhstan_Hare_Krishna.php | publisher = International Herald Tribune | accessdate =2007-01-24 }}</ref> | |||
There have been several instances where Hindu refugees from ] have stated that they were the victims of ] and ].<ref>{{Cite book | last = Mujtaba| first = Syed Ali| title = Soundings on South Asia| publisher = ]| year = 2005| page = 100| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=AFDVcx-7BCMC&pg=PA100| isbn = 978-1-932705-40-9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | last = Gupta| first = Jyoti Bhushan Das| title = Science, technology, imperialism, and war – History of science, philosophy, and culture in Indian civilization. Volume XV. Science, technology, and philosophy ; pt. 1| publisher = ]| year = 2007| page = 733| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=EJuM4FylchwC&pg=PA733| isbn = 978-81-317-0851-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/with-current-rate-of-migration-no-hindus-will-be-left-in-bangladesh-after-30-years-expert-4389761/|title=With current rate of migration, no Hindus will be left in Bangladesh after 30 years: Expert|work=The Indian Express|date=22 November 2016}}</ref> A US-based human rights organisation, Refugees International, has claimed that religious minorities, especially Hindus, still face discrimination in Bangladesh.<ref>{{cite news| title =Discrimination against Bangladeshi Hindus: Refugees International | url =http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/aug/09bang.htm | work =] |date=9 August 2003 | access-date =26 August 2006}}</ref> | |||
====Malaysia==== | |||
A minor party, ], openly calls for 'Talibanisation' of the state.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Baldwin |first=Ruth |date=18 May 2002 |title=The 'Talibanization' of Bangladesh |url=http://www.thenation.com/doc/20020527/baldwin20020517 |magazine=The Nation |access-date=28 January 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070102000346/http://www.thenation.com/doc/20020527/baldwin20020517 |archive-date=2 January 2007}}</ref> Journalist Hiranmay Karlekar, writing in 2005 when Jamaat was part of the coalition government, described Talibanisation as impossible to stop, but said the country was not on the brink of it, and the overwhelming majority of society would fight against it tooth and nail.<ref name="Karlekar">{{cite book |last=Karlekar |first=Hiranmay |year=2005 |title=Bangladesh: The Next Afghanistan? |url=https://archive.org/details/bangladeshnextaf0000karl/page/269/mode/1up |url-access=registration |publisher=Sage Publications |pages=269, 278–279 |isbn=0-7619-3401-4}}</ref> | |||
Approximately nine percent of the population of ] are ] ], of whom nearly 90 percent are practicing ].Indian settlers came to Malaysia from ] in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Between April to May 2006, several Hindu temples were demolished by city hall authorities in the country, accompanied by violence against Hindus<ref>,''malaysiakini.com''</ref>. On ], ], the Malaimel Sri Selva Kaliamman Temple in Kuala Lumpur was reduced to rubble after the city hall sent in bulldozers <ref></ref>. | |||
Bangladeshi feminist ]'s 1993 novel '']'' deals with the anti-Hindu riots and anti-secular sentiment in Bangladesh in the wake of the ] in India. The book was banned in Bangladesh, and helped draw international attention to the situation of the Bangladeshi Hindu minority. | |||
The president of the Consumers Association of Subang and Shah Alam in Selangor State has been helping to organise efforts to stop the local authorities in the Muslim dominated city of Shah Alam from demolishing a 107-year-old Hindu temple. The growing Islamization in Malaysia is a cause for concern to many Malaysians who follow minority religions such as Hinduism<ref>,''BBC''</ref>. | |||
In October 2006, the ] published a report titled "Policy Focus on Bangladesh", which said that since its last election, "Bangladesh has experienced growing violence by religious extremists, intensifying concerns expressed by the countries religious minorities". The report further stated that Hindus are particularly vulnerable in a period of rising violence and extremism, whether motivated by religious, political or criminal factors, or some combination. The report noted that Hindus had multiple disadvantages against them in Bangladesh, such as perceptions of ] with respect to India and religious beliefs that are not tolerated by the politically dominant ] of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Violence against Hindus has taken place "in order to encourage them to flee in order to seize their property".<ref name="USCIRF">{{Cite web|title=Bangladesh slammed for persecution of Hindus|url=https://www.rediff.com/news/2006/nov/02aziz.htm|access-date=2023-01-02|work= Rediff News | author1=Aziz Haniffa | date=2 November 2006 }}</ref> On 2 November 2006, USCIRF criticised Bangladesh for its continuing persecution of minority Hindus. It also urged the ] administration to get ] to ensure protection of religious freedom and minority rights before Bangladesh's next national elections in January 2007.<ref name="USCIRF"/> | |||
Many Hindu advocacy groups have protested what they allege is a systematic plan of temple cleansing in Malaysia. The official reason given by the Malaysian government has been that the temples were built "illegally". However, several of the temples are centuries old<ref name="Finexp">,''Financial Express''</ref>. | |||
On 6 February 2010, Sonargaon temple in Narayanganj district of Bangladesh was destroyed by Islamic fanatics. Five people were seriously injured during the attack.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Hindu-temple-attacked-idols-destroyed-in-Bdesh-Official-/articleshow/5543091.cms | work=The Times of India | title=Hindu temple attacked, idols destroyed in B'desh: Official | date=6 February 2010}}</ref> Temples were also attacked and destroyed in 2011.<ref>{{cite news |last=Choudhury |first=Salah Uddin Shoaib |date=4 September 2011 |title=Fresh atrocities on Hindu families in Bangladesh |url=http://www.weeklyblitz.net/1755/fresh-atrocities-on-hindu-families-in-bangladesh |newspaper=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127044746/http://www.weeklyblitz.net/1755/fresh-atrocities-on-hindu-families-in-bangladesh |archive-date=27 January 2013}}</ref> | |||
On ], ], armed city hall officers from ] forcefully demolished part of a 60-year-old suburban temple that serves more than 1,000 Hindus. The "Hindu Rights Action Force", a coalition of several NGO's, have protested these demolitions by lodging complaints with the Malaysian Prime Minister<ref name="Finexp"/>. | |||
In 2013, the ] indicted several Jamaat members for ] against Hindus during the ]. In retaliation, ] in Bangladesh was instigated by the ]. The violence included the looting of Hindu properties and businesses, the burning of Hindu homes, rape of Hindu women and ] and destruction of Hindu temples.<ref name="amnesty1">{{cite press release|title=Bangladesh: Wave of violent attacks against Hindu minority|url=http://amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/bangladesh-wave-violent-attacks-against-hindu-minority-2013-03-06#.UTeKDSrYyD8.twitter|publisher=Amnesty International|access-date=8 March 2013|archive-date=9 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130309203359/http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/bangladesh-wave-violent-attacks-against-hindu-minority-2013-03-06#.UTeKDSrYyD8.twitter|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
Another form of persecution is the requirement by the Malaysian government for the annual ] procession to obtain a police permit under the ], which by the anti-discriminatory standards of most nations, is flawed as it requires permits only for Hindu religious festivals. | |||
On 28 February 2013, the ] sentenced ], the Vice President of the Jamaat-e-Islami to death for the war crimes committed during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Following the sentence, activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing ] attacked the Hindus in different parts of the country. Hindu properties were looted, Hindu houses were burnt into ashes and Hindu temples were desecrated and set on fire.<ref name="English reference">{{cite news |last1=Karmakar |first1=Pankaj |last2=Amin |first2=Nurul |date=3 March 2013 |title=A sin for 'em to live here? |url=http://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-271161 |newspaper=The Daily Star |access-date=1 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Bagerhat, Barisal Hindu temples set ablaze |url=https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/03/02/bagerhat-hindu-temple-set-on-fire?playVideo=true |newspaper=bdnews24.com |date=2 March 2013 |access-date=20 March 2013}}</ref> While the government has held the Jamaat-e-Islami responsible for the attacks on the minorities, the Jamaat-e-Islami leadership has denied any involvement. The minority leaders have protested the attacks and appealed for justice. The Supreme Court of Bangladesh has directed the law enforcement to start '']'' investigation into the attacks. US Ambassador to Bangladesh express concern about attack of Jamaat on Bengali Hindu community.<ref name=US_amb_ds-1>{{cite news|title=US worried at violence|url=http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/us-worried-at-violence/|access-date=12 March 2013|newspaper=]|date=12 March 2013}}</ref><ref name=US_amb_Itt-1>{{cite news|title=Mozena: Violence is not the way to resolution|url=http://www.clickittefaq.com/featured-area/mozena-violence-is-not-the-way-to-resolution/|access-date=12 March 2013|newspaper=]|date=11 March 2013|archive-date=16 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141116055856/http://www.clickittefaq.com/featured-area/mozena-violence-is-not-the-way-to-resolution/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The violence included the looting of Hindu properties and businesses, the burning of Hindu homes, rape of Hindu women and ] and destruction of Hindu temples.<ref name="amnesty1"/> According to community leaders, more than 50 Hindu temples and 1,500 Hindu homes were destroyed in 20 districts.<ref name="bbc09032013-1">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21712655|title=Bangladesh minorities 'terrorised' after mob violence|last=Ethirajan|first=Anbarasan|date=9 March 2013|work=BBC News|access-date=17 March 2013|location=London}}</ref> | |||
{{see also|Hinduism in Malaysia}} | |||
According to the BJHM report in 2017 alone, at least 107 people of the Hindu community were killed and 31 fell victims to enforced disappearance 782 Hindus were either forced to leave the country or threatened to leave. Besides, 23 were forced to get converted into other religions. | |||
====Russia==== | |||
At least 25 Hindu women and children were raped, while 235 temples and statues vandalized during the year. | |||
The total number of atrocities happened with the Hindu community in 2017 is 6474.<ref>{{cite news |title=BJHM: 107 Hindus killed, 31 forcibly disappeared in 2017 |url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2018/01/06/bjhm-107-hindus-killed-31-forcibly-disappeared-2017 |work=Dhaka Tribune |agency=UNB |date=6 January 2018}}</ref> During the 2019 Bangladesh elections, eight houses belonging to Hindu families on fire in Thakurgaon alone.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hindu houses under 'arson' attack ahead of Bangladesh elections |url=https://www.thestatesman.com/world/hindu-houses-under-arson-attack-ahead-of-bangladesh-elections-1502720217.html |work=The Statesman |date=28 December 2018}}</ref> | |||
{{Persecution of Bengali Hindus}} | |||
Hindus in Russia have been subject to discrimination. For example, significant obstacles have been placed to the construcition of a Hindu temple in ]. It was reported that some influential official of ] propagated misinformation and defamation, e.g., describing ] as an "evil demon". <ref> {{cite news |title =Britain to discuss Russian Harassment of Hindus at EU summit: Foreign Minister Douglas Alexander | url =http://www.hinduforum.org/Default.aspx?sID=45&cID=105&ctID=43&lID=0 | publisher = Hindu Forum | accessdate =2006-08-26 }}</ref> | |||
{{see also|Hinduism in Russia}} | |||
In April 2019, two idols of Hindu goddesses, Lakshmi and Saraswati, were vandalized by unidentified miscreants at a newly constructed temple in Kazipara of Brahmanbaria.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hindu idols vandalized in Brahmanbaria |url=https://dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/nation/2019/04/08/hindu-idols-vandalized-in-brahmanbaria |work=Dhaka Tribune |date=8 April 2019}}</ref> In the same month, several idols of Hindu gods in two temples in Madaripur Sadar upazila which were under construction were desecrated by miscreants.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hindu idols desecrated in Madaripur |url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/nation/2019/04/26/hindu-idols-desecrated-in-madaripur |work=Dhaka Tribune |date=26 April 2019}}</ref> | |||
====Saudi Arabia==== | |||
There is a small population of Indians in the Islamic state of ], numbering around 1.5 million. The majority of them are Hindus, with a minority of Muslims. The community typically consists of migrant workers from India.{{Fact|date=January 2007}} | |||
In October 2021 several Hindu temples, including an ] center and homes belonging to Hindu community, across Bangladesh were vandalized and set on fire by a Muslim mob of over 10,000 protesters, and clashes were reported in at least 10 of the 64 districts, after an allegation of a ] being placed on the lap of ] during the ] religious ceremony.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/18/bangladesh-hindus-men-killed-temples-vandalised-religious-violence |title=Two Hindu men killed, temples vandalised in Bangladesh violence |publisher=] |access-date=19 October 2021 |date=18 October 2021}}</ref> In ] at least 4 were killed and 24 injured when police opened fire on a mob trying to attack the local temple there. According to Gobinda Chandra Pramanik, the secretary-general of the Bangladesh National Hindu Mahajote, at least 17 temples had been attacked and more than 100 people had been wounded. Shibu Prasad Roy, member of the organizing committee of the Durga Puja festival, says, "At first 15 to 20 people, aged between 14 and 18 years old, came to attack our temple in Cumilla. After that, the number increased to hundreds of people." Various reports suggests that the growing attack against the Hindu minority community in Bangladesh has been partly fueled by misinformation spread through social media.<ref name="nytimes21_bd_oc" /><ref name="intn21_bd_oc">{{cite news |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/pakistan-backed-jamaat-behind-attacks-on-durga-puja-pandals-in-bangladesh-sources/articleshow/87025240.cms |title=Pakistan-backed Jamaat behind attacks on Durga Puja pandals in Bangladesh: Sources |work=] |date=14 October 2021 |access-date=15 October 2021 |first=Dipanjan Roy |last=Chudhury}}</ref> ] mentions that, hundreds of homes belonging to the Hindu community were burned due to a fake Facebook post alleging an insult to Islam by a Hindu in 2016, including a few dozen ] destroyed by a Muslim mob in ] after a rumor circulated that a ] had insulted the Quran. A report by '']'' alleged that, ] were behind the attacks.<ref name="nytimes21_bd_oc">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/15/world/asia/15bangladesh-muslim-hindu-violence.html |work=] |date=15 October 2021 |access-date=15 October 2021 |last=Hasnat |first=Saif |title=Bangladesh Strengthens Security as Violence Targets Hindu Festival |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015150005/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/15/world/asia/15bangladesh-muslim-hindu-violence.html |archive-date=15 October 2021 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="intn21_bd_oc" /><ref name="th21_bd_oc">{{cite news |work=] |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/goons-attack-hindu-temples-in-bangladesh-during-durga-puja-4-killed-paramilitary-force-called-in/article36998586.ece |title=Goons attack Hindu temples in Bangladesh during Durga Puja, 4 killed; paramilitary force called in |date=15 October 2021 |access-date=15 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/mob-attacks-devotees-at-iskcon-temple-in-bangladesh-1865302-2021-10-15 |work=] |date=15 October 2021 |title=ISKCON temple vandalised, devotees 'violently attacked' by mob in Bangladesh's Noakhali |access-date=15 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/suvendu-adhikari-writes-to-pm-expresses-concern-about-idol-vandalism-in-bangladesh/articleshow/87022161.cms |work=] |title=Suvendu Adhikari writes to PM, expresses concern about idol vandalism in Bangladesh |date=14 October 2021 |access-date=15 October 2021 |author=Jayatri Nag |url-access=subscription}}</ref> | |||
Saudi Arabia is an ] ], and officially does not tolerate any other religion. Hindus are considered polytheists by Islamic law, which is used as a justification for greater discrimination in calculating accidental death or injury compensation. According to the country's "Hanbali" interpretation of Shari'a, Hindus receive 1/16 of the amount a male Muslim receives<ref>,''United States Department of State''</ref>. | |||
The cohorts of the ruling party ] and ] are often found affiliated in such attacks on Hindu communities followed by communal violence.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 October 2021|title=Awami League party has expelled three of its local leaders for instigating the violence.|work=Deutsche Welle|url=https://www.dw.com/en/police-arrest-dozens-in-bangladesh-for-attacks-on-hindus/a-36283327}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=6 November 2016|title=Mandal, a philosophy student at the Carmichael College in Rangpur in Pirganj sub-district, was expelled from the ruling Awami League's student wing, Chhatra League, following his arrest.|publisher=India Today |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/bangladesh-durga-puja-violence-attack-hindus-arrests-confession-1869185-2021-10-25}}</ref> Even in most of the cases officials found them masterminds behind the attacks to achieve political advantages.<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 December 2016|title=Awami League leader arrested over attacks on Nasirnagar Hindus|work=bdnews24.com|url=https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2016/12/27/awami-league-leader-arrested-for-attack-on-nasirnagar-hindus}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Mahmud|first=Iqbal|date=7 November 2020|title=Political provocation behind arson attacks on Cumilla Hindus: police|work=New Age|url=http://newagebd.net/article/120940/political-provocation-behind-arson-attacks-on-cumilla-hindus-police}}</ref> | |||
On April 1 2005, Saudi religious police (Members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice or ]) destroyed a clandestine makeshift Hindu temple in an old district of Riyadh and deported three worshipers found there<ref>,''WWRN archive of the Middle East Times''</ref> <ref>Marshall, Paul. ''''. Freedom House</ref>. | |||
As per a written response to parliament by Indian ] ], a total of 2,200 cases of violence against Hindus and other minorities have been reported in Bangladesh in 2024 till December 8.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-12-20 |title=2,200 in Bangladesh, 112 in Pakistan: Government on violence cases against Hindus in neighbouring countries |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/2200-in-bangladesh-112-in-pakistan-government-on-violence-cases-against-hindus-in-neighbouring-countries/articleshow/116504422.cms |access-date=2024-12-20 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=2,200 cases of violence against Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh, says Govt |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/india/2200-cases-of-violence-against-hindus-and-other-minorities-in-bangladesh-govt-3326992 |access-date=2024-12-20 |website=Deccan Herald |language=en}}</ref> | |||
====Trinidad==== | |||
Indians, predominantly Hindus, came as indentured laborers in 1838 to British Guyana and later to Trinidad, Jamaica, Grenada, St. Lucia, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Surinam. During the initial decades of Indian indenture, Indian cultural forms met with either contempt or indifference by the Christian majority<ref name="Singh">Singh, Sherry-Ann, Hinduism and the State in Trinidad,Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, Volume 6, Number 3, September 2005, pp. 353-365(13)</ref>. Hindus have made many contributions to Trinidad history and culture even though the state historically regarded Hindus as second-class citizens.Hindus in Trinidad struggled over the granting of adult franchise, the Hindu marriage bill, the divorce bill, cremation ordinance, and others<ref name="Singh"/>.After Trinidad's independence from colonial rule, Hindus were marginalized by the African-based People's National Movement. The opposing party, the People's Democratic party, was portrayed as a "Hindu group", and other ] tactics were used against them. Hindus were castigated as a "recalcitrant and hostile minority"<ref name="Singh"/>.Hindus were alienated by such Christian communal groups. The support of the PNM government to creole art forms in Carnivals, while their public rejection and ridicule of Hindu art forms, was a particular source of contention for the Hindu minority.The displacement of PNM from power in 1985 would improve the situation. | |||
Since 1951, the Hindu population has decreased by 15.1% in 71 years, and during the same period, the Muslim population increased by exactly the same 15.1% (76% to 91.1%). Percentage of Hindus declined more than two third (over 67% drop) in 71 years, i.e. from 22% of total population of Bangladesh in 1951 to 13.5% in 1974 (8.5% decrease in 20 years),<ref name="bangladeshgov">{{cite web |url=http://hrcbmdfw.org/files/22/population_data/entry489.aspx |title=Bangladesh- Population census 1991: Religious Composition 1901–1991 |date=2 August 2016 |website=Bangladeshgov.org |access-date=2 August 2016 |archive-date=18 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818162638/http://hrcbmdfw.org/files/22/population_data/entry489.aspx |url-status=dead}}</ref> and then to drop again to 6.9% in 2022 (further 1.6% decrease).<ref name=drop1>{{Cite web |date=August 2022 |title=Population and Housing Census 2022 Preliminary Report |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T0uDswlsJxK3RuBbFZrdecFLIkjCT4UA/view?usp=embed_facebook |access-date=2022-10-08 |website=Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics |archive-date=8 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008215051/https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T0uDswlsJxK3RuBbFZrdecFLIkjCT4UA/view?usp=embed_facebook |url-status=live}}</ref> Hindus and others have been regularly and systematically persecuted, such as during the ], ] and ]<ref name=genoc2>{{Cite news |date=14 June 2015 |title=Forkan Razakar's verdict any day |work=Dhaka Tribune |url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/uncategorized/2015/06/14/forkan-razakars-verdict-any-day}}</ref><ref name=genoc3>{{Cite web |date=25 March 2016 |title=Why is the mass sexualized violence of Bangladesh's Liberation War being ignored? |url=https://womenintheworld.com/2016/03/25/why-is-the-mass-sexualized-violence-of-bangladeshs-liberation-war-being-ignored/ |publisher=Women In The World}}</ref><ref name=genoc4>{{Cite web |title=Discovery of numerous Mass Graves, Various types of torture on Women" and "People's Attitude |url=https://www.kean.edu/~bgsg/Conference09/Papers_and_Presentations/MA_Hasan_Paper_Discovery%20of%20numerous%20Mass%20Graves,%20Various%20types.pdf |publisher=kean.edu}}</ref><ref name=genoc5>{{Cite web |title=Crimes Against Humanity in Bangladesh |url=https://scholar.smu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3945&context=til |publisher=scholar.smu.edu}}</ref><ref name=genoc1>{{cite news |date=25 March 2010 |title=Bangladesh war: The article that changed history |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16207201}}</ref><ref name=genoc6>White, Matthew, ''''</ref><ref name=genoc7>{{Cite web |title=First Razakar camp in Khulna turns into ghost house after Liberation War |url=https://www.observerbd.com/2015/12/30/128351.php |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=www.observerbd.com}}</ref> where ].{{sfnm|Sharlach|2000|1pp=92–93|Sajjad|2012|2p=225}} Active perpetrators of genocide, ethnic cleansing and rapes of Hindus in Bangladesh include the ],<ref name=genoc1/> ],<ref name=genoc10>{{cite web |last1=Mamoon |first1=Muntassir |title=Al-Badr |url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Al-Badr |website=Banglapedia |publisher=Bangladesh Asiatic Society |access-date=4 September 2016}}</ref><ref name=genoc11>{{cite book |last1=Sisson |first1=Richard |last2=Rose |first2=Leo E. |date=1991 |title=War and Secession: Pakistan, India, and the Creation of Bangladesh |publisher=University of California Press |page=165 |isbn=978-0-520-07665-5}}</ref> ],<ref name=genoc12>{{cite web |url=https://lubpak.com/archives/42543 |title=Pakistan's first two militant Islamist groups, Al-Badar and Al-Shams – by Nadeem F. Paracha |work=LUBP |access-date=29 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151227153530/https://lubpak.com/archives/42543 |archive-date=27 December 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> ],<ref name=genoc13>{{cite book |last=Karlekar |first=Hiranmay |date=2005 |title=Bangladesh: The Next Afghanistan? |url=https://archive.org/details/bangladeshnextaf0000karl |url-access=registration |publisher=SAGE |page=149 |isbn=978-0-7619-3401-1}}</ref> ],<ref name=genoc14>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/the-list-of-10789-razakars-published-1840843 |title=Govt publishes list of Razakars |date=16 December 2019 |work=The Daily Star}}</ref> ],<ref name=genoc15/> ],<ref name=genoc15/> and the ]-speaking ].<ref name=genoc15>{{cite news |first=Peter R. |last=Kann |date=27 July 1971 |title=East Pakistan Is Seen Gaining Independence, But It Will Take Years |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> | |||
There has been persistent discontent among the Hindus with their marginalization. Many Christianized groups portray Hindus as "clannish, backward and miserly".During the General Elections of 1986, the absence of the ] and the Quran at polling stations for required oath-taking was interpreted as a gross insult to Hindus and Muslims. The absence of any Hindu religious texts at the official residence of the President of Trinidad and Tobago during the swearing in of the new Government in 1986 was perceived as another insult to the minority communities since they were represented in the government.The exclusivist Christian symbolism operative in the country's top national award, the Trinity Cross, has persistently stung Hindu religious sensibility. This was to climax in 1995 with the refusal of the Hindu Dharmaacharya to accept the award, while issuing a statement that his action should be seen as an opportunity for those in authority to create a national award that recognizes the plurality of religious beliefs in this country. The national education system and curriculum have been repeatedly accused of such majority-oriented symbolism. The use of discernibly Christian-oriented prayers at Government schools, the non-representation of Hinduism in approved school textbooks, and the lack of emphasis on Hindu religious observace evoked deep resentment from the Hindu community. Intensified protests over the course of the 1980s led to an improvement in the state's attitudes towards Hindus<ref name="Singh"/>.The divergence of some of the fundamental aspects of local Hindu culture, the segregation of the Hindu community from Trinidad, and the disinclination to risk erasing the more fundamental aspects of what had been constructed as "Trinidad Hinduism" in | |||
which the identity of the group had been rooted, would often generate dissension when certain dimensions of Hindu culture came into contact with the State. While the incongruences continue to generate debate, and often conflict, it is now tempered with growing awareness and consideration on the part of the state to the Hindu minority<ref name="Singh"/>. Hindus have been also been subjected to persistent proselytization by Christian missionaries<ref name="irf-trinidad"> International Religious Freedom Report of the State Department of USA</ref>. | |||
Specifically the evangelical and Pentecostal Christians. Such activities reflect racial tensions that at times arise between the Christianized Afro-Trinidadian and Hindu Indo-Trinidadian communities<ref name="irf-trinidad"/>. | |||
=== |
=== Bhutan === | ||
{{excerpt|Hinduism in Bhutan|Persecution of Hindus|subsections=yes}} | |||
The rise of the ] community in the United States has brought about some isolated incidences of attacks on them, as has been the case with many minority groups in the United States. Attacks specific to Hindus in the United States stem from what is often referred to as the "racialization of religion" among Americans, a process that begins when certain phenotypical features associated with a group and attached to race in popular discourse become associated with a particular religion or religions<ref>Joshi, Khyati, The Racialization of Hinduism, Islam, and Sikhism in the United States,Equity & Excellence in Education, Volume 39, Number 3, August 2006, pp. 211-226(16)</ref>. | |||
=== Pakistan === | |||
In the wake of the ] in the United States,] Hindus in the United States, together with adherents of other religions from the same community (mainly ]s and ]), have faced isolated instances of attacks on them, often for "looking Middle-Eastern" or being mistaken for Muslims. Notable instances include the attack on a Hindu temple dedicated to ] in ], ] which involved firebombing with a ] and instances of some Hindus being verbally assasulted and/or harassed<ref>,''refuseandassist.org''</ref><ref>,''CNN.com''</ref>. | |||
{{Main|Persecution of Hindus in Pakistan}} | |||
{{See also|Hinduism in Pakistan|2014 Larkana temple attack|2019 Ghotki riots|2020 Karak temple attack}} | |||
====1971 Bangladesh genocide==== | |||
==Notes== | |||
{{See also|1971 Bangladesh genocide|Operation Searchlight}} | |||
<div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;"> | |||
<references/> | |||
</div> | |||
During the ] there were widespread killings and acts of ethnic cleansing of civilians in Bangladesh (then ], a province of Pakistan), and widespread violations of human rights were carried out by the Pakistani Army, which was supported by political and religious militias during the ]. The violence began on 26 March 1971 with the launch of ],<ref>{{harvnb|Spencer|2012|p=63}}</ref> as ] (now Pakistan) began a military crackdown on the eastern wing (now ]) of the nation.<ref>{{harvnb|Ganguly|2002|p=60}}</ref> During the nine-month-long Bangladesh War for Liberation, members of the ] and supporting pro Pakistani Islamist ]s from ] party<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EDZa0zZ-XCAC&pg=PA263 |title=Centuries of Genocide: Essays and Eyewitness Accounts |first1=Samuel |last1=Totten |first2=William S. |last2=Parsons |date=2012 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-24550-4 |access-date=21 August 2017}}</ref> killed between 200,000 and 3,000,000<ref name="Bass">{{Cite magazine |last=Bass |first=Gary |date=19 November 2013 |title=Looking Away from Genocide |url=http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/looking-away-from-genocide |magazine=The New Yorker}}</ref><ref name="Al Jazeera">{{cite news |title=Bangladesh sets up war crimes court |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/03/2010325151839747356.html |url-status=dead |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=25 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605014512/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/03/2010325151839747356.html |archive-date=5 June 2011}}</ref><ref name="Women and Climate Change in Bangladesh">{{cite book |last1=Alston |first1=Margaret |year=2015 |title=Women and Climate Change in Bangladesh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WMSgBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA40 |publisher=Routledge |page=40 |isbn=978-1-317-68486-2}}</ref> people and raped between 200,000 and 400,000 Bengali women,<ref name="Women and Climate Change in Bangladesh"/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/research/birth-of-bangladesh-when-raped-women-and-war-babies-paid-the-price-of-a-new-nation-victory-day-4430420/ |title=Birth of Bangladesh: When raped women and war babies paid the price of a new nation |work=The Indian Express |date=19 December 2016 |access-date=17 December 2016 |archive-date=6 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406193430/https://indianexpress.com/article/research/birth-of-bangladesh-when-raped-women-and-war-babies-paid-the-price-of-a-new-nation-victory-day-4430420/ |url-status=live}}</ref> according to Bangladeshi and Indian sources,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y85KOHHVT5oC&pg=PA306 |title=War and Secession: Pakistan, India, and the Creation of Bangladesh |last1=Sisson |first1=Richard |last2=Rose |first2=Leo E. |date=1991 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-07665-5 |page=306}}</ref> in a systematic campaign of ].<ref>{{harvnb|Sharlach|2000|p=95}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Sajjad|2012|p=225}}</ref> The actions against women were supported by Pakistan's religious leaders, who declared that Bengali women were ''gonimoter maal'' (Bengali for "public property").<ref>{{harvnb|D'Costa|2011|p=108}}</ref> As a result of the conflict, a further eight to ten million people, mostly Hindus,<ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/51736/Bangladesh/277584/The-Pakistani-period-1947-71 |title=History (from Bangladesh) |last=Tinker |first=Hugh Russell |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=11 June 2013 |archive-date=29 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029185936/http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/51736/Bangladesh/277584/The-Pakistani-period-1947-71 |url-status=live}}</ref> ] to seek refuge in neighbouring India. It is estimated that up to 30 million civilians were internally displaced<ref name="Women and Climate Change in Bangladesh" /> out of 70 million.<ref name="WPP 2017">{{cite web |url=http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/index.htm |title=World Population Prostpects 2017 |website=Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat |access-date=30 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110506065230/http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/index.htm |archive-date=6 May 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> During the war, there was also ] between Bengalis and ].<ref>{{harvnb|Saikia|2011|p=3}}</ref> Biharis faced reprisals from Bengali mobs and militias<ref name="Khan 2010 p101">{{cite book |last=Khan |first=Borhan Uddin |author2=Muhammad Mahbubur Rahman |date=2010 |editor1=Rainer Hofmann |editor2=Ugo Caruso |title=Minority Rights in South Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yKCKe7J9Uq4C |publisher=Peter Lang |isbn=978-3631609163 |page=101}}</ref> and from 1,000<ref name="MAR-1">{{cite web |url=http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/mar/chronology.asp?groupId=77103 |title=Chronology for Biharis in Bangladesh |work=The Minorities at Risk (MAR) Project |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602055513/http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/mar/chronology.asp?groupId=77103 |archive-date=2 June 2010}}</ref> to 150,000<ref name="Fink2010">{{cite book |last1=Fink |first1=George |title=Stress of War, Conflict and Disaster |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rOq4XV94wLsC&pg=PA292 |year=2010 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-12-381382-4 |page=292 |access-date=4 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace and Conflict: Po – Z, index. 3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TG2kN033mDkC&pg=PA64 |date=1999 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-12-227010-9 |pages=64}}</ref> were killed. | |||
==Further reading== | |||
* {{cite book | |||
In Bangladesh, the atrocities are identified{{by whom|date=October 2022}} as a genocide. ''Time'' magazine reported in 1971 that "The Hindus, who account for three-fourths of the refugees and a majority of the dead, have borne the brunt of the Muslim military's hatred."<ref name="time2Aug1971">{{cite magazine |title=Pakistan: The Ravaging of Golden Bengal |date=2 August 1971 |magazine=Time |url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,878408,00.html |access-date=25 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311141813/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,878408,00.html |archive-date=11 March 2007}}</ref> | |||
| last = Trifkovic | |||
| first = Serge | |||
United States government cables noted that Hindus were specific targets of the Pakistani army.<ref name="usconsulate_cable_march31">U.S. Consulate (Dacca) Cable, Sitrep: , 31 March 1971, Confidential, 3 pp</ref><ref name=Blood978>{{cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/documents/organization/48049.pdf|title=Telegram 978 From the Consulate General in Dacca to the Department of State, March 29, 1971, 1130Z|access-date=20 January 2019}}</ref> Notable massacres included the ], the ], and the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bose |first=Sarmila |author-link=Sarmila Bose |year=2011 |title=Dead Reckoning: Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh War |location=London |publisher=Hurst and Co. |pages=73, 122 |isbn=978-1-84904-049-5}}</ref> More than 60% of the Bengali refugees who fled to India were Hindus.<ref name="usstatedept_south_asia_crisis">U.S. State Department, ''Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976'', Volume XI, "South Asia Crisis, 1971", page 165</ref><ref name="kennedy">Kennedy, Senator Edward, "Crisis in South Asia – A report to the Subcommittee investigating the Problem of Refugees and Their Settlement, Submitted to U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee", 1 November 1971, U.S. Govt. Press, page 66. Sen. Kennedy wrote, "Field reports to the U.S. Government, countless eye-witness journalistic accounts, reports of International agencies such as World Bank and additional information available to the subcommittee document the reign of terror which grips East Bengal (East Pakistan). Hardest hit have been members of the Hindu community who have been robbed of their lands and shops, systematically slaughtered, and in some places, painted with yellow patches marked 'H'. All of this has been officially sanctioned, ordered and implemented under martial law from Islamabad."</ref> It has been alleged{{by whom|date=October 2022}} that this widespread violence against Hindus was motivated by a policy to purge East Pakistan of what was seen as Hindu and Indian influences.<ref name="sundaytimes6_13_71">{{cite news |last=Mascarenhas |first=Anthony |author-link=Anthony Mascarenhas |date=13 June 1971 |title=Genocide |newspaper=The Times |location=London |quote=The Government's policy for East Bengal was spelled out to me in the Eastern Command headquarters at Dacca. It has three elements: 1. The Bengalis have proved themselves unreliable and must be ruled by West Pakistanis; 2. The Bengalis will have to be re-educated along proper Islamic lines. The – Islamization of the masses – this is the official jargon – is intended to eliminate secessionist tendencies and provide a strong religious bond with West Pakistan; 3. When the Hindus have been eliminated by death and flight, their property will be used as a golden carrot to win over the under privileged Muslim middle-class. This will provide the base for erecting administrative and political structures in the future.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers3/paper232.html |title=Bangladesh: A Bengali Abbasi Lurking Somewhere? |website=South Asia Analysis Group |date=23 April 2001 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100613152129/http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers3/paper232.html | archive-date= 13 June 2010 |url-status=usurped | author1= B. Raman}}</ref> | |||
| authorlink = Serge Trifkovic | |||
| title = The Sword of the Prophet: History, Theology, Impact on the World | |||
The genocide and gendercidal atrocities were also perpetrated by lower-ranking officers and ordinary soldiers. These "willing executioners" were fueled by an abiding anti-Bengali racism, especially against the Hindu minority.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}} According to ], late professor of political science at the University of Hawaii, | |||
| publisher = Regina Orthodox Press | |||
{{blockquote| | |||
| date = Sept. 11, 2002 | |||
Bengalis were often compared with monkeys and chickens. Said Pakistan General Niazi, "It was a low lying land of low lying people." The Hindus among the Bengalis were as Jews to the Nazis: scum and vermin that best be exterminated. As to the Moslem Bengalis, they were to live only on the sufferance of the soldiers: any infraction, any suspicion cast on them, any need for reprisal, could mean their death. And the soldiers were free to kill at will. The journalist Dan Coggin quoted one Punjabi captain as telling him, "We can kill anyone for anything. We are accountable to no one." This is the arrogance of Power.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rummel |first1=R.J. |author-link=Rudolph Rummel |title=Death by Government |year=1994 |location=New Brunswick, New Jersey |publisher=Transaction Publishers |page=335 |isbn=978-1-56000-145-4}}</ref>}} | |||
}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Sarkar |first= Jadunath |authorlink=Jadunath Sarkar |title=How the Muslims forcibly converted the Hindus of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh to Islam }} | |||
The Bangladesh Liberation War (1971) resulted in one of the largest genocides of the 20th century. While estimates of the number of casualties was 3,000,000, it is reasonably certain that Hindus bore a disproportionate brunt of the Pakistan Army's onslaught against the Bengali population of what was East Pakistan. An article in ] dated 2 August 1971, stated "The Hindus, who account for three-fourths of the refugees and a majority of the dead, have borne the brunt of the Muslim military hatred."<ref name="time2Aug1971" /> Senator ] wrote in a report that was part of ] testimony dated 1 November 1971, "Hardest hit have been members of the Hindu community who have been robbed of their lands and shops, systematically slaughtered, and in some places, painted with yellow patches marked "H". All of this has been officially sanctioned, ordered and implemented under martial law from ]". In the same report, Senator Kennedy reported that 80% of the refugees in India were Hindus and according to numerous international relief agencies such as UNESCO and ] the number of East Pakistani refugees at their peak in India was close to 10 million. Given that the Hindu population in East Pakistan was around 11 million in 1971, this suggests that up to 8 million, or more than 70% of the Hindu population had fled the country. The ]–winning journalist ] covered the start of the war and wrote extensively on the suffering of the East Bengalis, including the Hindus both during and after the conflict. In a syndicated column "The Pakistani Slaughter That Nixon Ignored", he wrote about his return to liberated Bangladesh in 1972. "Other reminders were the yellow "H"s the Pakistanis had painted on the homes of Hindus, particular targets of the Muslim army" (by "Muslim army", meaning the ], which had targeted Bengali Muslims as well), (], 29 April 1994). | |||
* {{cite book |last=Firishta |first= Muhammad Qãsim Hindû Shãh |authorlink= |coauthors=John Briggs (translator) |title= Tãrîkh-i-Firishta (History of the Rise of the Mahomedan Power in India)|year=1829- 1981 Reprint |location=New Delhi }} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Nasrin |first=Taslima |authorlink=Taslima Nasrin|title=] |year= 1994|publisher=Penguin Books India|location=India |id=ISBN 0-14-024051-9 }} | |||
====Post-1971==== | |||
* {{cite book|last=Talib|first=Gurbachan|authorlink=Gurbachan Singh Talib|title= ]|year=1950|publisher=]|location=India}} | |||
The Hindus are one of the persecuted minority religions in Pakistan. Militancy and sectarianism has been rising in Pakistan since the 1990s, and the religious minorities such as Hindus have "borne the brunt of the Islamist's ferocity" suffering "greater persecution than in any earlier decade", states ] – a Public Policy Scholar at the ]. This has led to attacks and forced conversion of the Hindus.<ref name="Ispahani2017p165">{{cite book |last1=Ispahani |first1=Farahnaz |title=Purifying the Land of the Pure: A History of Pakistan's Religious Minorities |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o36uDQAAQBAJ |year=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-062165-0 |pages=165–171}}</ref><ref name="LockwoodWomen">{{cite book |editor-last1=Lockwood |editor-first1=Bert B. |title=Women's Rights: A Human Rights Quarterly Reader |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EhMqAAAAYAAJ |year=2006 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |isbn=978-0-8018-8373-6 |pages=227–235}}</ref><ref name="Rehman2000p158">{{cite book |last1=Rehman |first1=Javaid |title=The Weaknesses in the International Protection of Minority Rights |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HHRMEoS7-YQC |year=2000 |publisher=Kluwer Law International |location=The Hague |isbn=90-411-1350-9 |pages=158–159}}</ref> | |||
The London-based Minority Rights Group and Islamabad-based International and Sustainable Development Policy Institute state that religious minorities in Pakistan such as Hindus face "high levels of religious discrimination", and "legal and social discrimination in almost every aspect of their lives, including political participation, marriage and freedom of belief".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-minorities-rights-idUSKBN0JN1F020141209|title=Persecution of Pakistan's religious minorities intensifies, says report|date=9 December 2014|work=Reuters|access-date=19 December 2019 | author1= Nita Bhalla}}</ref> Similarly, the Brussels-based Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization stated in 2019, that "religious minorities, including Hindus ... have perpetually been subjected to attacks and discrimination by extremist groups and the society at large."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://unpo.org/article/21577|title=Religious Persecution in Pakistan|date=14 July 2019|website =Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization |access-date=19 December 2019}}</ref> | |||
The ] echos a similar view, stating that "extremist groups and societal actors continued to discriminate against and attack religious minorities" in Pakistan.<ref>, Tier 1 USCIRF Recommended Countries of Particular Concern, USCIRF, USA (2019)</ref><ref>, USCIRF Recommended Countries of Particular Concern, USCIRF, USA (2018)</ref><ref>, Annual Report 2014, USCIRF, USA (2014); Also see Annual Reports for , USCIRF, US Government</ref> The European Parliament, similarly has expressed its concerns to Pakistan of systemic persecution of minorities citing examples of attack on Hindu temples (and Christian Churches), hundreds of honor killings, citing its blasphemy laws that "make it dangerous for religious minorities to express themselves freely or engage openly in religious activities".<ref name="ep17Apr2014">European Parliament resolution of 17 April 2014 on Pakistan, Recent cases of persecution (2014/2694(RSP)), Texts Adopted P7_TA-PROV(2014)0460, P7_TA(2014)0208, P7_TA(2013)0422, OJ C 161 E, 31 May 2011, p. 147, The European Parliament (2014)</ref> The European Parliament has adopted resolutions of concern stating that "for years Pakistan's blasphemy laws have raised global concern because accusations are often motivated by score-settling, economic gain or religious intolerance, and foster a culture of vigilantism giving mobs a platform for harassment and attacks" against its religious minorities such as Hindus.<ref name="ep17Apr2014" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&reference=P7-TA-2014-0460&language=EN&ring=B7-2014-0410|title=Texts adopted - Thursday, 17 April 2014 - Pakistan: recent cases of persecution - P7_TA(2014)0460|publisher=European Parliament|access-date=22 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-8-2016-0128_EN.html|title=Texts adopted - Pakistan, in particular the attack in Lahore - Thursday, 14 April 2016|publisher=European Parliament|language=en|access-date=22 December 2019}}</ref> | |||
In the aftermath of the ] Pakistani Hindus faced riots. Mobs attacked five Hindu temples in ] and set fire to 25 temples in towns across the province of ]. Shops owned by Hindus were also attacked in ]. Hindu homes and temples were also attacked in ].<ref name="nyt8Dec1992">{{cite news |title=Pakistanis Attack 30 Hindu Temples |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE2DD113BF93BA35751C1A964958260&sec=&spon= |newspaper=The New York Times |agency=Reuters |date=8 December 1992 |page=A16 |access-date=15 April 2011 |quote=Muslims attacked more than 30 Hindu temples across Pakistan today, and the Government of this overwhelmingly Muslim nation closed offices and schools for a day to protest the destruction of a mosque in India.}}</ref> | |||
Hindus in Pakistan are often treated as second class citizens, systematically discriminated and dehumanised.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Abi-Habib |first1=Maria |last2=ur-Rehman |first2=Zia |title=Poor and Desperate, Pakistani Hindus Accept Islam to Get By |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/04/world/asia/pakistan-hindu-conversion.html |work=The New York Times |date=4 August 2020 | url-access= subscription}}</ref> Hindu women have also been known to be victims of kidnapping and forced conversion to Islam.<ref>{{cite news |last=Syed |first=Anwar |date=18 June 2006 |title=State of minorities |url=http://www.dawn.com/2006/06/18/op.htm |type=Opinion |access-date=18 August 2006}}</ref> A member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan claimed in 2010, though without official record, that around 20 to 25 girls from the Hindu community, along with people from other minorities like Christians, are abducted every month and forcibly converted.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2010-04-06|title=25 Hindu girls abducted every month, claims HRCP official|url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=231616|work=The News International| author= Rabia Ali | url-status= dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100406032259/http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=231616 |archive-date=6 April 2010 }}</ref> Many Hindus are continuing to flee Pakistan even now due to persecution.<ref>{{cite news |last=Farooq Khan |first=Omer |date=14 May 2014 |title=5,000 Hindus flee Pak every year due to persecution |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/5000-Hindus-flee-Pak-every-year-due-to-persecution/articleshow/35084313.cms |newspaper=The Times of ndia |access-date=21 May 2017}}</ref> ], a Hindu member of the ], came into the news for manhandling Qari Gul Rehman after being taunted with a religious insult.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/print.asp?page=2005%5C12%5C09%5Cstory_9-12-2005_pg1_7|title= Opp MNAs fight in PM's presence|date= 9 December 2005|work=Daily Times|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070930191446/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/print.asp?page=2005%5C12%5C09%5Cstory_9-12-2005_pg1_7|archive-date= 30 September 2007|df= dmy-all | author=Irfan Ghauri }}</ref> | |||
On 18 October 2005, Sanno Amra and Champa, a Hindu couple residing in the Punjab Colony, Karachi, Sindh returned home to find that their three teenage daughters had disappeared. After inquiries to the local police, the couple discovered that their daughters had been taken to a local madrassah, had been converted to Islam, and were denied unsupervised contact with their parents.<ref name="usdep">{{cite web |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71443.htm |title=Pakistan |website=U.S. Department of State |access-date=5 May 2015}}</ref> In January 2017, a Hindu temple was demolished in Pakistan's ] district.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1302139/minority-rights-another-hindu-temple-demolished/ |title=Minority rights: Another Hindu temple demolished |date=21 January 2017 |work=The Express Tribune |access-date=13 June 2017 |language=en-US |author1=Muhammad Sadaqat}}</ref> | |||
In 2005, 32 Hindus were killed by firing from the government side near ]'s residence during bloody clashes between Bugti tribesmen and paramilitary forces in ]. The firing left the Hindu residential locality near Bugti's residence badly hit.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4372789.stm|title=Journalists find Balochistan 'war zone'|last=Abbas|first=Zaffar|date=22 March 2005|publisher=BBC|quote=The Hindu residential locality that is close to Mr Bugti's fortress-like house was particularly badly hit. Mr Bugti says 32 Hindus were killed by firing from the government side in exchanges that followed an attack on a government convoy last Thursday.|access-date=26 December 2016}}</ref> | |||
In 2006, a Hindu temple in ] was destroyed to pave the way for construction of a multi-storied commercial building. When reporters from Pakistan-based newspaper '']'' tried to cover the incident, they were accosted by the henchmen of the property developer, who denied that a Hindu temple existed at the site.<ref>{{cite news |title=Another temple is no more |url=http://www.dawn.com/2006/05/28/nat23.htm |newspaper=Dawn |date=28 May 2006}}</ref> In January 2014, a policeman standing guard outside a Hindu temple at Peshawar was gunned down.<ref name="Newsweek" /> '']'' citing an All Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement (PHRM) survey said that 95% of all Hindu temples in Pakistan have been converted since 1990.<ref name="tribune.com.pk">{{Cite news |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/686952/95-of-worship-places-put-to-commercial-use-survey/ |title=95% of worship places put to commercial use: Survey |last=Gishkori |first=Zahid |access-date=13 October 2017 |work=The Express Tribune |date=25 March 2014}}</ref> Pakistanis attack Hindu temples if anything happens to any mosque in neighbouring India.<ref name="nyt8Dec1992" /> In 2019, a Hindu temple Pakistan's southern Sindh province was vandalism by miscreants and they set fire to holy books and idols inside the temple.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pak: Hindu temple vandalised, holy books, idols burnt |url=https://wap.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/pak-hindu-temple-vandalised-holy-books-idols-burnt-119020500554_1.html |work=Business Standard |date=5 February 2019}}</ref> | |||
In July 2010, around 60 members of the minority Hindu community in Karachi were attacked and evicted from their homes following an incident of a Hindu youth drinking water from a tap near an Islamic mosque.<ref name="thehindu1">{{cite news |title=Hindus attacked, evicted from their homes in Pak's Sindh |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article512346.ece |date=12 July 2010 |newspaper=] |location=Chennai, India |agency=Press Trust of India |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref><ref name="one13Jul2010">{{cite news |last=Devaki |date=13 July 2010 |title=Hindus attacked in Pakistan |url=http://news.oneindia.in/2010/07/13/hindus-in-sindh-attacked-pakistan.html |newspaper=] |access-date=29 January 2014 |archive-date=30 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230233830/http://news.oneindia.in/2010/07/13/hindus-in-sindh-attacked-pakistan.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In January 2014, a policeman standing guard outside a Hindu temple at ] was gunned down.<ref name="Newsweek" /> Pakistan's Supreme Court has sought a report from the government on its efforts to ensure access for the minority Hindu community to temples – the Karachi bench of the apex court was hearing applications against the alleged denial of access to the members of the minority community.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-hindus-in-pakistan-denied-access-to-temples/20140227.htm#2 |title=Are Hindus in Pakistan being denied access to temples? |date=27 February 2014 |work=Rediff.com |access-date=3 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Naeem |last=Sahoutara |title=Hindus being denied access to temple, SC questions authorities |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/676049/hindus-being-denied-access-to-temple-sc-questions-authorities |publisher=The Express Tribune News Network |date=26 February 2014 |access-date=3 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Pak SC seeks report on denial of access to Hindu temple |url=http://www.thestatesman.net/news/41450-pak-sc-seeks-report-on-denial-of-access-to-hindu-temple.html |newspaper=The Statesman |agency=Press Trust of India |date=26 February 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140303211814/http://www.thestatesman.net/news/41450-pak-sc-seeks-report-on-denial-of-access-to-hindu-temple.html |archive-date=3 March 2014 |access-date=3 March 2014}}</ref> | |||
In 2010 also, 57 Hindus were forced to convert by their employer as his sales dropped after Muslims started boycotting his eatable items as they were prepared by Hindus. Since the impoverished Hindus had no other way to earn and needed to keep the job to survive, hence they converted.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.currentriggers.com/blog/pakistan-250-hindus-convert/|title=Pakistan: 250 Hindus convert to Islam in its notorious town|date=17 September 2017|access-date=20 January 2019}}</ref> | |||
A ] politician has stated that abduction of Hindus and Sikhs is a business in Pakistan, along with conversions of Hindus to Islam.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rana |first=Yudhvir |date=28 August 2011 |title=Abduction of Hindus, Sikhs have become a business in Pak: PML MP |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Abduction-of-Hindus-Sikhs-have-become-a-business-in-Pak-PML-MP/articleshow/9763515.cms |newspaper=]}}</ref> Forced conversion, rape, and forced marriages of Hindu women in Pakistan have recently become very controversial in Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Barcelona forward Lionel Messi back in training after injury|url=https://zeenews.india.com/sports/football/barcelona-forward-lionel-messi-back-in-training-after-injury_770873.html|access-date=2023-01-02|work=Zee News|language=en}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=October 2023|reason=off-topic}}<ref>{{Cite news |title=Hounded in Pakistan |url=https://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/item/51269-hounded-in-pakistan.html | url-status= dead |work=The Pioneer |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322014334/https://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/item/51269-hounded-in-pakistan.html |archive-date=2012-03-22}}</ref> | |||
Although Hindus were frequently soft targets in Pakistan,<ref name="bbc2Mar2007">{{cite news |last=Sohail |first=Riaz |date=2 March 2007 |title=Hindus feel the heat in Pakistan |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6367773.stm |work=BBC News |access-date=22 May 2010 |quote=But many Hindu families who stayed in Pakistan after partition have already lost faith and migrated to India.}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?655723 |title=Pakistani Hindu Youth Murdered in Sindh |magazine=Outlook |date= 10 March 2009 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110718083239/http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?655723 | archive-date= 18 July 2011 | url-status=dead}}</ref> the rise of Taliban forces in the political arena has particularly unsettled the already fragile situation for the minority community. Increasing persecution, ostracism from locals and lack of a social support system is forcing more and more Hindus to flee to India.<ref name="rediff16Mar2009" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Terrified Pak Hindus Flee To India |url=http://www.indiatvnews.com/Common.aspx?path=19%2F209 |publisher=India TV |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090409142223/http://www.indiatvnews.com/Common.aspx?path=19%2F209 |archive-date=9 April 2009}}</ref> This has been observed in the past whenever the conflicts between the two nations escalated,<ref>{{cite news| url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/614386142.cms | work=The Times of India | title=Hindus fleeing persecution in Pak | date=5 September 2001}}</ref> but this has been a notable trend in view of the fact the recent developments are due to internal factors almost exclusively. The Taliban have used false methods of luring, as well as the co-operation of zealots within local authorities to perpetrate ].<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100102041610/http://tehelka.com/story_main43.asp?filename=Ne171009goodbye_to.asp |date=2 January 2010 }} Tehelka – 17 October 2009 issue</ref> | |||
In 2012, a century-old temple demolished in Karachi, Pakistan, along with several houses, leaving nearly 40 Hindus homeless.<ref name="kar12">{{cite news|agency=Press Trust of India|date=3 December 2021|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/world/pakistan/story/100-year-old-temple-demolished-in-pakistan-angry-hindus-asks-govt-to-arrange-tickets-to-india-123121-2012-12-03|work=India Today|title=100-year-old temple demolished in Pakistan, angry Hindus ask govt to arrange tickets to India}}</ref> Following the demolition, the ] organised a protest outside of ]. Prakash, one of the members of the council said "They destroyed our mandir and humiliated our gods".<ref name="kar12" /> According to local residents, the demolition team taken away the gold jewellery and crowns of the Hindu deities.<ref name="kar12" /> "They hit me with their guns when I tried to stop them. I told them to kill me instead of destroying out holy place", states, one of the residents, Lakshman.<ref name="kar12"/> According to one elderly resident, identified as Kaali Das, the area around the temple had over 150 Hindu families and due to the demolition, the families, including the children, spent the nights in the open.<ref name="kar12"/> "If you don't want us, we will go to India", screamed one of the women.<ref name="kar12" /> Maharaj Badri, who lived inside the temple, said that, "Our ancestors have been living here since independence. We are not encroachers".<ref name="kar12" /> | |||
The rise of ] insurgency in Pakistan has been an influential and increasing factor in the persecution of and ], such as ], ], ], and other minorities. Hindu minorities living under the influence of the Taliban in ], Pakistan, were forced to wear red headgear such as ]s as a symbol of ].<ref name="rediff16Mar2009">{{cite news |title=No more safe at home, Pak Hindus flee to India |url=http://specials.rediff.com/news/2009/mar/18sld1-hindu-families-face-the-heat.htm |work=Rediff.com |date=16 March 2009 |access-date=8 June 2013}}</ref> In January 2014, in an attack on a temple, the guard was gunned down.<ref name="Newsweek">{{cite magazine |date=26 January 2014 |title=Hindu temple guard gunned down in Peshawar |url=http://newsweekpakistan.com/hindu-temple-guard-gunned-down-in-peshawar |magazine=] |access-date=31 January 2014}}</ref> | |||
Some Hindus in Pakistan feel that they are treated as second-class citizens and many have continued to migrate to India.<ref name="bbc2Mar2007" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/gujarat-114-pakistanis-are-indian-citizens-now/articleshow/59695975.cms|title=Gujarat: 114 Pakistanis are Indian citizens now|access-date=24 July 2017|work=Ahmedabad Mirror}}</ref> According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan data, just around 1,000 Hindu families fled to India in 2013.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rizvi |first=Uzair Hasan |date=10 September 2015 |title=Hindu refugees from Pakistan encounter suspicion and indifference in India |url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1206092 |work=Dawn}}</ref> In May 2014, a member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, revealed in the National Assembly of Pakistan that around 5,000 Hindus are migrating from Pakistan to India every year.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Haider |first=Irfan |date=13 May 2014 |title=5,000 Hindus migrating to India every year, NA told |url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1105830 |work=Dawn |access-date=15 January 2016}}</ref> | |||
Many Hindu girls living in Pakistan are kidnapped, forcibly converted and married to Muslims.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/08/forced-conversions-torment-pakistan-hindus-201481795524630505.html|title=Forced conversions torment Pakistan's Hindus|first=Maham|last=Javaid|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=20 January 2019}}</ref> According to the Pakistan Hindu Council, religious persecution especially forced conversions to remain the foremost reason for the migration of Hindus from Pakistan. Religious institutions like Bharchundi Sharif and Sarhandi Pir support forced conversions and are known to have support and protection of ruling political parties of Sindh.<ref name="dailytimes.com.pk">{{cite news |url=https://dailytimes.com.pk/116289/forced-conversions-of-pakistani-hindu-girls/|title=Forced conversions of Pakistani Hindu girls|work=Daily Times|date=19 September 2017|access-date=20 January 2019}}</ref> According to the National Commission of Justice and Peace and the Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC) around 1000 Christian and Hindu minority women are converted to Islam and then forcibly married off to their abductors or rapists. This practice is being reported increasingly in the districts of ], ] and ] in Sindh.<ref name="dailytimes.com.pk"/> According to the Amarnath Motumal, the vice chairperson of the ], every month, an estimated 20 or more Hindu girls are abducted and converted, although exact figures are impossible to gather.<ref name="auto"/> In 2014 alone, 265 legal cases of forced conversion were reported mostly involving Hindu girls.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1170682|title=265 cases of forced conversion reported last year, moot told|first=Faiza|last=Ilyas|date=20 March 2015|work=Dawn|location=Pakistan|access-date=20 January 2019}}</ref> | |||
In September 2019, Hindu teacher was attacked and three Hindu temples were vandalised in ] over blasphemy accusations.<ref name="in019">{{cite news|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/world/story/hindu-teacher-attacked-temple-vandalised-pakistan-sindh-1599432-2019-09-15|first=Hamza|last=Ameer|date=15 September 2019|work=India Today|title=Hindu teacher attacked, temple vandalised in Pakistan's Sindh}}</ref><ref name="bbc19">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-49714196|title=Pakistan blasphemy riots: Dozens of arrested after Hindu teacher accused|date=16 September 2019| work=BBC News|publisher=BBC}}</ref> The protestors attacked properties, including the school and vandalised three Hindu temples.<ref name="in019"/> The Hindu principal of Sindh public school in Ghotki was accused of fake ] and the school was vandalised by the religious extremists in the presence of police, states the reports.<ref name="in019" /><ref name="bbc19" /> | |||
In 2020, the Mata Rani Bhatiyani Hindu temple in Tharparkar, Sindh was vandalised by miscreants. The miscreants desecrated the idols and set fire to holy scriptures.<ref name="wi20">{{cite news|url=https://www.wionews.com/pakistan/another-hindu-temple-vandalised-in-pakistan-holy-books-idols-burnt-276834|title=Another Hindu temple vandalised in Pakistan, holy books, idols burnt|work=Wionews|date=27 January 2020}}</ref><ref name="out20">{{cite news|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/attack-on-temple-pak-minister-for-using-blasphemy-law/1720144|work=Outlook India|date=28 January 2020|agency=Indo-Asian News Service|title=Attack on temple: Pak Minister for using blasphemy law}}</ref> Four teenagers, ages 12 and 15 years, have been arrested for theft charges of the cash collection box of the temple.<ref name="out20" /> According to the report, every year, around 1,000 young Hindu girls, between the ages of 12 and 28, are abducted, forcibly married and converted to Islam.<ref name="wi20" /><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/world/pakistan/story/1000-christian-hindu-girls-forced-to-convert-to-islam-every-year-in-pakistan-report-188177-2014-04-08 |title=1,000 Christian, Hindu girls forced to convert to Islam every year in Pakistan: report |magazine=India Today |date=8 April 2014 |access-date=20 January 2019}}</ref> | |||
In 2020, an Islamist mob desecrated the construction site of the first Hindu temple in Islamabad - ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Should an Islamic State Fund a Mandir? As Pak Debates, Hindus Pray for Temple in Islamabad|url=https://thewire.in/religion/islamabad-temple-high-court-imran-khan|access-date=10 August 2020|website=The Wire}}</ref> Subsequently, the Pakistan government halted the construction of the temple and referred the issue to the ], a constitutional body set up to ensure compliance of state policy with Islamic Ideology. Punjab Assembly speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, a member of Pakistan Muslim League - Quaid, stated that construction of the temple was " against the spirit of Islam". Jamia Ashrafia, a Lahore-based Islamic institution, issued a fatwa against the temple.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ellis-Petersen|first=Hannah|date=8 July 2020|title=Islamic activists halt construction of first Hindu temple in Islamabad|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/08/pakistan-shri-krishna-hindu-temple-construction-halted-islamabad|access-date=10 August 2020|issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Abi-Habib|first=Maria|date=8 July 2020|title=Islamists Block Construction of First Hindu Temple in Islamabad|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/world/asia/hindu-temple-islamabad-islamists-pakistan.html|access-date=10 August 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> | |||
In October 2020, ] idols have been vandalised, stripped down and damaged in ], the Sindh Province of Pakistan.<ref name="wi_1_20">{{cite news|url=https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-goddess-durgas-idol-vandalised-in-nagarparkar-after-navratri-337712|work=WION News|date=24 October 2020|title=Pakistan: Goddess Durga's idols vandalised in Nagaparkar after Navratri}}</ref><ref name="ze20">{{cite news|url=https://zeenews.india.com/hindi/india/up-uttarakhand/hardliners-vandalized-the-ancient-temple-of-goddess-durga-during-navratri-in-pakistan-uppm/772377|work=Zee News|date=24 October 2020|title=Acts of fundamentalists fell during Navratras, demolition of mother's temple in Pakistan}}</ref> According to the reports, the incident happened after the Hindu community had performed prayers of the ].<ref name="wi_1_20" /> The incident has occurred on one of the most auspicious days in the Hindu religion, when communities come together to pray to and celebrate the Goddess Durga.<ref name="wi_1_20" /><ref name="ze20" /> | |||
In December 2020, a mob of hundred people led by the local Muslim clerics, destroyed and set on fire a Hindu temple in ] of ], Pakistan.<ref name="intimes20">{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/hindu-temple-demolished-in-pakistans-khyber-pakhtunkhwa-province/articleshow/80029459.cms|date=31 December 2020|first=Yudhvir|last=Rana|work=The Times of India|title=Hindu temple demolished in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province}}</ref> The violent mob, arranged by the local clerics, is seen setting on fire the walls and roof of the temple on the footage report. According to the report, the rally was organised by ], a ] in Pakistan, after the speakers delivered their fiery speeches, the crowd vandalized the temple and set it ablaze and razed it to the ground.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/hindu-temple-vandalised-set-ablaze-pakistan-khyber-pakhtunkhwa-karak-district-1754644-2020-12-30|date=30 December 2020|title=Angry mob vandalises Hindu temple, sets it ablaze in Pak's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|work=India Today|last=Sengupta|first=Nayanika}}</ref><ref name="intimes20" /> The human rights activists based in Pakistan, and other parts of the world, condemned the violent act against the Hindu minority community.<ref name="intimes20" /> | |||
In August 2021, a Muslim mob stormed and vandalized a Hindu temple in ], damaging and burning down the Hindu idols at the ''Siddhi vinayak'' temple.<ref name="wp021">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/muslim-mob-badly-damages-hindu-temple-in-central-pakistan/2021/08/04/e2667b20-f560-11eb-a636-18cac59a98dc_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=4 August 2021|first=Asim|last=Tanveer|title=Muslim mob badly damages Hindu temple in central Pakistan|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="scroll.in20">{{cite news|url=https://scroll.in/latest/1002100/mob-attacks-hindu-temple-in-pakistan-after-minor-gets-bail-in-desecration-case|date=4 August 2021|title=Mob attacks Hindu temple in Pakistan after minor gets bail in desecration case|work=Scroll.in}}</ref><ref name="oi021" /><ref name="in021">{{cite news|title=Hindu temple vandalized in Pakistan|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/hindu-temple-vandalized-in-pakistan/articleshow/85046584.cms|date=4 August 2021|first=Yudhvir|last=Rana|work=The India Times}}</ref> According to ], the member of Hindu National Assembly, the situation in the city was tense following the desecration of the Hindu temple.<ref name="in021" /> The negligence of the issue by the local police, states Vankwani, was very shameful.<ref name="in021" /> An appeal was made to the chief justice of Pakistan to intervene and to take immediate action, states Vankwani.<ref name="in021" /> "The attackers were carrying sticks, stones and bricks. They smashed the deities while raising religious slogans", said Vankwani.<ref name="oi021">{{cite news|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/mob-attacks-temple-in-pakistans-punjab-damages-idols/2135205|work=Ourlook India|last=Zulqernain|first=M|date=3 August 2021|title=Mobs attacks temple in Pakistan's Pubjab, damages idols|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210805010904/https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/mob-attacks-temple-in-pakistans-punjab-damages-idols/2135205 |archive-date=5 August 2021}}</ref><ref name="scroll.in20" /> | |||
In June 2023, the Pakistan Higher Education Commission banned the celebration of the Hindu festival ] on institute campuses to preserve "Islamic identity" and "sociocultural values" which flared the issue of religious discrimination in the country.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-06-21 |title=Holi banned in Pakistan universities to 'preserve Islamic identity': Report |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/holi-banned-in-pakistan-universities-islamabad-university-holi-celebration-viral-video-religious-freedom-in-pakistan-101687339278354.html |access-date=2023-06-21 |work=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Khan |first=Sameer |date=2023-06-21 |title=Pakistan imposes ban on Holi celebrations in varsities |url=https://www.siasat.com/pakistans-higher-education-commission-imposes-ban-on-holi-celebrations-on-campus-2621009/ |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=The Siasat Daily |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title='Erosion Of Country's Islamic Identity': Pakistan's Higher Education Commission Bans Holi Celebrations In Universities |url=https://www.freepressjournal.in/education/erosion-of-countrys-islamic-identity-pakistans-high-education-commission-bans-holi-celebrations-in-universities |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=Free Press Journal |language=en}}</ref> | |||
As per a written response to parliament by Indian ] ], a total of 112 cases of violence against Hindus and other minorities have been reported in Pakistan in 2024 till October.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-12-20 |title=2,200 in Bangladesh, 112 in Pakistan: Government on violence cases against Hindus in neighbouring countries |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/2200-in-bangladesh-112-in-pakistan-government-on-violence-cases-against-hindus-in-neighbouring-countries/articleshow/116504422.cms |access-date=2024-12-20 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=2,200 Cases of Violence Against Hindus, Other Minorities in Bangladesh, 112 In Pakistan: Centre |url=https://www.news18.com/india/2200-cases-of-violence-against-hindus-other-minorities-in-bangladesh-112-in-pakistan-centre-9163334.html |access-date=2024-12-20 |website=News18 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
===Sri Lanka=== | |||
{{Main|Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism|Buddhism and violence#Sri_Lanka}} | |||
] has been the preeminent religion in Sri Lanka throughout its history since it was first established on the island in the 3rd century BCE and forms an integral part of the ] ethnic identity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Larsson |first=J. P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oTorDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT107 |title=Understanding Religious Violence: Thinking Outside the Box on Terrorism |date=2017-07-05 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-87688-9 |language=en}}</ref> The state and the ] (Buddhist clergy) have maintained a close and reciprocal relationship, with the legitimacy of kingship being conferred only on Buddhists for the purpose of protecting Buddhism.<ref name="Kiribamune1976">{{Cite journal |last=Kiribamune |first=Sirima |date=January 1976 |title=The Royal Consecration in Medieval Sri Lanka: The Problem of Vikramabahu I and Gajabahu II |url=https://noolaham.net/project/932/93161/93161.pdf |journal=The Sri Lanka Journal of South Asian Studies |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=12–17}}</ref> Consequently, Buddhism is given "the foremost place" in the country's constitution, making it the duty of the state to protect and foster it. Other groups perceived as posing threat to this rightful position of Buddhism on the island have come into conflicts with the Buddhist majority led by the Sangha.<ref>{{harvnb|DeVotta|2007|p=21}}</ref> | |||
] has its roots in the mytho-historical accounts of the 5th century CE ] chronicle '']'' composed by a Buddhist monk to glorify Buddhism and Buddhist rulers on the island. The chronicle portrays the island as having been blessed by the Buddha to be the repository of his religion and the ancestors of the Sinhalese as having been entrusted to be its custodians. This has led to the widely held Sinhalese-Buddhist belief that the island is ''Sihadipa'' (island of the Sinhalese) and ''Dhammadipa'' (the island ennobled to preserve and propagate Buddhism). The chronicle also legitimizes violence for the sake of safeguarding Buddhism. In a popular story often invoked by modern nationalists, it narrates an account of the Buddhist prince ] and his army of Buddhist monks battling and defeating the Tamil ruler ] in order to restore Buddhist rule over the island. When Dutthagamani laments over the many Tamils he has killed, the '']'' (Buddha's enlightened disciples) advise him that no real sin has been committed by him since he has killed only unbelievers who were not more to be esteemed than beasts.<ref>{{harvnb|DeVotta|2007|pp=8, 50}}</ref> | |||
The Sangha has historically expressed hostility toward Hinduism which they depicted as a heretical or a false faith and the Tamils figure as the main unbelievers and enemies of Buddhism. According to the scholar ], "the Holy War which defends the Buddhist Sangha against Hindu-Tamil encroachment is the most basic of all Sinhalese nationalist traditions."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Leach |first=Edmund |date=Winter 1973 |title=Buddhism in the Post-Colonial Political Order in Burma and Ceylon |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20024108 |journal=Daedalus |volume=102 |issue=1 |pages=34 |jstor=20024108 }}</ref> | |||
The Hindu temples destroyed by the King ] in the 3rd century CE in order to establish the doctrine of the Buddha were said to have been those of the unbelievers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Alahakoon |first=Hector |url= |title=The Later Mauryas: 232 BC to 180 BC |date=1980 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal |isbn= |pages=215 |language=en}}</ref> The 12th century CE rulers ] and his successor ] were denied royal consecration by the Sangha on the basis of their Hindu faith since kingship on the island was reserved for Buddhists for the purpose of protecting Buddhism.<ref name="Kiribamune1976" /> Among the charges levelled against ], the Hindu invader from ] who seized power in ] in the 13th century CE, in the '']'' was the spreading of false faith.<ref name="Schalk1988">{{Cite journal |last=Schalk |first=Peter |date=1988-01-01 |title="Unity" and "Sovereignty": Key Concepts of a Militant Buddhist Organization in the Present Conflict in Sri Lanka |journal=Temenos - Nordic Journal for Study of Religion |language=en |volume=24 |pages=71 |doi=10.33356/temenos.6162 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The ''Pujavaliya'' composed in the aftermath of Magha's invasion declares that the unbelievers will never have permanent residence on the island reserved for Buddhism and that it is only suitable for Buddhist rulers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Clough |first=Bradley S. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9P4TU-0zEs8C&pg=PA337 |title=Religious Tolerance in World Religions |date=2008 |publisher=Templeton Foundation Press |isbn=978-1-59947-136-5 |pages=337 |language=en |chapter=A Policy of Intolerance: The Case of Sinhala Buddhist Nationalism}}</ref> The increasing influence of Hinduism on the island starting from the 13th century CE was resisted by the Sangha who decried the worship of Hindu gods and ridiculed Hindu customs such as wearing the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Holt |first1=John Clifford |editor-last1=Deegalle |editor-first1=Mahinda |year=2006 |chapter=Hindu influences on medieval Sri Lankan Buddhist culture |title=Buddhism, Conflict and Violence in Modern Sri Lanka |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=83qhTJ_0i-8C&pg=PA61 |publisher=Routledge |pages=61–64 |isbn=978-0-415-35920-7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Tambiah |first=Stanley Jeyaraja |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J8LjxsG1_h8C&pg=PA143 |title=Buddhism Betrayed?: Religion, Politics, and Violence in Sri Lanka |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-226-78950-7 |pages=143 |language=en}}</ref> Leading Buddhist monks conspired to assassinate the King ] of South Indian origin in 1760 on the basis that he was a "heretical Tamil" who refused to give up Hindu practices such as wearing the sacred ash.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dharmadasa |first=K. N. O. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x8NQrTmjpRcC&pg=PA11 |title=Language, Religion, and Ethnic Assertiveness: The Growth of Sinhalese Nationalism in Sri Lanka |date=1992 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=978-0-472-10288-4 |pages=11 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
In the modern period, religious minorities have been targeted for hate campaign and violence by Sinhalese-Buddhist nationalist groups. Most notably the ethnic conflict between the Sinhalese Buddhists and the mainly Hindu Tamils has had a significant religious dimension with majority of the Sangha advocating a military solution.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Raghavan |first=Suren |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cGrfBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA132 |title=Politics of Religion and Nationalism: Federalism, Consociationalism and Seccession<!--sic, typo on cover--> |publisher=Routledge |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-317-56606-9 |editor-last= |editor-first= |edition= |pages=132 |language=en |chapter=Ethnoreligious nationalism and the rejected federalism of Sri Lanka |editor-last2= |editor-first2=}}</ref> Tamil Hindu temples and sacred sites have been targeted for acts of destruction, desecration and appropriation and the Hindu priests and devotees have been targeted for acts of violence by Sinhalese-Buddhist nationalists since Sri Lanka's independence. | |||
When another series of ] broke out in the post-independent Ceylon in 1958 to which the ] had contributed, a Sinhalese mob after failing to set fire to the ] Hindu temple burned alive its officiating priest in a notable incident. The ] leader Prabhakaran from a Hindu background cited this incident as one of the catalysts for his turn toward militancy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sabaratnam |first=T. |year=2003 |title=Pirapaharan: Vol.1, Chap. 1, Why Did He Not Hit Back? |url=https://sangam.org/pirapaharan-vol-1-chap-1-hit-back/ |access-date=2023-09-30 |website=Ilankai Tamil Sangam}}</ref> In another outbreak of ], Hindu temples came under attack on a massive scale. On 19 August, a large Sinhalese mob descended upon the Sri Kathiresan Temple in ], shouting that the Hindu priests should be killed and all Hindu temples should be converted into Buddhist temples. The Chief Priest fled the assault but the mob damaged the idols inside and set fire to the temple.<ref>{{Cite book |url= |title=The Plight of Hindu Society in Sri Lanka |date=1982 |publisher=Tamil Refugees Rehabilitation Organisation |pages=iii, 2 |language=en}}</ref> Hindu temples in ], ], ], ], ], ] and ] were also damaged and looted or burned.<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://lankafreelibrary.com/2019/10/15/sansoni-commission-1980/ |title=Report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Incidents Which Took Place Between 13th August and 15th September. 1977 |year=1980 |publisher=Government Publications Bureau}}</ref> It's estimated that no less than 50 Hindu temples were attacked throughout the island.<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 March 1982 |title=Fighting the battle in their backyards |pages=1 |work=] |url=https://noolaham.net/project/242/24129/24129.pdf}}</ref> | |||
There were also instances of ] against Hindus by the state. In 1968 the committee set up to declare the precincts of the famous ] in ] as a Hindu sacred area was suspended by the government at the behest of the Buddhist monk ] who claimed the site as an ancient place of Buddhist worship,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jeyaraj |first=D.B.S. |date=19 November 2022 |title=Murugeysen Tiruchelvam and Koneswaram Issue |url=https://www.dailymirror.lk/opinion/Murugeysen-Tiruchelvam-and-Koneswaram-Issue/172-249054 |access-date=2023-10-04 |work=Daily Mirror |language=en}}</ref> whereas the same monk was able to successfully petition the government to declare ] in the same district as a Buddhist sacred city in 1979.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kemper |first=Steven |url= |title=The Presence of the Past: Chronicles, Politics, and Culture in Sinhala Life |date=1991 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0-8014-2395-6 |pages=154 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
During the ] in Jaffna, policemen vandalized and set fire to a Hindu temple.<ref>{{Cite book |url= |title=Reign of Terror in Jaffna, May-June 1981 |date=1981 |publisher=Colombo Study Circle |pages=8 |language=en}}</ref> More Hindu temples came under attacks with over 50 being damaged during the watershed ],<ref>{{harvnb|Neiminathan|1998|p=53}}</ref> in which Buddhist monks also led rioters exhorting the Sinhalese to kill all Tamils.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McGowan |first=William |url= |title=Only Man is Vile: The Tragedy of Sri Lanka |date=1992 |publisher=Farrar Straus Giroux |isbn=978-0-330-32679-7 |pages=98 |language=en}}</ref> ], a leading militant Buddhist nationalist and the Minister of Industries, played a key role in organizing the pogrom, which resulted in the deaths and displacement of thousands of Tamils, sparking the ].<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Stürzinger |first=Martin |date=2023-07-26 |title=Sri Lankas Tamilen haben den Black July nicht vergessen, eine Versöhnung steht weiter aus |language=de-CH |work=Neue Zürcher Zeitung |url=https://www.nzz.ch/international/sri-lanka-die-tamilen-haben-den-black-july-nicht-vergessen-ld.1748659 |access-date=2023-09-30 }}</ref> Mathew had been conducting a virulent anti-Tamil campaign, publishing inflammatory pamphlets such as the one calling on the Sinhalese to "Protect the Buddhist Faith".<ref name="Sanmugathasan1984">{{Cite journal |last=Sanmugathasan |first=N. |year=1984 |title=Sri Lanka: the story of the holocaust |journal=Race & Class |language=en |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=73 |doi=10.1177/030639688402600105 |s2cid=144060971 }}</ref> He had revived and propagandized polarizing accounts contained in the Buddhist chronicle, notably the devastation brought upon Buddhism by the invasion of Kalinga Magha and his Tamil soldiers, and applied them to contemporary ethnic relations. Thus, he had paved the way for the violence through such writings and speeches.<ref name="Schalk1988" /> A few months before the pogrom, he had met up with the head monk at a Buddhist temple in Panadura and produced a map of purported Buddhist sites in Tamil areas, accusing the Tamils of having destroyed Sinhalese Buddhist culture.<ref name=":4" /> Mathew also led a plan to establish Buddhist monasteries and colonies in Tamil areas by reclaiming former Buddhist sites which he alleged had been converted into Hindu shrines.<ref name="Sanmugathasan1984" /> To implement such projects, he had enlisted Sri Lankan Army personnel who removed Hindu statues and chased away the local Tamil villagers.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 20, 1982 |title=Anti-Tamil, anti-Hindu offensive in Mullaitivu |pages=1 |work=] |url=https://noolaham.net/project/242/24129/24129.pdf}}</ref> | |||
With the beginning of the Sri Lankan civil war in 1983, attacks on Hindu temples by the majority Buddhist ] escalated, with the soldiers occupying, plundering, desecrating and ejecting priests and devotees from some temples such as the famous ] in ]. In October 1990 the ] repeatedly bombed and damaged the famous ] in ], also killing and injuring many Tamil devotees. In a 1998 letter to the ], the Hindu Religious Priest Organisation of North East Province complained that more than 1,800 Hindu temples in the ] had been "destroyed or rendered unfit for worship" since the war began. The Department of Hindu Affairs estimated that 1,479 Hindu temples had been damaged in eight districts of the North Eastern Province between 1983 and December 1990.<ref>{{harvnb|Neiminathan|1998|pp=2–5, 17–19}}</ref> | |||
] mobs also attacked Hindu temples during the conflict. During the anti-Tamil violence in ] in April 1985 orchestrated by the ], Muslim mob said to be members of the Jihad group entered the ] of the ancient Kannagi Amman temple and removed the golden image of the ] and burned a part of the temple. They also broke the idols of surrounding temples devoted to other Hindu deities. Other Hindu temples were also petrol-bombed and their valuables removed. The broken walls of the damaged temples were painted with the Islamic phrase "'']''". Overall, six Hindu temples were damaged by fire and pillaged.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tharmalingam |first=K.N. |date=November 2003 |title=New Year's Bloody Dawn: Karativu 1985 |work=Northeastern Herald |url=https://tamilnation.org/tamileelam/muslims/0310karativu.htm}}</ref> The ] temple in ] was demolished by a Muslim mob in 1990 with the tacit sanction from the security forces and was desecrated with its well being filled with cattle bones.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McGilvray |first=Dennis B. |url= |title=Crucible of Conflict: Tamil and Muslim Society on the East Coast of Sri Lanka |date=2008 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn= |pages=355–357 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
The Hindu priests have also been subject to persecution by the state, with them being arrested, having their sacred thread removed, being beaten and detained as LTTE suspects.<ref>{{harvnb|Neiminathan|1998|p=5}}</ref> A Hindu priest named Barmasiri Chandraiyer Ragupathi Sharma who has been detained since 2000 under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act was subjected to degrading treatment in police custody. His sacred thread was cut and he was fed meat and alcohol against his religious beliefs. He was also tortured with a barbed wire pipe being inserted into his rectum and his genitals being slammed in a drawer.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Satkunanathan |first=Ambika |date=2021-07-14 |title=False Promises: The Myth of Security and the Prevention of Terrorism Act |url=https://groundviews.org/2021/07/14/false-promises-the-myth-of-security-and-the-prevention-of-terrorism-act/ |access-date=2023-09-30 |website=Groundviews |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2008 Sivakururaja Kurukkal, chief priest of the ], was shot dead in ] by state-affiliated forces. The priest had led the revival of the district's Hindu heritage against the latest spate of state-sponsored Buddhist encroachment and defended the human rights of Tamils.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 October 2008 |title=Pawns of an Un-heroic War, Special Report No. 31 |url=https://www.uthr.org/SpecialReports/spreport31.htm#_Toc212878732 |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna)}}</ref> | |||
In the post-war period with a triumphant Sinhalese-Buddhist nationalism and Tamil areas under heavy military occupation, there has been an increased drive to change the Tamil Hindu identity of contested sites into Sinhalese Buddhist in a process that has been termed "Buddhisization".<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 March 2021 |title=Endless War: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) |url=https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/endless-war-frequently-asked-questions-faqs |website=Oakland Institute}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 2022 |title=State-sponsored Sinhalization of the North-East |url=https://pearlaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/State-Sponsored-Sinhalization-of-the-North-East-March-2022.pdf |website=People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) |pages=33–39}}</ref> Military personnel have spearheaded the construction of Buddhist shrines throughout Tamil Hindu areas with no Buddhist population, symbolizing the assertion of Sinhalese-Buddhist domination.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 2012 |title=Salt on Old Wounds: The Systematic Sinhalization of Sri Lanka's North, East and Hill Country |url=http://www.internationalpolicydigest.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Salt-on-Old-Wounds.pdf |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140804005028/http://www.internationalpolicydigest.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Salt-on-Old-Wounds.pdf |archive-date=4 August 2014 |website=The Social Architects |page=25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 2013 |title=Attacks on Places of Religious Worship in Post-War Sri Lanka |url=https://sangam.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Attacks-on-Religious-Places-CPA-March-2013.pdf |website=Centre for Policy Alternatives |page=29}}</ref> The Sangha has used the backing of the military and the ] to claim Hindu sites as former Buddhist sites in order to build Buddhist shrines and ] in their place, stoking longstanding Tamil fears of ].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Srinivasan |first=Meera |date=2023-09-08 |title=Fresh conflict brews in post-war Sri Lanka {{!}} The slippery slope to the Kurunthurmalai hilltop |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/fresh-conflict-brews-in-post-war-sri-lanka-the-slippery-slope-to-the-kurunthurmalai-hilltop/article67285214.ece |access-date=2023-09-30 }}</ref> Tamil Hindu clergy and laity objecting to such encroachments have been threatened and assaulted.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Balachandran |first=P. K. |date=2019-07-20 |title=Sinhalization of Tamil Areas by Building Buddhist Shrines over Hindu Temples |url=https://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/NewsDetail/index/6/17293/Sinhalization-of-Tamil-Areas-by-Building-Buddhist-Shrines-over-Hindu-Temples |access-date=2023-09-30 |website=The Citizen |language=en}}</ref> In 2012 the All Ceylon Hindu Council complained to the government about its inaction against the construction of Buddhist viharas on the sites of destroyed Hindu temples.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-03-27 |title=Hindu Council objects Buddhist Vihara replacing Saiva temple in Kokku'laay • Sri Lanka Brief |url=https://srilankabrief.org/hindu-council-objects-buddhist-vihara-replacing-saiva-temple-in-kokkulaay/ |access-date=2023-09-30 |website=Sri Lanka Brief |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
There have also been renewed attacks on Hindu temples.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Srinivasan |first=Meera |date=2023-04-23 |title=Tamils flag escalating attacks on temples in northern Sri Lanka |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/tamils-flag-escalating-attacks-on-temples-in-northern-sri-lanka/article66769957.ece |access-date=2023-09-30 }}</ref> In the southern town of ], the Bhadrakali Amman Temple was demolished and the image of its deity desecrated by members of the Sangha and lay Buddhists in 2013 after calls from the head monk of the local ] for its removal since it was within a designated Buddhist sacred area.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harris |first=Elizabeth J. |title=Religion, space, and conflict in Sri Lanka: colonial and postcolonial contexts |date=2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn= |location=London New York |pages=200}}</ref> Condemning the recent destruction and appropriation of a ] temple site to make way for a Buddhist stupa in ] and recalling earlier such incidents in the district, the Association of Hindu Priests in Muttur aired the wider Tamil Hindu grievances in May 2019: "After the end of war, not only Tamil habitations but also ] temples are being destroyed and encroached on. We are saddened by the fact that it is some Buddhist monks who are leading the efforts to destroy Saivite and Tamil history."<ref name=":6" /> | |||
===Afghanistan=== | |||
According to Ashish Bose, a population research scholar, after the 1980s, Hindus (and Sikhs) became a subject of "intense hate" with the rise of religious fundamentalism in Afghanistan.<ref name=abosep4698/> Their "targeted persecution" triggered an exodus and forced them to seek asylum.<ref name=emadip316>{{harvnb|Emadi|2014|p=307}}, Quote: "The situation of Hindus and Sikhs as a persecuted minority is a little-studied topic in literature dealing with ethno-sectarian conflict in Afghanistan. (...) the breakdown of state structure and the ensuing civil conflicts and targeted persecution in the 1990s that led to their mass exodus out of the country. A combination of structural failure and rising Islamic fundamentalist ideology in the post-Soviet era led to a war of ethnic cleansing as fundamentalists suffered a crisis of legitimation and resorted to violence as a means to establish their authority. Hindus and Sikhs found themselves in an uphill battle to preserve their culture and religious traditions in a hostile political environment in the post-Taliban period. The international community and Kabul failed in their moral obligation to protect and defend the rights of minorities and oppressed communities."</ref><ref name=abosep4698/> Many of the persecuted Hindus started arriving in and after 1992 as refugees in India.<ref name=abosep4698/><ref name=emadip316/> While these refugees were mostly Sikhs and Hindus, some were Muslims.<ref name=abosep4698/> However, India has historically lacked any refugee law or uniform policy for persecuted refugees, state Ashish Bose and Hafizullah Emadi.<ref name=abosep4698>Ashish Bose (2004), ''Afghan Refugees in India'', Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 39, No. 43, pp. 4698-4701</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Emadi|2014|pp=315–317}}</ref> | |||
Under the ] regime, ]s were passed in 2001 which forced Hindus to wear ]s in public in order to identify themselves as such.<ref name="red14Jun2011">{{cite news |last=Haniffa |first=Aziz |date=14 June 2001 |title=US lawmakers say 'We are Hindus' |url=http://www.rediff.com/us/2001/jun/14us1.htm |work=Rediff.com |access-date=5 May 2015}}</ref> Hindu women were forced to dress according to Islamic ], ostensibly a measure to "protect" them from ]. This was part of the Taliban's plan to segregate "un-Islamic" and "idolatrous" communities from Islamic ones.<ref>{{cite news |title=Taliban to mark Afghan Hindus |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/fyi/news/05/22/taleban.hindus/index.html |publisher=CNN |date=22 May 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221021043/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/fyi/news/05/22/taleban.hindus/index.html |archive-date=21 February 2007}}</ref> In addition, Hindus were forced to wear yellow distinguishing marks, however, after some protests Taliban abandoned this policy.<ref>{{cite book |last=Adamec |first=Ludwig W. |author-link=Ludwig W. Adamec |year=2012 |title=Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AAHna6aqtX4C&pg=PA202 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |page=202 |isbn=978-0-8108-7815-0}}</ref> | |||
The decree was condemned by the Indian and United States governments as a violation of ].<ref>{{cite news |title=India deplores Taleban decree against Hindus |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/may/21tale1.htm |work=Rediff.com |date=21 May 2001 |access-date=5 May 2015}}</ref> In the United States, the chairman of the ] ] compared the decree to the practices of ], where Jews were required to wear labels which identified them as such.<ref>{{cite news |title=Taliban: Hindus Must Wear Identity Labels |url=http://english.people.com.cn/english/200105/23/eng20010523_70812.html |newspaper=People's Daily |date=23 May 2001}}</ref> The comparison was also drawn by California ] and ] survivor ], and New York Democrat and author of the bipartisan 'Sense of the Congress' non-binding resolution against the anti-Hindu decree Eliot L Engel.<ref name="red14Jun2011" /> | |||
Since the 1990s, many Afghan Hindus have fled the country, seeking asylum in countries such as Germany.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015194706/http://www.pluralism.org/resources/slideshow/hindgerm/index.php |date=15 October 2012 }},''pluralism.org''</ref> | |||
== Outside South Asia == | |||
===Malaysia=== | |||
{{See also|Persecution of Hindus in Malaysia|2009 cow head protests}} | |||
Approximately nine percent of the population of ] are ] Indians, of whom nearly 90 percent are practising Hindus. Indian settlers came to Malaysia from ] in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Between April and May 2006, several Hindu temples were demolished by city hall authorities in the country, accompanied by violence against Hindus.<ref>{{Cite web|date=15 June 2006| author= K. Kabilan|title=Temple row - a dab of sensibility please|url=http://www.malaysiakini.com/opinionsfeatures/52600|access-date=2023-01-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930195228/http://www.malaysiakini.com/opinionsfeatures/52600 |archive-date=30 September 2007 | work= Malaysia Kini | url-access=subscription }}</ref> On 21 April 2006, the Malaimel Sri Selva Kaliamman Temple in Kuala Lumpur was reduced to rubble after the city hall sent in bulldozers.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report-malaysia-demolishes-century-old-hindu-temple-1025317 |title=Malaysia demolishes century-old Hindu temple |newspaper=] |access-date=7 May 2015|date=21 April 2006 }}</ref> | |||
The president of the Consumers Association of Subang and Shah Alam in Selangor State has been helping to organise efforts to stop the local authorities in the Muslim dominated city of Shah Alam from demolishing a 107-year-old Hindu temple. The growing Islamization in Malaysia is a cause for concern to many Malaysians who follow minority religions such as Hinduism.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pressure on multi-faith Malaysia |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4965580.stm |work=BBC News | author1= Jonathan Kent |date=16 May 2006}}</ref> On 11 May 2006, armed city hall officers from ] forcefully demolished part of a 60-year-old suburban temple that serves more than 1,000 Hindus. The "Hindu Rights Action Force", a coalition of several NGO's, have protested these demolitions by lodging complaints with the Malaysian Prime Minister.<ref name="Finexp"/> Many Hindu advocacy groups have protested what they allege is a systematic plan of temple cleansing in Malaysia. The official reason given by the Malaysian government has been that the temples were built "illegally". However, several of the temples are centuries old.<ref name="Finexp">{{cite news |title=Hindu group protests 'temple cleansing' in Malaysia |url=http://www.financialexpress.com/latest_full_story.php?content_id=128069 |newspaper=The Financial Express |agency=Associated Press |date=23 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070704022731/http://www.financialexpress.com/latest_full_story.php?content_id=128069 |archive-date=4 July 2007}}</ref> | |||
According to a lawyer for the Hindu Rights Action Task Force, a Hindu temple is demolished in ] once every three weeks.<ref>{{cite news |title=Malaysia ethnic Indians in uphill fight on religion |url=http://in.reuters.com/article/topNews/idINIndia-30397720071108?pageNumber=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316232954/http://in.reuters.com/article/topNews/idINIndia-30397720071108?pageNumber=1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 March 2017 |newspaper=Reuters India |date=8 November 2007}}</ref> | |||
In response to the proposed construction of a temple in ], Muslims chopped off the head of a cow to protest, with leaders saying there would be blood if a temple was constructed in ].<ref>{{cite news |title=Malaysia Muslims protest proposed Hindu temple |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h5RWG2ScAdC9V7eo-B6-KfUL3QjgD9ABV6U81 |agency=Associated Press |date=28 August 2009 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20090902210504/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h5RWG2ScAdC9V7eo-B6-KfUL3QjgD9ABV6U81 |archive-date=2 September 2009 | url-status= dead | author1=Vijay Joshi | author2= Sean Yoong }}</ref> | |||
Laws in the country, especially those concerning religious identity, are generally slanted towards compulsion into converting to Islam.<ref>{{cite news |title=Malaysia strips Hindus of rights |url=http://dailypioneer.com/230183/Malaysia-strips-Hindus-of-rights.html |newspaper=Daily Pioneer |date=19 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100122140638/http://www.dailypioneer.com:80/230183/Malaysia-strips-Hindus-of-rights.html |archive-date=22 January 2010}}</ref> | |||
===Myanmar=== | |||
].]] | |||
On 25 August 2017, the villages in a cluster known as Kha Maung Seik in northern Maungdaw District of Rakhine State in Myanmar were attacked by Rohingya Muslims of ] (ARSA).This was called ]. Amnesty International said that about 99 Hindus were killed in that day.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4229789/rohingya-arsa-kill-hindus-rakhine-myanmar/|title=Rohingya militants slaughtered 99 Hindus in a single day: Amnesty International|access-date=21 August 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-44206372|title=Rohingya militants 'massacred Hindus'|work=BBC News |date=22 May 2018|access-date=21 August 2018}}</ref> Due to these, many Rohingya Hindus have started identifying themselves as ] Hindus rather than Rohingyas.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.firstpost.com/world/dont-call-us-rohingya-myanmarese-hindu-refugees-in-bangladesh-detest-the-incorrect-labelling-4220141.html|title='Don't call us Rohingya': Myanmarese Hindu refugees in Bangladesh detest the incorrect labelling |work=Firstpost |date=21 November 2017 |access-date=21 August 2018}}</ref> In September 2017, '']'' reported that mass graves with bodies of 45 Hindus had been found in Rakhine, and that Hindu Rohingyas faced ]s to Islam in Bangladeshi refugee camps at the hands of Muslim Rohingyas.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/video/hindu-rohingya-refugees-islam-bangladesh-camps-1069376-2017-09-26|title=Hindu Rohingya refugees forced to convert to Islam in Bangladesh camps|website=India Today|date=26 September 2017 |access-date=20 January 2019}}</ref> | |||
===United States=== | |||
{{See also|Dotbusters|Rajan Zed prayer protest|Venkatachalapathi Samuldrala prayer controversy|California textbook controversy over Hindu history|Hinduism in the United States#Discrimination}} | |||
Hindus constitute 0.7% of the total population of the United States.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lakshman |first=Narayan |date=14 May 2015 |title=Hindus' population share in U.S. doubles in 7 years |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/population-of-christian-in-us-drops-by-10-hindus-and-muslims-double/article7202340.ece |newspaper=The Hindu}}</ref> They are also the most affluent religious group.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/ |title=America's Changing Religious Landscape |date=12 May 2015 |website=Pew Research Center}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Hilburn |first=Matthew |date=30 July 2012 |title=Hindu-Americans Rank Top in Education, Income |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/hinds_most_educated_highest_earning_religion/1449355.html |work=VOA}}</ref> Hindus in the US enjoy both ''de jure'' and ''de facto'' legal equality. However, a series of threats and attacks were committed against people of Indian origin by a street gang called the "]" in ] in 1987. The name originated from the ] traditionally worn on the forehead by Indian women.<ref name="nyt12Oct1987">{{cite news |last=Marriott |first=Michel |date=12 October 1987 |title=In Jersey City, Indians Protest Violence |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/12/nyregion/in-jersey-city-indians-protest-violence.html |newspaper=The New York Times |page=1}}</ref> | |||
In October 1987, a group of youths attacked Navroze Mody, an Indian man of ] origin, who was mistaken for a Hindu, after he had left the Gold Coast Cafe with his friend who fell into a coma. Mody died four days later. The four convicted of the attack were Luis Acevedo, Ralph Gonzalez and Luis Padilla – who were convicted of aggravated assault; and William Acevedo – who was convicted of simple assault. The attack was with fists and feet and with an unknown object that was described as either a baseball bat or a brick, and occurred after members of the group, which was estimated as being between ten and twelve youths, had surrounded Mody and taunted him for his baldness as either "Kojak" or "baldie". Mody's father, Jamshid Mody, later brought charges against the city and police force of ], claiming that "the Hoboken police's indifference to acts of violence perpetrated against Asian Indians violated Navroze Mody's equal protection rights" under the ].<ref name="verdict"> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310144803/http://ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/959/959.F2d.461.91-5407.html |date=10 March 2012 }} of the ] in ''Mody v. City of Hoboken'' (959 F.2d 461)</ref> Mody lost the case; the court ruled that the attack had not been proven a ], nor had there been proven any malfeasance by the police or prosecutors of the city.<ref name="verdict" /> | |||
A few days after the attack on Mody, another Indian was beaten into a coma; this time on a busy street corner in Jersey City Heights. The victim, Kaushal Saran, was found unconscious at Central and Ferry Avenues, near a city park and firehouse, according to police reports. Saran, a licensed physician in India who was awaiting licensing in the United States, was discharged later from University Hospital in ].<ref name="nyt12Oct1987" /> The unprovoked attack left Saran in a partial coma for over a week with severe damage to his skull and brain. In September 1992, Thomas Kozak, Martin Ricciardi, and Mark Evangelista were brought to trial on federal civil rights charges in connection with the attack on Saran. However, the three were acquitted of the charges in two separate trials in 1993. Saran testified at both trials that he could not remember the incident.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kaulessar |first=Ricardo |date=2 May 2009 |title='DotBusters' victim looks back |url=http://hudsonreporter.com/printer_friendly/2488227 |location=Hudson County, New Jersey |newspaper=] |access-date=26 January 2014 |archive-date=15 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115052814/http://hudsonreporter.com/printer_friendly/2488227 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | |||
The Dotbusters were primarily based in New York and New Jersey and committed most of their crimes in ]. Although tougher anti-hate crime laws were passed by the New Jersey legislature in 1990, the attacks continued, with 58 cases of hate crimes against Indians in New Jersey reported in 1991.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pluralism.org/ocg/CDROM_files/hinduism/dot_busters.php |title=Dot Busters in New Jersey |website=The Pluralism Project |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060923053125/http://www.pluralism.org/ocg/CDROM_files/hinduism/dot_busters.php |archive-date=23 September 2006}}</ref> | |||
On 2 January 2012, a Hindu worship center in New York City was firebombed.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113084911/http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre8010ie-us-crime-newyork/ |date=13 January 2012 }}. ''News Daily''. 2 January 2012</ref> | |||
In late January 2019, an attack on the Swaminarayan Temple in Louisville, Kentucky, resulted in damage and Hinduphobic graffiti on the temple. A cleanup effort was later organised by the mayor to spread awareness of Hinduism and other hate crimes. An arrest of a 17-year-old was made for the hate crime days later.<ref>{{cite news |title=Kentucky Hindu Temple Vandalized With Crosses, Christian Phrases |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/swaminarayan-temple-louisville-vandalism_us_5c534fb6e4b043e25b1a6aad |work=The Huffington Post |date=31 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Hundreds help 'paint away the hate' at Louisville Hindu temple |url=https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2019/02/02/hindu-temple-cleanup-sees-hundreds-of-volunteers-in-louisville/2731378002/ |work=The Courier-Journal |date=17 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=17-year-old arrested in connection with Louisville Hindu temple vandalism |url=https://eu.courier-journal.com/story/news/2019/02/01/suspect-arrested-connection-louisville-hindu-temple-vandalism/2741889002/ |work=The Courier-Journal |date=17 December 2019}}</ref> | |||
===Trinidad and Tobago=== | |||
During the initial decades of Indian indenture, Indian cultural forms were met with either contempt or indifference by the Christian majority.<ref name="Singh">Singh, Sherry-Ann, Hinduism and the State in Trinidad, Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, Volume 6, Number 3, September 2005, pp. 353–365(13)</ref> Hindus have made many contributions to Trinidad's history and culture even though the state historically regarded Hindus as second class citizens. Hindus in Trinidad struggled over the granting of adult franchise, the Hindu marriage bill, the divorce bill, the cremation ordinance, and other discriminatory laws.<ref name="Singh"/> After Trinidad's independence from colonial rule, Hindus were marginalised by the African-based ]. The opposing party, the People's Democratic party, was portrayed as a "Hindu group", and Hindus were castigated as a "recalcitrant and hostile minority".<ref name="Singh"/> The displacement of PNM from power in 1985 would improve the situation. | |||
Intensified protests over the course of the 1980s led to an improvement in the state's attitudes towards Hindus.<ref name="Singh"/> The divergence of some of the fundamental aspects of local Hindu culture, the segregation of the Hindu community from Trinidad, and the disinclination to risk erasing the more fundamental aspects of what had been constructed as "Trinidad Hinduism" in | |||
which the identity of the group had been rooted, would often generate dissension when certain dimensions of Hindu culture came into contact with the State. While the incongruences continue to generate debate, and often conflict, it is now tempered with growing awareness and consideration on the part of the state to the Hindu minority.<ref name="Singh"/> Hindus have been also been subjected to persistent proselytisation by Christian missionaries.<ref name="state.gov">{{cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2002/14060.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2002: Trinidad and Tobago|website=U.S. Department of State|access-date=5 May 2015}}</ref> | |||
Specifically the evangelical and Pentecostal Christians. Such activities reflect racial tensions that at times arise between the Christianized Afro-Trinidadian and Hindu Indo-Trinidadian communities.<ref name="state.gov"/> | |||
===Fiji=== | |||
{{See also|Hinduism in Fiji|Church involvement in Fiji coups}} | |||
] | |||
Hindus in ] constitute approximately 38% of the country's population. During the late 1990s there were several riots against Hindus by radical elements in Fiji. In the Spring of 2000, the democratically elected Fijian government led by Prime Minister ] was held hostage by a guerilla group, headed by ]. They were demanding a segregated state exclusively for the native Fijians, thereby legally abolishing any rights the Hindu inhabitants have now. The majority of Fijian land is reserved for the ethnically Fijian community.<ref name="Jonathan Fraenkel, Stewart Firth 2007 306">{{cite book |last1=Fraenkel |first1=Jonathan |last2=Firth |first2=Stewart |year=2007 |title=From Election to Coup in Fiji: The 2006 Campaign and Its Aftermath |publisher=ANU E Press |page=306 |isbn=978-1-921313-36-3}}</ref> Since the practitioners of Hindu faith are predominantly Indians, racist attacks by the extremist Fijian Nationalists too often culminated into violence against the institutions of Hinduism. According to official reports, attacks on Hindu institutions increased by 14% compared to 2004. Hindus and Hinduism, being labelled the "outside others", especially in the aftermath of the May 2000 coup, have been victimised by Fijian fundamentalist and nationalists who wish to create a theocratic Christian state in Fiji. This intolerance towards Hindus has found expression in anti-Hindu speeches and destruction of temples, the two most common forms of immediate and direct violence against Hindus. Between 2001 and April 2005, one hundred cases of temple attacks have been registered with the police. The alarming increase of temple destruction has spread fear and intimidation among the Hindu minorities and has hastened immigration to neighbouring Australia and New Zealand. Organised religious institutions, such as the ], have repeatedly called for the creation of a theocratic Christian State and have propagated anti-Hindu sentiment.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/international/story/19870615-lt-colonel-rabuka-throws-out-the-allegedly-indian-bavadra-government-in-fiji-798927-1987-06-15|title= Lt. colonel rabuka throws out the allegedly indian bavadra |magazine=India Today |date=15 June 1987}}</ref> | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
* ] | |||
{{Portal|Genocide|Hinduism|Crime}} | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | * ] | ||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
==Notes== | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
{{reflist|group=note|30em}} | |||
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==References== | |||
* ] | |||
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{{reflist}} | |||
==Sources== | |||
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* {{cite book|last=Saikia|first=Yasmin|year=2011|title=Women, War, and the Making of Bangladesh: Remembering 1971|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0-8223-5038-5}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Sajjad|first=Tazreena|year=2012|orig-year=First published 2009|chapter=The Post-Genocidal Period and its Impact on Women|editor1=Samuel Totten|editor-link=Samuel Totten|title=Plight and Fate of Women During and Following Genocide|publisher=Transaction Publishers|pages=219–248|isbn=978-1-4128-4759-9}} | |||
* {{cite journal|last=Sharlach|first=Lisa|title=Rape as Genocide: Bangladesh, the Former Yugoslavia, and Rwanda|journal=New Political Science|year=2000|volume=22|issue=1|pages=89–102|doi=10.1080/713687893|s2cid=144966485}} | |||
* {{cite journal |last1=Shokoohy |first1=Mehrdad |date=April 1991 |title=Architecture of the Sultanate of Ma'bar in Madura, and Other Muslim Monuments in South India |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society |series=Third Series |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=31–92 |doi=10.1017/S1356186300000055 |jstor=25182270 |s2cid=163145743}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Smith|first=Vincent A.|author-link=Vincent Arthur Smith|year=1919|title=The Oxford History of India|url=https://archive.org/stream/oxfordhistoryofi00smituoft#page/252/mode/1up|publisher=Oxford University Press|oclc=839048936}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Spencer|first=Philip|year=2012|title=Genocide Since 1945|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-60634-9}} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Truschke |first1=Audrey |author-link=Audrey Truschke |year=2017 |title=Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-1-5036-0257-1}} | |||
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* {{cite book|last=Wink|first=André|title=Al-Hind the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: Volume 2 –The Slave Kings and the Islamic Conquest 11th-13th Centuries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=75FlxDhZWpwC|year=1991|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=90-04-10236-1}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Wink|first=André|year=2002|title=Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: Volume 1 – Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam 7th-11th Centuries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2m7_R5P2oAC|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-0-391-04173-8}} | |||
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* {{Citation|title=Persecution of Hindus|url=https://gov.shrikailasa.org/persecution/|publisher=Shri Kailasa}} | |||
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* {{Citation|title=India's Hindu Right Is Correct About One Thing: India's Muslim Rulers Did Destroy Hindu Temples |url=https://thediplomat.com/2016/08/indias-hindu-right-is-correct-about-one-thing-indias-muslim-rulers-did-destroy-hindu-temples/ |work=] |last=Akhilesh |first=Pillalamarri |date=3 August 2016}} | |||
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* {{Citation|title=The Hatreds of India; Hindu Memory Scarred by Centuries of despotic Islamic Rule|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/11/world/hatreds-india-hindu-memory-scarred-centuries-sometimes-despotic-islamic-rule.html|work=]|date=11 December 1992 |last1=Gargan |first1=Edward A. }} | |||
* {{Source-attribution|{{Citation| last=Hunter |first=William Wilson |author-link=William Wilson Hunter |year=1893 |url=http://www.gurmatveechar.com/books/English_Books/A.Brief.History.of.the.Indian.People.by.Sir.William.Wilson.Hunter.(GurmatVeechar.com).pdf |title=A Brief History of the Indian Peoples |publisher=Clarendon Press}} }} | |||
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Hindus have experienced both historical and ongoing religious persecution and systematic violence, in the form of forced conversions, documented massacres, genocides, demolition and desecration of temples, as well as the destruction of educational centres.
Medieval India
See also: Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinentParts of India were subject to Muslim rule from the period of Muhammad ibn Qasim till the fall of the Mughal Empire. There is a tendency among some historians to view the Muslim conquests and Muslim empires as a prolonged period of violence against Hindu culture, with Will Durant calling the Muslim conquest of India "probably the bloodiest story in history."
David Lorenzen asserts that during the Islamic rule period there was state-sponsored persecution against Hindus, yet it was sporadic and directed mostly at temple buildings, not people. However, he also points to the mentions of socio-religious conflict by poets like Kabir. The extent of persecution of Hindus under Muslim rule is subject to scholarly debate, and there have been criticisms that the historiography of India is being distorted by communal politics.
Destruction of religious architecture
According to André Wink, the mutilation and destruction of Hindu religious idols and temples were an attack on Hindu religious practice, and the Muslim destruction of religious architecture was a means to eradicate the vestiges of Hindu religious symbols. Muslim texts of this period justify it based on their contempt and abhorrence for idols and idolators in Islamic thought. Peter Jackson notes that the Muslim historians of the medieval era viewed the creation and expansion of Islamic Sultanates in Hindustan as "holy war" and a religious conquest, characterizing Muslim forces as "the army of Islam" and the Hindus as infidels. According to Jackson, these records need to be interpreted and relied upon with care given their tendencies to exaggerate. This was not a period of "uncompromising iconoclasm", states Jackson. Cities that quickly surrendered to the Islamic army, says Jackson, "got a better deal" for their religious monuments.
According to Richard Davis, targeting sacred temples was not unique to Muslim rulers in India. Some Hindu kings too, prior to the formation of first Islamic sultanates in India, expropriated sacred idols from temples and took it back to their capitals as a political symbol of victory. However, the sacred temples, icons and the looted image carried away was still sacred and treated with respect by the victorious Hindu king and his forces, states Richard Davis. There is hardly any evidence of "mutilation of divine images and intentional defilement" of Hindu sacred icons or temples by armies in control of Hindu rulers. The evidence that is available suggests that the victorious Hindu kings undertook significant effort to house the expropriated images in new, grand temples within their kingdom. According to Wink, Hindu destruction of Buddhist and Jain places of worship took place before the 10th-century, but the evidence for such 'Hindu iconoclasm' is incidental, too vague, and unconvincing. According to Wink, mutilation and defilement of sacred icons is rarely evidenced in Hindu texts, in contrast to Muslim texts on the Islamic iconoclasm in India. Hindu temples were centres of political resistance which had to be suppressed.
Effect on Hindu learning
Bukka Raya I, one of the founders of Vijaynagar Empire, had taken steps to rehabilitate Hindu religious and cultural institutions which suffered a serious setback under Muslim rule. Buddhists centres of learning decayed, leading to the rise to prominence of Brahmanical institutions.
A lot of Vedantic literature got translated into these languages between the 12th and 15th centuries.
Muhammad bin-Qasim
Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent began in the early 8th century CE with a Muhammad ibn Qasim-led army. This campaign is narrated in the Chach Nama by Bakr Kūfī, a 13th-century manuscript which claimed to be based on an earlier Arabic record.
The Chach Nama mentions temple demolitions, mass executions of resisting Sindhi forces and the enslavement of their dependents; kingdoms ruled by Hindu and Buddhist kings were attacked, their wealth plundered, tribute (kharaj) settled and hostages taken, often as slaves to Iraq. According to Wink, a historian specializing in Indo-Islamic period in South Asia, these Hindus were given the choice to either convert to Islam and join the Arab armies, or be sealed (tattooing the hands) and pay Jizya (a tax). The Chach Nama and evidence in other pre-11th century Persian texts suggests that these Hindu Jats also suffered restrictions and discrimination as non-Muslims, as was then usual elsewhere for the non-Muslim subjects (ahl adh-dhimma) per the Islamic law (Sharia), states Wink.
Yohanan Friedmann however finds that the Chach Nama holds that most contemporary religious as well as political authorities collaborated with the invaders, and those who promptly surrendered were not only gifted with huge sums of money but also entrusted to rule conquered territories. Friedmann also notes that bin-Qasim "gave his unqualified blessing to the characteristic features of the society"—he reappointed every deposed Brahmin (of Brahmanabad) to their jobs, exempted them from Jizya, allowed holding of traditional festivals, and granted protection to temples but enforced the caste-hierarchy with enhanced vigor, drawing from Sharia, as evident from his treatment of Jats. Overall, Friedmann concludes that the conquest, as described in the Chach Nama, did "not result in any significant changes in the structure of Indian society".
According to Johnson and Koyama, quoting Bosworth, there were "certainly massacres in the towns" in the early stages of campaign against Hindus in Sind, but eventually they were granted dhimmi status and peace treaties were made with them.
After the conquest of Sindh, Qasim chose the Hanafi school of Islamic law which stated that, when under Muslim rule, people of Indic religions such as Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains are to be regarded as dhimmis (from the Arab term) as well as "People of the Book" and are required to pay jizya for religious freedom.
The historicity of the Chach Nama has been questioned. Francesco Gabrieli considers the Chach Nama to be a "historical romance" which was "a late and doubtful source" for information about bin-Qasim and must be carefully sieved to locate the facts; on such a reading, he admired bin-Qasim's proclamations concerning "principle of tolerance and religious freedom". Peter Hardy takes a roughly similar stance and lenses the work as a work of "political theory". Manan Ahmed Asif criticizes the very premises of recovering portions of the Chach Nama as a historical chronicle of Muslim conquest; he argues that the site and times of production dictated its entire content, and that it must be read in entirety, as an original work in the genre of "political theory" where history is creatively extrapolated with romantic fiction to gain favor in the court of Nasiruddin Qabacha. Wink states that some scholars treat the Chach Nama and other Muslim texts of its era, as "largely pseudo-history". He concurs that the skepticism about each individual source is justified and the Chach Nama is part fiction. Wink adds, taken together the common elements in these diverse sources suggest that Hindus were treated as dhimmis and targeted for certain discriminatory measures prescribed in the Sharia, as well as entitled to protection and limited religious freedoms in a Muslim state.
Early sultanates (11th–12th century)
Muslim texts of that period are replete with iconoclast rhetoric, descriptions of mass-slaughter of Hindus, and repeats ad nauseam about "the army of Islam obtain abundant wealth and unlimited riches" from the conquered sites. The Hindus are described in these Islamic texts as infidels, Hindustan as war zone ("Dar-al-Harb"), and attacks on Hindus as a part of a holy war (jihad), states Peter Jackson. However, states Wink, this killing was not systematic and "was normally confined to the fighting men" though the wars and episodes of routine violence did precipitate a great famine with civilian casualties in tens of thousands. The pervasive and most striking feature of the Arabic literature on Sind and Hind of the 11th to 13th-century is its constant obsession with idol worship and polytheism in the Indian subcontinent. There is piecemeal evidence of iconoclasm that began in Sind region, but the wholesale and more systematic onslaught against major Hindu religious monuments is evidenced in North India.
Richard Eaton, Sunil Kumar, Romila Thapar, Richard H. Davis and others argue that these iconoclastic actions were not primarily driven by religious zeal, but were politically strategic acts of destruction in that temples in medieval India were sites associated with sovereignty, royal power, money, and authority. According to Wink, the iconoclasm was a product of "religious, economic and political" and the practice undoubtedly escalated due to the "vast amount of immobilized treasure" in these temples. As the Indo-Islamic conquests of the 11th and 12th-centuries moved beyond Panjab and the Himalayan foothills of the northwest into the Ganges-Yamuna Doab region, states Andre Wink, "some of the most important sacred sites of Indian culture were destroyed and desecrated," and their broken parts consistently reused to make Islamic monuments. Phyllis Granoff notes that "medieval Indian religious groups faced a serious crisis as invading Muslim armies sacked temples and defaced sacred image".
The 11th and 12th-century additionally witnessed the rise of irregulars and then Banjara-like groups who adopted Islam. These were "marauding bands" who caused much suffering and destruction in the countryside as they searched for food and supplies during the violent campaign of Ghurids against Hindustan. The religious icons of Hindus were one of the targets of these Islamic campaigns.
The 11th to 13th-century period did not witness any systematic attempts at forced conversions of Hindus into Muslims, nor is there evidence of widespread Islamicization in al-Hind that emerged from the violent conquest. The political power shifted from Hindu kings to Muslim sultans in conquered areas. If some temples were not destroyed in these areas, it did result in a loss to Hindu temple building patronage and an uprooting of Hindu sacred geography.
The second half of the 13th-century witnessed raids on Hindu kingdoms by Muslim forces controlling the northwest and north India, states Peter Jackson. These did not lead to sustained persecution of the Hindus in the targeted kingdoms, because the Muslim armies merely looted the Hindus, took cattle and slaves, then left. The raids caused suffering, yet also rallied the Islamic believers and weakened a Hindu kingdom by weakening its prince's standing among his Hindu subjects. These raids were into Rajput kingdoms, those in central India, Lakhnawti–Awadh, and in eastern regions such as Bihar.
Numerous Islamic texts of that era, states Wink, also describe "forced transfer of enslaved Indian captives (ghilman-o-jawari, burda, sabaya), specially women and children" over the 11th-century from Hindustan.
Delhi Sultanate (13th–16th century)
The Delhi Sultanate started in the 13th-century and continued through the early 16th-century, when the Mughal conquest replaced it. Jackson states that the Delhi Sultans of this period saw themselves first and foremost as Islamic rulers for the "people of Islam". They were emphatically not "sultan of the Hindus". The Muslim texts of the Delhi Sultanate era treated Hindus with disdain, remarking "Hindus are never interesting in themselves, but only as converts, as capitation tax payers, or as corpses". These medieval Muslim rulers were "protecting and advancing the Islamic faith", with two Muslim texts of this period remarking that the Sultan had a duty "eradicate infidelity and humiliate his Hindu subjects".
According to Jackson, some of the conquered Hindu subjects of the Delhi Sultanate served these Sultans were "doubtless usually slaves". These Hindus built the mosques of this era as well as developed the Indo-Islamic architecture, some served the court in roles such as treasurers, clerks, minting of new coins, and others. These Hindus were not persecuted, instead some were rewarded with immunities and tax exemptions. Additionally, captured Hindu slaves were added as infantry troops in the Sultanate's army for their campaign against other Hindu kingdoms. Some Sultans adopted Indian customs such as ceremonial riding of elephants by kings, thus facilitating the public perception of the new monarch. This suggest that the Sultans cultivated some Hindus to serve their aims, rather than indiscriminately persecute every Hindu.
In general, Hindu subjects of Delhi Sultanate were generally accepted as people with dhimmi status, not equal to Muslims, but "protected", subject to Jizya tax and with a list of restrictions. Early Sultans of the Delhi Sultanate exempted the Brahmins from having to pay Jizya, thus dividing the Hindus and placing the discriminatory tax burden entirely on the non-Brahmin strata of the Hindu society. Firuz Shah was the first to impose the Jizya on Brahmins, and wrote in his autobiography that countless Hindus converted to Islam when he issued the edict that conversion would release them of the requirement to pay Jizya. This discrimination against Hindus was in force in the latter half of the 14th-century, though Jackson finds it difficult to establish if and how this was enforced outside of the major centers under Muslim control.
The Muslim commanders of Delhi Sultanate regularly raided Hindu kingdoms for plunder, mulct their treasuries and looted the Hindu temples therein, states Jackson. These conquests of Delhi Sultanate armies damaged or destroyed many Hindu temples. In a few instances, after the war, the Sultans let the Hindus repair and reconstruct their temples. Such instances, states Jackson, has been cited by the Indian scholar P.B. Desai as evidence of "striking degree of tolerance" by Muslim Sultans. But, this happened in frontier areas after they had recently been conquered and placed in direct Muslim rule, where the Sultan's authority was "highly precarious". Within regions that was already under firm control of the Delhi Sultanate, the direct evidence of this is meagre. One example referred to is of a claimed request from the king of China to build a temple in India, as recorded by Ibn Battuta. Jackson states that it is questionable and has no corroborating evidence. Similar few examples near Delhi, such as one for Sri Krishna Bhagwan temple, cannot be verified whether they were ever built either.
Some modern era Indian texts mention that Hindu and Jain temples of Delhi Sultanate era received endowments from Muslim authorities, presenting these as evidence of lack of persecution during this period. It is "not beyond the bounds of possibility" that in some instances this happened. But generally, the texts and even the memoirs written by the some Sultans themselves describe how they "set about destroying new temples and replacing them with mosques", and in one case depopulated a town of Hindus and resettled Muslims there. Jackson clarifies that the evidence suggests that the destroyed temples were "new temples", and not the old one's near Delhi whose devotees were already paying regular Jizya to the Sultan's treasuries. In some cases, the policies on destroying or letting Hindus worship in their old temples changed as Sultans changed.
The Muslim nobles and advisors of the Sultans championed persecution of Hindus. Jackson shows how the Muslim texts of that era frequently mention themes such as the Hindu "infidels must on no account be allowed to live in ease and affluence", they should not be treated as "Peoples of the Book" and the Sultan should "at least refrain from treating Hindus with honour or permitting idolatry in the capital". Failure to slaughter the Hindus has led to polytheism taking root. Another wazir while theoretically agreeing to these view, stated that this would not be practical given the small population of Muslims and such a policy should be deferred until Muslims were in a stronger position. If eradication of Hindus is not possible, suggested another Muslim official, then the Hindus should at least be insulted, disgraced and dishonored. These views were not exceptions, rather consistent with Islamic thinking of that era and are "commonly encountered in polemical writing against the infidel in different parts of the Islamic world at different times", states Jackson. This antagonism towards Hindus may have other general reasons, such as the fear of apostasy given the tendency of everyday Muslims to join in with Hindus as they celebrated their religious festivals. Further, the succession struggle after the death of a Sultan usually led to political maneuvering by the next Sultan, where depending on the circumstances, the victor championed either the orthodox segment of the Islamic clergy and jurists, or gave concessions to the Hindus and other groups for support when the Sultanate facing a military threat from outside.
Madurai Sultanate
The army of Ala al-Din Khalji from Delhi Sultanate began their first campaign in 1310 against the Hindu kingdom in Madurai region – called Ma'bar by court historians, under the pretext of helping Sundar Pandya. According to Mehrdad Shokoohy – a scholar of Islamic studies and architectural history in Central and South Asia – this campaign lasted for a year during which Madurai and other Tamil region cities were overrun by the Muslims, the Hindu temples were demolished and the towns looted. A detailed record about the campaign by Amir Khusrau the destruction and plunder.
A second destructive campaign was launched by Mubarak Shah, Ala al-Din Khalji's successor. While the looted wealth was sent to Delhi, a Muslim governor was appointed for the region. The governor later rebelled, founded the short lived Madurai Sultanate and renamed himself as Sultan Ahsan Shah in 1334. The successive sultans of the new Sultanate did not have the support of the regional Hindu population. The Madurai Sultanate's army, states Shokoohy, "often exercised fierce and brutal repressive methods on the local people". The Sultanate faced constant battles with neighboring Hindu states and assassination by its own nobles. Sultan Sikandar Shah was the last sultan. He was killed by the invading forces of Vijayanagara Empire army in 1377.
The Muslim literature of this period record the motive of the Madurai Sultans. For example, Sultan Shams al-Din Adil Shah's general is described as leaving for "holy war against the infidels and taking from them great wealth and a vast amount of booty". Another record states, "he engaged in a holy war (ghaza) and killed a great number of infidels". Madurai region has several Islamic shrines with tombs built during this period, such as one for Ala al-Din and Shams al-Din. In this shrine, the inner columns are irregular and vary in form showing evidence of "reused material". The "destruction of temples and the re-use of their materials", states Shokoohy, was a "practice of the early Sultanates of North India, and we may assume that this tradition was brought to the south by the sultans of Ma'bar".
Indologist Crispin Branfoot said that the Madurai Sultanate "sacked and desecrated Hindu temples throughout the Tamil country", and these were restored and reconsecrated for worship by the Vijayanagara rulers.
Mughal Empire
Akbar
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The Mughal emperor Akbar has been a celebrated unusual example of tolerance. Indologist Richard M. Eaton writes that from Akbar's time to today, he has attracted conflicting labels, "from a strict Muslim to an apostate, from a free-thinker to a crypto-Hindu, from a Zoroastrian to a proto-Christian, from an atheist to a radical innovator". As a youth, states Eaton, Akbar studied Islam under both Shia and Sunni tutors, but as an adult he looked back with regret on his early life, confessing that in those days he had "persecuted men into conformity with my faith and deemed it Islam". In his later years he felt "an internal bitterness, acknowledging that his soul had been 'seized with exceeding sorrow'" for what he had done before launching his campaign to "treat all Mughal subjects, regardless of religion, on a basis of legal equality before the state".
Aurangzeb
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Aurangzeb (1658-1707) is a controversial figure in modern India, often remembered as a "vile oppressor of Hindus". During his rule Aurangzeb expanded the Mughal Empire, conquering much of southern India through long bloody campaigns against non-Muslims. He forcibly converted Hindus to Islam and destroyed Hindu temples. He also re-introduced the jizya, a tax on non-Muslims, which had been suspended for the previous 100 years by his great-grandfather Akbar.
Aurangzeb ordered the desecration and destruction of temples when conquering new lands and putting down rebellions, punishing political leaders by destroying the temples that symbolized their power. In 1669 he issued orders to all his governors of provinces to "destroy with a willing hand the schools and temples of the infidels, and that they were strictly enjoined to put an entire stop to the teaching and practice of idolatrous forms of worship". According to Eaton these orders appear to have been directed not toward Hindu temples in general, but towards a more narrowly defined "deviant group". The number of Hindu temples destroyed or desecrated under Aurangzeb's rule is unclear and subject to scholarly debate. Some suggest he may have built more temples than he destroyed. According to Ikram, "Aurangzeb tried to enforce strict Islamic law by ordering the destruction of newly built Hindu temples. Later, the procedure was adopted of closing down rather than destroying the newly built temples in Hindu localities. It is also true that very often the orders of destruction remained a dead letter." Some temples were destroyed entirely; in other cases mosques were built on their foundations, sometimes using the same stones. Idols in temples were smashed, and the city of Mathura was temporarily renamed as Islamabad in local official documents.
The persecution during the Islamic period targeted non-Hindus as well. In some cases, such as towards the end of Mughal era, the violence and persecution was mutual. Hindus too attacked and damaged Muslim tombs, even when the troops had orders not to harm religious refuges of Muslims. These "few examples of disrespect for Islamic sites", states Indologist Nicholas Gier, "pale in comparison to the great destruction of temples and general persecution of Hindus by Muslims for 500 years". Sources document brutal episodes of persecution. Sikh texts, for example, document their "Guru Teg Bahadur accompanying sixteen Hindu Brahmins on a quest to stop Mughal persecution of Hindus; they were arrested and commanded to convert to Islam on pain of torture and death", states Gier, "they all refused, and in November 1675, Mati Das was sawed in half, Dayal Das was boiled alive, Sati Das was burned alive, and Teg Bahadar was beheaded."
According to Deepa Ollapally, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb was clearly discriminatory towards Hindu and all other non-Muslims, displaying an "unprecedented level of religious bigotry", but perhaps this was a consequence of the opposition he faced from a number of his family members. During the medieval span, she states, "episodes of direct religious persecution of Hindus were rare", as were communal riots between Hindus and Muslims.
Authorities on pre-Modern India, like Eaton, claim that even though Aurangzeb destroyed temples, available records show it was a little more than a dozen and not thousands, as has been widely believed, and that this was done for political, not religious reasons. The emperor also extended safety and security to people from all religions.
Historiography and distortion
According to Nicholas Gier, there were harmonious Hindu-Muslim relations in most Indian communities, and the Indian population grew during the medieval Muslim times. No populations were expelled based on their religion by either the Muslim or Hindu kings, nor were attempts made to annihilate a specific religion.
According to Romila Thapar, with the onset of Muslim rule all Indians, higher and lower caste were lumped together in the category of "Hindus". While higher-caste Indians regarded lower castes to be impure, they were now regarded as belonging to a similar category, which partly explains the belief among many higher caste Indians ".. belief among many upper caste Hindus today that Hinduism in the last one thousand years has been through the most severe persecution that any religion in the world has ever undergone." Thapar further notes that "The need to exaggerate the persecution at the hands of the Muslim is required to justify the inculcation of anti-Muslim sentiments among the Hindus of today."
Thapar states that the belief in a severe persecution in the last millennium brushes away the "various expressions of religious persecution in India prior to the coming of the Muslims and particularly between the Śaiva and the Buddhist and Jaina sects". She questions what persecution means, and if it means religious conversions, she doubts that conversions can be interpreted as forms of persecution. According to Thapar, it is quite correct to mention that Muslim iconoclasts destroyed temples and the broke images of Hindus but it should also be mentioned that Muslim rulers made donations to Hindu sects during their rule.
As part of the scholarly debate on Indian historiography, many have criticized Marxian historians for using negationism to whitewash some of the atrocities committed by Muslim rulers. B. R. Ambedkar criticized Marxists, as he deemed them to be unaware or ignorant of the specifics of caste issues.
The Hindutva approach to historiography has been accused of saffronising history, by minimizing or outright excluding the contributions Muslim rulers to Indian society, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) being accused of saffronising school textbooks that they deemed to have overt Marxist or Eurocentric political overtones. Meenakshi Jain has been criticized for being inducted as a historian despite being trained as a sociologist in service of saffronisation. Her Medieval India was criticized as being a monoscopic clash-of-civilizations narrative between the forces of good (Hindus) and evil (Muslims), and as having portrayed the exactions of the Sultanate rulers and the Mughals as anti-Hindu acts, with all of their contributions to the social, cultural and political ignored. Journalist François Gautier, who is an advocate of Hindutva, has framed the Muslim violence against Hindu expressions of faith as a "Hindu Holocaust".
European colonial rule
Portuguese Goa
Main article: Goa InquisitionDuring the Portuguese rule of Goa, several Hindus were coerced into accepting Christianity by the passage of laws that made it difficult for them to practice their faith (such as the ban on the practice of Sati) or harassed them under pretences or petty complaints. Other Hindus, especially the upper caste Bamonns and Chardos were convinced into accepting Christianity by offering favourable status to converts (indiacatos) and mestiços in terms of laws and jobs. An Inquisition - which literally means a period of prolonged and intensive questioning, was established in 1560 by Portuguese officials in the Estado Português da Índia. The Goa Inquisition was directed against backsliding New Christians (that is, former Hindus and Muslims who had recently converted to Christianity), and it has been recorded that around 57 Goan Catholics were executed over a period of two hundred and fifty years, starting in the year 1560. The inquisition was proposed by St. Francis Xavier, to ensure that the new converts were aware about the aspects of Christianity.
According to Prakashchandra Pandurang Shirodkar, Hindus faced some persecution along with some fortitude under the Portuguese in Goa. Vicar general Miguel Vaz had written to the king of Portugal in 1543 from Goa requesting that the Inquisition be established in Goa as well. Three years later, St. Francis Xavier made a similar request in view of the Muslims in the region and some New Christians abandoning their faith. On hearing of the excesses of the Inquisition in Goa, Lourenco Pires, Portuguese ambassador at Rome, expressed his displeasure to the crown while warning that this zeal for religion was actually becoming a disservice to God and the kingdom. Again according to Shirodkar, the Inquisition led to the downfall of the Portuguese Empire in the East.
British India
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Muslim and Hindu communities in British India have lived in a delicate balance since the end of Muslim rule. Violent clashes have often appeared, and the partition of India in 1947 has only perpetuated these confrontations.
Mappila Riots (1836–1921)
Main article: Mappila riotsMappila Riots or Mappila Outbreaks refers to a series of riots by the Mappila (Moplah) Muslims of Malabar, South India in the 19th century and the early 20th century (c.1836–1921) against native Hindus and the state. The Malabar Rebellion of 1921 is often considered as the culmination of Mappila riots. Mappilas committed several atrocities against the Hindus during the outbreak. Annie Besant reported that Muslim Mappilas forcibly converted many Hindus and killed or drove away all Hindus who would not apostatise, totalling the driven people to one lakh (100,000).
Noakhali riots
Main article: Noakhali riotsIn 1946, around seven weeks after Direct Action Day (in which both Muslims and Hindus were targeted in communal attacks), violence was directed against the Hindu minority in rural Noakhali district and Tippera. Rioting in the region began in the Ramganj police station area. The rioting spread to the neighbouring police station areas of Raipur, Lakshmipur, Begumganj and Sandip in Noakhali and Faridganj, Hajiganj, Chandpur, Laksham and Chudagram in Tippera. From 2 October, there were instances of stray killings. Relief operations took place and Gandhiji visited the place on a peace mission even as threats against the Hindus continued. While claims varied, the official Muslim League Bengal Government estimates of those killed were placed at a conservative 200. According to Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, 9,895 people were forcibly converted in Tippera alone. Ghulam Sarwar Hossain, a religious leader who belonged to a local political party dominated by Muslims, was the main organiser of the riot. According to political scientist Bidyut Chakrabarty, Hindus widely believed that the local administration had planned the riot and that the police helped Ghulam Sarwar escape arrest. A large number of victims were Namasudra (a Bengali Hindu lower caste). According to a source quoting from the State Government Archives, in Naokhali 178 Hindus and 42 Muslims were killed while in Tippera 39 Hindus and 26 Muslims were killed. Women were abducted and forced into marriage.
In retaliation, Muslims were massacred in Bihar and in Garhmukteshwara in the United Provinces. These attacks began between 25 and 28 October 1946 in the Chhapra and Saran districts of Bihar and then spread to Patna, Munger, Bhagalpur and a large number of scattered villages of Bihar. The official estimates of the dead at that time were 445.
Partition of India
See also: Partition of IndiaHindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and members of other religious groups, experienced severe dislocation and violence during the massive population exchanges associated with the partition of India, as members of various communities moved to what they hoped was the relative safety of an area where they would be a religious majority. Hindus were among the between 200,000 and a million who died during the rioting and other violence associated with the partition.
Mirpur massacre and Rajouri massacre
Main article: 1947 Jammu massacresThe 1947 Mirpur massacre and the 1947–1948 Rajouri massacre of Hindus and Sikhs in the Jammu division of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, began in November 1947, some months after the Partition of India. The Rajouri Massacre ended in early 1948, when Indian troops retook the town of Rajouri.
Present-day South Asia
India
See also: Insurgency in Punjab, Ajmer rape case, and Category:Islamic terrorism in IndiaPost 1947, especially after the 1980s, there have been a number of attacks on Hindu temples and Hindus by Muslim militants in India. Prominent among them are the 1998 Chamba massacre, the 2002 fidayeen attacks on Raghunath temple, the 2002 Akshardham Temple attack allegedly perpetrated by Islamic terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, resulting in many deaths and injuries.
The Godhra train burning on 27 February 2002 killed 59 people, including 25 women and 15 child Hindu pilgrims. In 2011, the judicial court convicted 31 people saying the incident was a "pre-planned conspiracy". This event eventually led to escalation into the 2002 Gujarat riots.
On 2 May 2003, eight Hindus were killed by a Muslim mob at Marad beach in Kozhikode district, Kerala. One of the attackers was also killed. The judicial commission that probed the incident concluded that members of several political parties were directly involved in planning and executing the killing. The commission affirmed "a clear communal conspiracy, with Muslim fundamentalist and terrorist organisations involved". The courts sentenced 62 Muslims to life imprisonment for committing the massacre in 2009.
North-east
In Tripura, in 2000 the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) attacked a Hindu temple and killed a spiritual leader there. They are known to have forcefully converted Hindus to Christianity.
In Meghalaya, in 2020 the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) gave an ultimatum to Bengali Hindus, from Bangladesh, to leave Ichamati and Majai regions. This was a response to a Khasi youth, identified as Lurshai Hynniewta, 35, a resident of Khliehshnong Sohra, who was attacked by non-tribals at Ichamati, died at Sohra CHC on Friday. The HNLC has seen a Hindutva connection in the killing of the Khasi youth.
Punjab
See also: Insurgency in Punjab and List of bus killings during Punjab insurgencyFrom the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, there was an armed campaign by the militants of the Khalistan Movement for a separate Sikh state, and in this period of insurgency, there were many incidents of targeted killings of Hindus by the militants. There were multiple killings of Hindu bus passengers by the pro-Khalistan militants in the 1980s. Major incidents included the Lalru massacre of 38 Hindu bus passengers on 6 July 1987, by the Khalistan Commando Force militants near Lalru, Punjab, India.; and Fatehabad bus killings on 7 July 1987, in which 34 Hindus on two buses were killed. In most of these incidents, the attackers shot the Hindu passengers using automatic rifles.
According to the former Chief Minister of Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh, there were 35,000 Hindus killed during militancy in Punjab. From K.P.S Gill's figures no more than 4,500 Hindus died in militancy. The data from court cases of the Supreme Court of India gives a lower death toll for Hindus at 3,817.
Jammu and Kashmir
The Kashmiri Pandit population living in the Muslim-majority region of Jammu and Kashmir has often come under threat from Islamic militants in recent years. Historian Ramachandra Guha has argued that the rise in Islamic militant activity in Kashmir and the rise of Hindu nationalism in the rest of India "began independently, yet each legitimized and furthered the other". This threat has been pronounced during periods of unrest in the Kashmir valley, such as in 1989. In 1986, the Anantnag Riots broke out, where protesters targeted properties of Kashmiri Hindus and temples. Along with the Hindus, large sections of the Muslim population have also been attacked, ostensibly for "cooperating" with the Indian state. Some authors have found evidence that these militants had the support of the Pakistani security establishment. The incidents of violence included the Wandhama Massacre in 1998, in which 23 Kashmiri Hindus were gunned down by Muslims disguised as Indian soldiers. Many Kashmiri Non-Muslims have been killed and thousands of children orphaned over the course of the conflict in Kashmir. The 2000 Amarnath pilgrimage massacre was another such incident where 30 Hindu pilgrims were killed en route to the Amarnath Temple.
In the Kashmir region, approximately 300 Kashmiri Pandits were killed between September 1989 and 1990 in various incidents. In early 1990, local Urdu newspapers Aftab and Al Safa called upon Kashmiris to wage jihad against India and ordered the expulsion of all Hindus choosing to remain in Kashmir. In the following days masked men ran in the streets with AK-47 shooting to kill Hindus who would not leave. Notices were placed on the houses of all Hindus, telling them to leave within 24 hours or die.
As of 2005, it is estimated that between 250,000 and 300,000 Kashmiri Pandits have migrated outside Kashmir since the 1990s due to persecution by Islamic fundamentalists. The proportion of Kashmiri Pandits in the Kashmir valley has declined from about 15% in 1947 to, by some estimates, less than 0.1% since the insurgency in Kashmir took on a religious and sectarian flavour.
Many Kashmiri Pandits have been killed by Islamist militants in incidents such as the Wandhama massacre and the 2000 Amarnath pilgrimage massacre.
In October 2021, three terrorists shot a Kashmiri pandit school teacher and a Sikh school principal after checking their identity cards and segregating them from their Kashmiri Muslim colleagues in a government run school. Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba affiliated TRF claimed responsibility of the killings.
Bangladesh
See also: Hinduism in Bangladesh, List of massacres in Bangladesh, Bangladesh Genocide, Freedom of religion in Bangladesh, and 2024 Bangladesh anti-Hindu violenceAccording to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Hindus are among those persecuted in Bangladesh, with hundreds of cases of "killings, attempted killings, death threats, assaults, rapes, kidnappings, and attacks on homes, businesses, and places of worship" on religious minorities in 2017. The 'Vested Property Act' previously named the 'Enemy Property Act' has seen up to 40% of Hindu land get snatched away forcibly. Hindu temples in Bangladesh have also been vandalised.
There have been several instances where Hindu refugees from Bangladesh have stated that they were the victims of torture and intimidation. A US-based human rights organisation, Refugees International, has claimed that religious minorities, especially Hindus, still face discrimination in Bangladesh.
A minor party, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, openly calls for 'Talibanisation' of the state. Journalist Hiranmay Karlekar, writing in 2005 when Jamaat was part of the coalition government, described Talibanisation as impossible to stop, but said the country was not on the brink of it, and the overwhelming majority of society would fight against it tooth and nail.
Bangladeshi feminist Taslima Nasrin's 1993 novel Lajja deals with the anti-Hindu riots and anti-secular sentiment in Bangladesh in the wake of the Demolition of the Babri Masjid in India. The book was banned in Bangladesh, and helped draw international attention to the situation of the Bangladeshi Hindu minority.
In October 2006, the USCIRF published a report titled "Policy Focus on Bangladesh", which said that since its last election, "Bangladesh has experienced growing violence by religious extremists, intensifying concerns expressed by the countries religious minorities". The report further stated that Hindus are particularly vulnerable in a period of rising violence and extremism, whether motivated by religious, political or criminal factors, or some combination. The report noted that Hindus had multiple disadvantages against them in Bangladesh, such as perceptions of dual loyalty with respect to India and religious beliefs that are not tolerated by the politically dominant Islamic Fundamentalists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Violence against Hindus has taken place "in order to encourage them to flee in order to seize their property". On 2 November 2006, USCIRF criticised Bangladesh for its continuing persecution of minority Hindus. It also urged the Bush administration to get Dhaka to ensure protection of religious freedom and minority rights before Bangladesh's next national elections in January 2007.
On 6 February 2010, Sonargaon temple in Narayanganj district of Bangladesh was destroyed by Islamic fanatics. Five people were seriously injured during the attack. Temples were also attacked and destroyed in 2011.
In 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal indicted several Jamaat members for war crimes against Hindus during the 1971 Bangladesh genocide. In retaliation, violence against Hindu minorities in Bangladesh was instigated by the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. The violence included the looting of Hindu properties and businesses, the burning of Hindu homes, rape of Hindu women and desecration and destruction of Hindu temples.
On 28 February 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, the Vice President of the Jamaat-e-Islami to death for the war crimes committed during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Following the sentence, activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir attacked the Hindus in different parts of the country. Hindu properties were looted, Hindu houses were burnt into ashes and Hindu temples were desecrated and set on fire. While the government has held the Jamaat-e-Islami responsible for the attacks on the minorities, the Jamaat-e-Islami leadership has denied any involvement. The minority leaders have protested the attacks and appealed for justice. The Supreme Court of Bangladesh has directed the law enforcement to start suo motu investigation into the attacks. US Ambassador to Bangladesh express concern about attack of Jamaat on Bengali Hindu community. The violence included the looting of Hindu properties and businesses, the burning of Hindu homes, rape of Hindu women and desecration and destruction of Hindu temples. According to community leaders, more than 50 Hindu temples and 1,500 Hindu homes were destroyed in 20 districts.
According to the BJHM report in 2017 alone, at least 107 people of the Hindu community were killed and 31 fell victims to enforced disappearance 782 Hindus were either forced to leave the country or threatened to leave. Besides, 23 were forced to get converted into other religions. At least 25 Hindu women and children were raped, while 235 temples and statues vandalized during the year. The total number of atrocities happened with the Hindu community in 2017 is 6474. During the 2019 Bangladesh elections, eight houses belonging to Hindu families on fire in Thakurgaon alone.
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In April 2019, two idols of Hindu goddesses, Lakshmi and Saraswati, were vandalized by unidentified miscreants at a newly constructed temple in Kazipara of Brahmanbaria. In the same month, several idols of Hindu gods in two temples in Madaripur Sadar upazila which were under construction were desecrated by miscreants.
In October 2021 several Hindu temples, including an ISKCON center and homes belonging to Hindu community, across Bangladesh were vandalized and set on fire by a Muslim mob of over 10,000 protesters, and clashes were reported in at least 10 of the 64 districts, after an allegation of a Quran being placed on the lap of Hanuman during the Durga Puja religious ceremony. In Haziganj Upazila at least 4 were killed and 24 injured when police opened fire on a mob trying to attack the local temple there. According to Gobinda Chandra Pramanik, the secretary-general of the Bangladesh National Hindu Mahajote, at least 17 temples had been attacked and more than 100 people had been wounded. Shibu Prasad Roy, member of the organizing committee of the Durga Puja festival, says, "At first 15 to 20 people, aged between 14 and 18 years old, came to attack our temple in Cumilla. After that, the number increased to hundreds of people." Various reports suggests that the growing attack against the Hindu minority community in Bangladesh has been partly fueled by misinformation spread through social media. Asif Nazrul mentions that, hundreds of homes belonging to the Hindu community were burned due to a fake Facebook post alleging an insult to Islam by a Hindu in 2016, including a few dozen Buddhist temples destroyed by a Muslim mob in Cox's Bazar after a rumor circulated that a Buddhist had insulted the Quran. A report by The Economic Times alleged that, Jamaat-e-Islami were behind the attacks.
The cohorts of the ruling party Awami League and Chhatra League are often found affiliated in such attacks on Hindu communities followed by communal violence. Even in most of the cases officials found them masterminds behind the attacks to achieve political advantages.
As per a written response to parliament by Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, a total of 2,200 cases of violence against Hindus and other minorities have been reported in Bangladesh in 2024 till December 8.
Since 1951, the Hindu population has decreased by 15.1% in 71 years, and during the same period, the Muslim population increased by exactly the same 15.1% (76% to 91.1%). Percentage of Hindus declined more than two third (over 67% drop) in 71 years, i.e. from 22% of total population of Bangladesh in 1951 to 13.5% in 1974 (8.5% decrease in 20 years), and then to drop again to 6.9% in 2022 (further 1.6% decrease). Hindus and others have been regularly and systematically persecuted, such as during the Bangladesh genocide, Bangladesh Liberation War and numerous recurring massacres of civilians where rape is also used as a weapon. Active perpetrators of genocide, ethnic cleansing and rapes of Hindus in Bangladesh include the Pakistani Military, Al Badr, Al Sham, East Pakistan Central Peace Committee, Razakars, Muslim League, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the Urdu-speaking Biharis.
Bhutan
This section is an excerpt from Hinduism in Bhutan § Persecution of Hindus.Ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing of Lhotshampa was carried out during the reign of King Jigme Singye Wangchuk in the 1990s. In the early 1990s, several thousands of residents in southern Bhutan were forcefully relocated by the authorities under the provisions of the amended Citizenship Act of 1985, because they had Nepalese ancestry. Refugee associations claim the cleansing had a religious dimension, and was also motivated by anti-Hindu sentiments.
Refugees and diaspora
After the purge of the 1990s began, Bhutanese Hindus were forced to live in refugee camps set up by the UN High Commission for Refugees United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in eastern Nepal in 1992. With help of UNHCR and WHO, the majority of Bhutanese refugees are resettled to the United States, Canada, Australia, and European countries. There is a small number of refugees living in camps in Nepal still hoping to see their motherland for more than 30 years.
Discrimination
The government provided financial assistance for the construction of Buddhist temples and shrines and state funding for monks and monasteries. NGOs alleged that the government rarely granted permission to build Hindu temples; the last report of such construction was in the early 1990s, when the government authorized the construction and renovation of Hindu temples and centers of Sanskrit and Hindu learning and provided state funds to help finance the projects. The government argued that it was a matter of supply and demand, with demand for Buddhist temples far exceeding that for Hindu temples. The Government stated that it supported numerous Hindu temples in the south, where most Hindus reside, and provided some scholarships for Hindus to study Sanskrit in India.Pakistan
Main article: Persecution of Hindus in Pakistan See also: Hinduism in Pakistan, 2014 Larkana temple attack, 2019 Ghotki riots, and 2020 Karak temple attack1971 Bangladesh genocide
See also: 1971 Bangladesh genocide and Operation SearchlightDuring the 1971 Bangladesh genocide there were widespread killings and acts of ethnic cleansing of civilians in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan, a province of Pakistan), and widespread violations of human rights were carried out by the Pakistani Army, which was supported by political and religious militias during the Bangladesh Liberation War. The violence began on 26 March 1971 with the launch of Operation Searchlight, as West Pakistan (now Pakistan) began a military crackdown on the eastern wing (now Bangladesh) of the nation. During the nine-month-long Bangladesh War for Liberation, members of the Pakistani military and supporting pro Pakistani Islamist militias from Jamaat-e-Islami party killed between 200,000 and 3,000,000 people and raped between 200,000 and 400,000 Bengali women, according to Bangladeshi and Indian sources, in a systematic campaign of genocidal rape. The actions against women were supported by Pakistan's religious leaders, who declared that Bengali women were gonimoter maal (Bengali for "public property"). As a result of the conflict, a further eight to ten million people, mostly Hindus, fled the country to seek refuge in neighbouring India. It is estimated that up to 30 million civilians were internally displaced out of 70 million. During the war, there was also ethnic violence between Bengalis and Urdu-speaking Biharis. Biharis faced reprisals from Bengali mobs and militias and from 1,000 to 150,000 were killed.
In Bangladesh, the atrocities are identified as a genocide. Time magazine reported in 1971 that "The Hindus, who account for three-fourths of the refugees and a majority of the dead, have borne the brunt of the Muslim military's hatred."
United States government cables noted that Hindus were specific targets of the Pakistani army. Notable massacres included the Jathibhanga massacre, the Chuknagar massacre, and the Shankharipara massacre. More than 60% of the Bengali refugees who fled to India were Hindus. It has been alleged that this widespread violence against Hindus was motivated by a policy to purge East Pakistan of what was seen as Hindu and Indian influences.
The genocide and gendercidal atrocities were also perpetrated by lower-ranking officers and ordinary soldiers. These "willing executioners" were fueled by an abiding anti-Bengali racism, especially against the Hindu minority. According to R.J. Rummel, late professor of political science at the University of Hawaii,
Bengalis were often compared with monkeys and chickens. Said Pakistan General Niazi, "It was a low lying land of low lying people." The Hindus among the Bengalis were as Jews to the Nazis: scum and vermin that best be exterminated. As to the Moslem Bengalis, they were to live only on the sufferance of the soldiers: any infraction, any suspicion cast on them, any need for reprisal, could mean their death. And the soldiers were free to kill at will. The journalist Dan Coggin quoted one Punjabi captain as telling him, "We can kill anyone for anything. We are accountable to no one." This is the arrogance of Power.
The Bangladesh Liberation War (1971) resulted in one of the largest genocides of the 20th century. While estimates of the number of casualties was 3,000,000, it is reasonably certain that Hindus bore a disproportionate brunt of the Pakistan Army's onslaught against the Bengali population of what was East Pakistan. An article in Time magazine dated 2 August 1971, stated "The Hindus, who account for three-fourths of the refugees and a majority of the dead, have borne the brunt of the Muslim military hatred." Senator Edward Kennedy wrote in a report that was part of United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations testimony dated 1 November 1971, "Hardest hit have been members of the Hindu community who have been robbed of their lands and shops, systematically slaughtered, and in some places, painted with yellow patches marked "H". All of this has been officially sanctioned, ordered and implemented under martial law from Islamabad". In the same report, Senator Kennedy reported that 80% of the refugees in India were Hindus and according to numerous international relief agencies such as UNESCO and World Health Organization the number of East Pakistani refugees at their peak in India was close to 10 million. Given that the Hindu population in East Pakistan was around 11 million in 1971, this suggests that up to 8 million, or more than 70% of the Hindu population had fled the country. The Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Sydney Schanberg covered the start of the war and wrote extensively on the suffering of the East Bengalis, including the Hindus both during and after the conflict. In a syndicated column "The Pakistani Slaughter That Nixon Ignored", he wrote about his return to liberated Bangladesh in 1972. "Other reminders were the yellow "H"s the Pakistanis had painted on the homes of Hindus, particular targets of the Muslim army" (by "Muslim army", meaning the Pakistan Army, which had targeted Bengali Muslims as well), (Newsday, 29 April 1994).
Post-1971
The Hindus are one of the persecuted minority religions in Pakistan. Militancy and sectarianism has been rising in Pakistan since the 1990s, and the religious minorities such as Hindus have "borne the brunt of the Islamist's ferocity" suffering "greater persecution than in any earlier decade", states Farahnaz Ispahani – a Public Policy Scholar at the Wilson Center. This has led to attacks and forced conversion of the Hindus.
The London-based Minority Rights Group and Islamabad-based International and Sustainable Development Policy Institute state that religious minorities in Pakistan such as Hindus face "high levels of religious discrimination", and "legal and social discrimination in almost every aspect of their lives, including political participation, marriage and freedom of belief". Similarly, the Brussels-based Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization stated in 2019, that "religious minorities, including Hindus ... have perpetually been subjected to attacks and discrimination by extremist groups and the society at large."
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedoms (USCIRF) echos a similar view, stating that "extremist groups and societal actors continued to discriminate against and attack religious minorities" in Pakistan. The European Parliament, similarly has expressed its concerns to Pakistan of systemic persecution of minorities citing examples of attack on Hindu temples (and Christian Churches), hundreds of honor killings, citing its blasphemy laws that "make it dangerous for religious minorities to express themselves freely or engage openly in religious activities". The European Parliament has adopted resolutions of concern stating that "for years Pakistan's blasphemy laws have raised global concern because accusations are often motivated by score-settling, economic gain or religious intolerance, and foster a culture of vigilantism giving mobs a platform for harassment and attacks" against its religious minorities such as Hindus.
In the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition Pakistani Hindus faced riots. Mobs attacked five Hindu temples in Karachi and set fire to 25 temples in towns across the province of Sindh. Shops owned by Hindus were also attacked in Sukkur. Hindu homes and temples were also attacked in Quetta.
Hindus in Pakistan are often treated as second class citizens, systematically discriminated and dehumanised. Hindu women have also been known to be victims of kidnapping and forced conversion to Islam. A member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan claimed in 2010, though without official record, that around 20 to 25 girls from the Hindu community, along with people from other minorities like Christians, are abducted every month and forcibly converted. Many Hindus are continuing to flee Pakistan even now due to persecution. Krishan Bheel, a Hindu member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, came into the news for manhandling Qari Gul Rehman after being taunted with a religious insult.
On 18 October 2005, Sanno Amra and Champa, a Hindu couple residing in the Punjab Colony, Karachi, Sindh returned home to find that their three teenage daughters had disappeared. After inquiries to the local police, the couple discovered that their daughters had been taken to a local madrassah, had been converted to Islam, and were denied unsupervised contact with their parents. In January 2017, a Hindu temple was demolished in Pakistan's Haripur district.
In 2005, 32 Hindus were killed by firing from the government side near Nawab Akbar Bugti's residence during bloody clashes between Bugti tribesmen and paramilitary forces in Balochistan. The firing left the Hindu residential locality near Bugti's residence badly hit.
In 2006, a Hindu temple in Lahore was destroyed to pave the way for construction of a multi-storied commercial building. When reporters from Pakistan-based newspaper Dawn tried to cover the incident, they were accosted by the henchmen of the property developer, who denied that a Hindu temple existed at the site. In January 2014, a policeman standing guard outside a Hindu temple at Peshawar was gunned down. 25 March 2014 Express Tribune citing an All Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement (PHRM) survey said that 95% of all Hindu temples in Pakistan have been converted since 1990. Pakistanis attack Hindu temples if anything happens to any mosque in neighbouring India. In 2019, a Hindu temple Pakistan's southern Sindh province was vandalism by miscreants and they set fire to holy books and idols inside the temple.
In July 2010, around 60 members of the minority Hindu community in Karachi were attacked and evicted from their homes following an incident of a Hindu youth drinking water from a tap near an Islamic mosque. In January 2014, a policeman standing guard outside a Hindu temple at Peshawar was gunned down. Pakistan's Supreme Court has sought a report from the government on its efforts to ensure access for the minority Hindu community to temples – the Karachi bench of the apex court was hearing applications against the alleged denial of access to the members of the minority community.
In 2010 also, 57 Hindus were forced to convert by their employer as his sales dropped after Muslims started boycotting his eatable items as they were prepared by Hindus. Since the impoverished Hindus had no other way to earn and needed to keep the job to survive, hence they converted.
A Pakistan Muslim League politician has stated that abduction of Hindus and Sikhs is a business in Pakistan, along with conversions of Hindus to Islam. Forced conversion, rape, and forced marriages of Hindu women in Pakistan have recently become very controversial in Pakistan.
Although Hindus were frequently soft targets in Pakistan, the rise of Taliban forces in the political arena has particularly unsettled the already fragile situation for the minority community. Increasing persecution, ostracism from locals and lack of a social support system is forcing more and more Hindus to flee to India. This has been observed in the past whenever the conflicts between the two nations escalated, but this has been a notable trend in view of the fact the recent developments are due to internal factors almost exclusively. The Taliban have used false methods of luring, as well as the co-operation of zealots within local authorities to perpetrate religious cleansing.
In 2012, a century-old temple demolished in Karachi, Pakistan, along with several houses, leaving nearly 40 Hindus homeless. Following the demolition, the Pakistan Hindu Council organised a protest outside of Karachi Press Club. Prakash, one of the members of the council said "They destroyed our mandir and humiliated our gods". According to local residents, the demolition team taken away the gold jewellery and crowns of the Hindu deities. "They hit me with their guns when I tried to stop them. I told them to kill me instead of destroying out holy place", states, one of the residents, Lakshman. According to one elderly resident, identified as Kaali Das, the area around the temple had over 150 Hindu families and due to the demolition, the families, including the children, spent the nights in the open. "If you don't want us, we will go to India", screamed one of the women. Maharaj Badri, who lived inside the temple, said that, "Our ancestors have been living here since independence. We are not encroachers".
The rise of Taliban insurgency in Pakistan has been an influential and increasing factor in the persecution of and discrimination against religious minorities in Pakistan, such as Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, and other minorities. Hindu minorities living under the influence of the Taliban in Swat, Pakistan, were forced to wear red headgear such as turbans as a symbol of dhimmi. In January 2014, in an attack on a temple, the guard was gunned down.
Some Hindus in Pakistan feel that they are treated as second-class citizens and many have continued to migrate to India. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan data, just around 1,000 Hindu families fled to India in 2013. In May 2014, a member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, revealed in the National Assembly of Pakistan that around 5,000 Hindus are migrating from Pakistan to India every year.
Many Hindu girls living in Pakistan are kidnapped, forcibly converted and married to Muslims. According to the Pakistan Hindu Council, religious persecution especially forced conversions to remain the foremost reason for the migration of Hindus from Pakistan. Religious institutions like Bharchundi Sharif and Sarhandi Pir support forced conversions and are known to have support and protection of ruling political parties of Sindh. According to the National Commission of Justice and Peace and the Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC) around 1000 Christian and Hindu minority women are converted to Islam and then forcibly married off to their abductors or rapists. This practice is being reported increasingly in the districts of Tharparkar, Umerkot and Mirpur Khas in Sindh. According to the Amarnath Motumal, the vice chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, every month, an estimated 20 or more Hindu girls are abducted and converted, although exact figures are impossible to gather. In 2014 alone, 265 legal cases of forced conversion were reported mostly involving Hindu girls.
In September 2019, Hindu teacher was attacked and three Hindu temples were vandalised in Ghotki riots over blasphemy accusations. The protestors attacked properties, including the school and vandalised three Hindu temples. The Hindu principal of Sindh public school in Ghotki was accused of fake blasphemy and the school was vandalised by the religious extremists in the presence of police, states the reports.
In 2020, the Mata Rani Bhatiyani Hindu temple in Tharparkar, Sindh was vandalised by miscreants. The miscreants desecrated the idols and set fire to holy scriptures. Four teenagers, ages 12 and 15 years, have been arrested for theft charges of the cash collection box of the temple. According to the report, every year, around 1,000 young Hindu girls, between the ages of 12 and 28, are abducted, forcibly married and converted to Islam.
In 2020, an Islamist mob desecrated the construction site of the first Hindu temple in Islamabad - Shri Krishna Temple Islamabad. Subsequently, the Pakistan government halted the construction of the temple and referred the issue to the Council of Islamic Ideology, a constitutional body set up to ensure compliance of state policy with Islamic Ideology. Punjab Assembly speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, a member of Pakistan Muslim League - Quaid, stated that construction of the temple was " against the spirit of Islam". Jamia Ashrafia, a Lahore-based Islamic institution, issued a fatwa against the temple.
In October 2020, Goddess Durga's idols have been vandalised, stripped down and damaged in Nagarparkar, the Sindh Province of Pakistan. According to the reports, the incident happened after the Hindu community had performed prayers of the Hindu festival Navaratri. The incident has occurred on one of the most auspicious days in the Hindu religion, when communities come together to pray to and celebrate the Goddess Durga.
In December 2020, a mob of hundred people led by the local Muslim clerics, destroyed and set on fire a Hindu temple in Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The violent mob, arranged by the local clerics, is seen setting on fire the walls and roof of the temple on the footage report. According to the report, the rally was organised by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F), a Sunni Deobandi political party in Pakistan, after the speakers delivered their fiery speeches, the crowd vandalized the temple and set it ablaze and razed it to the ground. The human rights activists based in Pakistan, and other parts of the world, condemned the violent act against the Hindu minority community.
In August 2021, a Muslim mob stormed and vandalized a Hindu temple in Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab, damaging and burning down the Hindu idols at the Siddhi vinayak temple. According to Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, the member of Hindu National Assembly, the situation in the city was tense following the desecration of the Hindu temple. The negligence of the issue by the local police, states Vankwani, was very shameful. An appeal was made to the chief justice of Pakistan to intervene and to take immediate action, states Vankwani. "The attackers were carrying sticks, stones and bricks. They smashed the deities while raising religious slogans", said Vankwani.
In June 2023, the Pakistan Higher Education Commission banned the celebration of the Hindu festival Holi on institute campuses to preserve "Islamic identity" and "sociocultural values" which flared the issue of religious discrimination in the country.
As per a written response to parliament by Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, a total of 112 cases of violence against Hindus and other minorities have been reported in Pakistan in 2024 till October.
Sri Lanka
Main articles: Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism and Buddhism and violence § Sri_LankaTheravada Buddhism has been the preeminent religion in Sri Lanka throughout its history since it was first established on the island in the 3rd century BCE and forms an integral part of the Sinhalese ethnic identity. The state and the Sangha (Buddhist clergy) have maintained a close and reciprocal relationship, with the legitimacy of kingship being conferred only on Buddhists for the purpose of protecting Buddhism. Consequently, Buddhism is given "the foremost place" in the country's constitution, making it the duty of the state to protect and foster it. Other groups perceived as posing threat to this rightful position of Buddhism on the island have come into conflicts with the Buddhist majority led by the Sangha.
Sinhalese-Buddhist nationalism has its roots in the mytho-historical accounts of the 5th century CE Pali chronicle Mahavamsa composed by a Buddhist monk to glorify Buddhism and Buddhist rulers on the island. The chronicle portrays the island as having been blessed by the Buddha to be the repository of his religion and the ancestors of the Sinhalese as having been entrusted to be its custodians. This has led to the widely held Sinhalese-Buddhist belief that the island is Sihadipa (island of the Sinhalese) and Dhammadipa (the island ennobled to preserve and propagate Buddhism). The chronicle also legitimizes violence for the sake of safeguarding Buddhism. In a popular story often invoked by modern nationalists, it narrates an account of the Buddhist prince Dutthagamani and his army of Buddhist monks battling and defeating the Tamil ruler Ellalan in order to restore Buddhist rule over the island. When Dutthagamani laments over the many Tamils he has killed, the arahants (Buddha's enlightened disciples) advise him that no real sin has been committed by him since he has killed only unbelievers who were not more to be esteemed than beasts.
The Sangha has historically expressed hostility toward Hinduism which they depicted as a heretical or a false faith and the Tamils figure as the main unbelievers and enemies of Buddhism. According to the scholar Edmund Leach, "the Holy War which defends the Buddhist Sangha against Hindu-Tamil encroachment is the most basic of all Sinhalese nationalist traditions."
The Hindu temples destroyed by the King Mahasena in the 3rd century CE in order to establish the doctrine of the Buddha were said to have been those of the unbelievers. The 12th century CE rulers Vikramabahu I and his successor Gajabahu II were denied royal consecration by the Sangha on the basis of their Hindu faith since kingship on the island was reserved for Buddhists for the purpose of protecting Buddhism. Among the charges levelled against Magha, the Hindu invader from Kalinga who seized power in Polonnaruwa in the 13th century CE, in the Culavamsa was the spreading of false faith. The Pujavaliya composed in the aftermath of Magha's invasion declares that the unbelievers will never have permanent residence on the island reserved for Buddhism and that it is only suitable for Buddhist rulers. The increasing influence of Hinduism on the island starting from the 13th century CE was resisted by the Sangha who decried the worship of Hindu gods and ridiculed Hindu customs such as wearing the sacred ash. Leading Buddhist monks conspired to assassinate the King Kirti Sri Rajasinha of South Indian origin in 1760 on the basis that he was a "heretical Tamil" who refused to give up Hindu practices such as wearing the sacred ash.
In the modern period, religious minorities have been targeted for hate campaign and violence by Sinhalese-Buddhist nationalist groups. Most notably the ethnic conflict between the Sinhalese Buddhists and the mainly Hindu Tamils has had a significant religious dimension with majority of the Sangha advocating a military solution. Tamil Hindu temples and sacred sites have been targeted for acts of destruction, desecration and appropriation and the Hindu priests and devotees have been targeted for acts of violence by Sinhalese-Buddhist nationalists since Sri Lanka's independence.
When another series of anti-Tamil riots broke out in the post-independent Ceylon in 1958 to which the politically active monks had contributed, a Sinhalese mob after failing to set fire to the Panadura Hindu temple burned alive its officiating priest in a notable incident. The LTTE leader Prabhakaran from a Hindu background cited this incident as one of the catalysts for his turn toward militancy. In another outbreak of anti-Tamil riots in 1977, Hindu temples came under attack on a massive scale. On 19 August, a large Sinhalese mob descended upon the Sri Kathiresan Temple in Mawanella, shouting that the Hindu priests should be killed and all Hindu temples should be converted into Buddhist temples. The Chief Priest fled the assault but the mob damaged the idols inside and set fire to the temple. Hindu temples in Galgamuwa, Galaha, Kegalle, Katugastota, Matara, Ukkuwela and Udupihilla were also damaged and looted or burned. It's estimated that no less than 50 Hindu temples were attacked throughout the island.
There were also instances of institutional discrimination against Hindus by the state. In 1968 the committee set up to declare the precincts of the famous Koneswaram Temple in Trincomalee as a Hindu sacred area was suspended by the government at the behest of the Buddhist monk Dambagasare Sumedhankara who claimed the site as an ancient place of Buddhist worship, whereas the same monk was able to successfully petition the government to declare Seruvila in the same district as a Buddhist sacred city in 1979.
During the 1981 anti-Tamil violence in Jaffna, policemen vandalized and set fire to a Hindu temple. More Hindu temples came under attacks with over 50 being damaged during the watershed anti-Tamil pogrom in 1983, in which Buddhist monks also led rioters exhorting the Sinhalese to kill all Tamils. Cyril Mathew, a leading militant Buddhist nationalist and the Minister of Industries, played a key role in organizing the pogrom, which resulted in the deaths and displacement of thousands of Tamils, sparking the Sri Lankan Civil War. Mathew had been conducting a virulent anti-Tamil campaign, publishing inflammatory pamphlets such as the one calling on the Sinhalese to "Protect the Buddhist Faith". He had revived and propagandized polarizing accounts contained in the Buddhist chronicle, notably the devastation brought upon Buddhism by the invasion of Kalinga Magha and his Tamil soldiers, and applied them to contemporary ethnic relations. Thus, he had paved the way for the violence through such writings and speeches. A few months before the pogrom, he had met up with the head monk at a Buddhist temple in Panadura and produced a map of purported Buddhist sites in Tamil areas, accusing the Tamils of having destroyed Sinhalese Buddhist culture. Mathew also led a plan to establish Buddhist monasteries and colonies in Tamil areas by reclaiming former Buddhist sites which he alleged had been converted into Hindu shrines. To implement such projects, he had enlisted Sri Lankan Army personnel who removed Hindu statues and chased away the local Tamil villagers.
With the beginning of the Sri Lankan civil war in 1983, attacks on Hindu temples by the majority Buddhist Sri Lankan security forces escalated, with the soldiers occupying, plundering, desecrating and ejecting priests and devotees from some temples such as the famous Thirukketheeswaram Temple in Mannar. In October 1990 the Sri Lankan Air Force repeatedly bombed and damaged the famous Naguleswaram temple in Jaffna, also killing and injuring many Tamil devotees. In a 1998 letter to the UNESCO, the Hindu Religious Priest Organisation of North East Province complained that more than 1,800 Hindu temples in the North Eastern Province had been "destroyed or rendered unfit for worship" since the war began. The Department of Hindu Affairs estimated that 1,479 Hindu temples had been damaged in eight districts of the North Eastern Province between 1983 and December 1990.
Muslim mobs also attacked Hindu temples during the conflict. During the anti-Tamil violence in Karaitivu in April 1985 orchestrated by the Sri Lankan security forces, Muslim mob said to be members of the Jihad group entered the sanctum sanctorum of the ancient Kannagi Amman temple and removed the golden image of the goddess Pattini and burned a part of the temple. They also broke the idols of surrounding temples devoted to other Hindu deities. Other Hindu temples were also petrol-bombed and their valuables removed. The broken walls of the damaged temples were painted with the Islamic phrase "Allahu Akbar". Overall, six Hindu temples were damaged by fire and pillaged. The Bhadrakali temple in Akkaraipattu was demolished by a Muslim mob in 1990 with the tacit sanction from the security forces and was desecrated with its well being filled with cattle bones.
The Hindu priests have also been subject to persecution by the state, with them being arrested, having their sacred thread removed, being beaten and detained as LTTE suspects. A Hindu priest named Barmasiri Chandraiyer Ragupathi Sharma who has been detained since 2000 under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act was subjected to degrading treatment in police custody. His sacred thread was cut and he was fed meat and alcohol against his religious beliefs. He was also tortured with a barbed wire pipe being inserted into his rectum and his genitals being slammed in a drawer. In 2008 Sivakururaja Kurukkal, chief priest of the Koneswaram Temple, was shot dead in Trincomalee by state-affiliated forces. The priest had led the revival of the district's Hindu heritage against the latest spate of state-sponsored Buddhist encroachment and defended the human rights of Tamils.
In the post-war period with a triumphant Sinhalese-Buddhist nationalism and Tamil areas under heavy military occupation, there has been an increased drive to change the Tamil Hindu identity of contested sites into Sinhalese Buddhist in a process that has been termed "Buddhisization". Military personnel have spearheaded the construction of Buddhist shrines throughout Tamil Hindu areas with no Buddhist population, symbolizing the assertion of Sinhalese-Buddhist domination. The Sangha has used the backing of the military and the Department of Archaeology to claim Hindu sites as former Buddhist sites in order to build Buddhist shrines and viharas in their place, stoking longstanding Tamil fears of Sinhalese colonization. Tamil Hindu clergy and laity objecting to such encroachments have been threatened and assaulted. In 2012 the All Ceylon Hindu Council complained to the government about its inaction against the construction of Buddhist viharas on the sites of destroyed Hindu temples.
There have also been renewed attacks on Hindu temples. In the southern town of Dambulla, the Bhadrakali Amman Temple was demolished and the image of its deity desecrated by members of the Sangha and lay Buddhists in 2013 after calls from the head monk of the local Rangiri Dambulu Viharaya for its removal since it was within a designated Buddhist sacred area. Condemning the recent destruction and appropriation of a Ganesha temple site to make way for a Buddhist stupa in Trincomalee and recalling earlier such incidents in the district, the Association of Hindu Priests in Muttur aired the wider Tamil Hindu grievances in May 2019: "After the end of war, not only Tamil habitations but also Saivite temples are being destroyed and encroached on. We are saddened by the fact that it is some Buddhist monks who are leading the efforts to destroy Saivite and Tamil history."
Afghanistan
According to Ashish Bose, a population research scholar, after the 1980s, Hindus (and Sikhs) became a subject of "intense hate" with the rise of religious fundamentalism in Afghanistan. Their "targeted persecution" triggered an exodus and forced them to seek asylum. Many of the persecuted Hindus started arriving in and after 1992 as refugees in India. While these refugees were mostly Sikhs and Hindus, some were Muslims. However, India has historically lacked any refugee law or uniform policy for persecuted refugees, state Ashish Bose and Hafizullah Emadi.
Under the Taliban regime, Sumptuary laws were passed in 2001 which forced Hindus to wear yellow badges in public in order to identify themselves as such. Hindu women were forced to dress according to Islamic hijab, ostensibly a measure to "protect" them from harassment. This was part of the Taliban's plan to segregate "un-Islamic" and "idolatrous" communities from Islamic ones. In addition, Hindus were forced to wear yellow distinguishing marks, however, after some protests Taliban abandoned this policy.
The decree was condemned by the Indian and United States governments as a violation of religious freedom. In the United States, the chairman of the Anti-Defamation League Abraham Foxman compared the decree to the practices of Nazi Germany, where Jews were required to wear labels which identified them as such. The comparison was also drawn by California Democrat and holocaust survivor Tom Lantos, and New York Democrat and author of the bipartisan 'Sense of the Congress' non-binding resolution against the anti-Hindu decree Eliot L Engel.
Since the 1990s, many Afghan Hindus have fled the country, seeking asylum in countries such as Germany.
Outside South Asia
Malaysia
See also: Persecution of Hindus in Malaysia and 2009 cow head protestsApproximately nine percent of the population of Malaysia are Tamil Indians, of whom nearly 90 percent are practising Hindus. Indian settlers came to Malaysia from Tamil Nadu in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Between April and May 2006, several Hindu temples were demolished by city hall authorities in the country, accompanied by violence against Hindus. On 21 April 2006, the Malaimel Sri Selva Kaliamman Temple in Kuala Lumpur was reduced to rubble after the city hall sent in bulldozers.
The president of the Consumers Association of Subang and Shah Alam in Selangor State has been helping to organise efforts to stop the local authorities in the Muslim dominated city of Shah Alam from demolishing a 107-year-old Hindu temple. The growing Islamization in Malaysia is a cause for concern to many Malaysians who follow minority religions such as Hinduism. On 11 May 2006, armed city hall officers from Kuala Lumpur forcefully demolished part of a 60-year-old suburban temple that serves more than 1,000 Hindus. The "Hindu Rights Action Force", a coalition of several NGO's, have protested these demolitions by lodging complaints with the Malaysian Prime Minister. Many Hindu advocacy groups have protested what they allege is a systematic plan of temple cleansing in Malaysia. The official reason given by the Malaysian government has been that the temples were built "illegally". However, several of the temples are centuries old. According to a lawyer for the Hindu Rights Action Task Force, a Hindu temple is demolished in Malaysia once every three weeks.
In response to the proposed construction of a temple in Selangor, Muslims chopped off the head of a cow to protest, with leaders saying there would be blood if a temple was constructed in Shah Alam.
Laws in the country, especially those concerning religious identity, are generally slanted towards compulsion into converting to Islam.
Myanmar
On 25 August 2017, the villages in a cluster known as Kha Maung Seik in northern Maungdaw District of Rakhine State in Myanmar were attacked by Rohingya Muslims of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA).This was called Kha Maung Seik massacre. Amnesty International said that about 99 Hindus were killed in that day. Due to these, many Rohingya Hindus have started identifying themselves as Chittagonian Hindus rather than Rohingyas. In September 2017, India Today reported that mass graves with bodies of 45 Hindus had been found in Rakhine, and that Hindu Rohingyas faced forced conversions to Islam in Bangladeshi refugee camps at the hands of Muslim Rohingyas.
United States
See also: Dotbusters, Rajan Zed prayer protest, Venkatachalapathi Samuldrala prayer controversy, California textbook controversy over Hindu history, and Hinduism in the United States § DiscriminationHindus constitute 0.7% of the total population of the United States. They are also the most affluent religious group. Hindus in the US enjoy both de jure and de facto legal equality. However, a series of threats and attacks were committed against people of Indian origin by a street gang called the "Dotbusters" in New Jersey in 1987. The name originated from the bindi traditionally worn on the forehead by Indian women.
In October 1987, a group of youths attacked Navroze Mody, an Indian man of Parsi origin, who was mistaken for a Hindu, after he had left the Gold Coast Cafe with his friend who fell into a coma. Mody died four days later. The four convicted of the attack were Luis Acevedo, Ralph Gonzalez and Luis Padilla – who were convicted of aggravated assault; and William Acevedo – who was convicted of simple assault. The attack was with fists and feet and with an unknown object that was described as either a baseball bat or a brick, and occurred after members of the group, which was estimated as being between ten and twelve youths, had surrounded Mody and taunted him for his baldness as either "Kojak" or "baldie". Mody's father, Jamshid Mody, later brought charges against the city and police force of Hoboken, New Jersey, claiming that "the Hoboken police's indifference to acts of violence perpetrated against Asian Indians violated Navroze Mody's equal protection rights" under the Fourteenth Amendment. Mody lost the case; the court ruled that the attack had not been proven a hate crime, nor had there been proven any malfeasance by the police or prosecutors of the city.
A few days after the attack on Mody, another Indian was beaten into a coma; this time on a busy street corner in Jersey City Heights. The victim, Kaushal Saran, was found unconscious at Central and Ferry Avenues, near a city park and firehouse, according to police reports. Saran, a licensed physician in India who was awaiting licensing in the United States, was discharged later from University Hospital in Newark. The unprovoked attack left Saran in a partial coma for over a week with severe damage to his skull and brain. In September 1992, Thomas Kozak, Martin Ricciardi, and Mark Evangelista were brought to trial on federal civil rights charges in connection with the attack on Saran. However, the three were acquitted of the charges in two separate trials in 1993. Saran testified at both trials that he could not remember the incident.
The Dotbusters were primarily based in New York and New Jersey and committed most of their crimes in Jersey City. Although tougher anti-hate crime laws were passed by the New Jersey legislature in 1990, the attacks continued, with 58 cases of hate crimes against Indians in New Jersey reported in 1991.
On 2 January 2012, a Hindu worship center in New York City was firebombed.
In late January 2019, an attack on the Swaminarayan Temple in Louisville, Kentucky, resulted in damage and Hinduphobic graffiti on the temple. A cleanup effort was later organised by the mayor to spread awareness of Hinduism and other hate crimes. An arrest of a 17-year-old was made for the hate crime days later.
Trinidad and Tobago
During the initial decades of Indian indenture, Indian cultural forms were met with either contempt or indifference by the Christian majority. Hindus have made many contributions to Trinidad's history and culture even though the state historically regarded Hindus as second class citizens. Hindus in Trinidad struggled over the granting of adult franchise, the Hindu marriage bill, the divorce bill, the cremation ordinance, and other discriminatory laws. After Trinidad's independence from colonial rule, Hindus were marginalised by the African-based People's National Movement. The opposing party, the People's Democratic party, was portrayed as a "Hindu group", and Hindus were castigated as a "recalcitrant and hostile minority". The displacement of PNM from power in 1985 would improve the situation.
Intensified protests over the course of the 1980s led to an improvement in the state's attitudes towards Hindus. The divergence of some of the fundamental aspects of local Hindu culture, the segregation of the Hindu community from Trinidad, and the disinclination to risk erasing the more fundamental aspects of what had been constructed as "Trinidad Hinduism" in which the identity of the group had been rooted, would often generate dissension when certain dimensions of Hindu culture came into contact with the State. While the incongruences continue to generate debate, and often conflict, it is now tempered with growing awareness and consideration on the part of the state to the Hindu minority. Hindus have been also been subjected to persistent proselytisation by Christian missionaries. Specifically the evangelical and Pentecostal Christians. Such activities reflect racial tensions that at times arise between the Christianized Afro-Trinidadian and Hindu Indo-Trinidadian communities.
Fiji
See also: Hinduism in Fiji and Church involvement in Fiji coupsHindus in Fiji constitute approximately 38% of the country's population. During the late 1990s there were several riots against Hindus by radical elements in Fiji. In the Spring of 2000, the democratically elected Fijian government led by Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry was held hostage by a guerilla group, headed by George Speight. They were demanding a segregated state exclusively for the native Fijians, thereby legally abolishing any rights the Hindu inhabitants have now. The majority of Fijian land is reserved for the ethnically Fijian community. Since the practitioners of Hindu faith are predominantly Indians, racist attacks by the extremist Fijian Nationalists too often culminated into violence against the institutions of Hinduism. According to official reports, attacks on Hindu institutions increased by 14% compared to 2004. Hindus and Hinduism, being labelled the "outside others", especially in the aftermath of the May 2000 coup, have been victimised by Fijian fundamentalist and nationalists who wish to create a theocratic Christian state in Fiji. This intolerance towards Hindus has found expression in anti-Hindu speeches and destruction of temples, the two most common forms of immediate and direct violence against Hindus. Between 2001 and April 2005, one hundred cases of temple attacks have been registered with the police. The alarming increase of temple destruction has spread fear and intimidation among the Hindu minorities and has hastened immigration to neighbouring Australia and New Zealand. Organised religious institutions, such as the Methodist Church of Fiji, have repeatedly called for the creation of a theocratic Christian State and have propagated anti-Hindu sentiment.
See also
Notes
- Will Durant called the Muslim conquest of India "probably the bloodiest story in history".
- Devout Hindus cherish the manifestation of the divine everywhere such as in icons, people, and sacred places. Hinduism is "embedded in its sacred iconography, sacred prosopography and its sacred geography", states Wink, considered an "aid in contemplating the divine". These form the fundamental structure behind Hindu pilgrimage, mythology, festivals, and community just like the other major Indian religions.
- The Muslim court historians describe the desecrated sacred cities of Hindus in demeaning terms. For example, they describe Mathura – a sacred city of Krishna tradition in Hinduism – as "the work of demons (jinn)", and refer to the sacred idols as well as their worshippers (Hindus) as "devils" (shayatin). The architecture of Hindu temples underwent change under the Muslim rulers and incorporated Islamic influences. The Vrindavan temples, built under Akbar, lack ornamentation as imagery was generally prohibited.
- Some of the evidence of desecration and destruction of Hindu sacred monuments is independent of the Muslim texts of the period. It is found in Islamic monuments built during this period. As examples, the Qutb mosque in Delhi shows its "reliance on disassembled temple materials", as do the Caurasi Kambha mosque near Bharatpur, the Jami Masjid at Sultankot (also called Ukha mandir mosque), the 'idgah in Bayana.
- Number of temples destroyed:
* Avari (2013, p. 115) citing a 2000 study, writes "Aurangzeb was perhaps no more culpable than most of the Sultans before him; they desecrated the temples associated with Hindu power, not all temples. It is worth noting that, in contrast to the traditional claim of hundreds of Hindu temples having been destroyed by Aurangzeb, a recent study suggests a modest figure of just fifteen destructions."
* Truschke (2017, p. 85): "Nobody knows the exact number of temples demolished or pillaged on Aurangzeb's orders, and we never will. Richard Eaton, the leading authority on the subject, puts the number of confirmed temple destructions during Aurangzeb's rule at just over a dozen, with fewer tied to the emperor's direct commands. Other scholars have pointed out additional temple demolitions not counted by Eaton, such as two orders to destroy the Somanatha Temple in 1659 and 1706 (the existence of a second order suggests that the first was never carried out). Aurangzeb also oversaw temple desecrations. For example, in 1645 he ordered mihrabs (prayer niches, typically located in mosques) erected in Ahmedabad's Chintamani Parshvanath Temple, built by the Jain merchant Shantidas. Even adding in such events, however, to quote Eaton, "the evidence is almost always fragmentary, incomplete, or even contradictory". Given this, there were probably more temples destroyed under Aurangzeb than we can confirm (perhaps a few dozen in total?), but here we run into a dark curtain drawn across an unknown past."
In contrast, the historian Abraham Eraly estimates Aurangzeb era destruction to be significantly higher; "in 1670, all temples around Ujjain were destroyed"; and later, "300 temples were destroyed in and around Chitor, Udaipur and Jaipur" among other Hindu temples destroyed elsewhere in campaigns through 1705. - Avari writes, "Aurangzeb's religious policy caused friction between him and the ninth Sikh guru, Tegh Bahadur. In both Punjab and Kashmir the Sikh leader was roused to action by Aurangzeb's excessively zealous Islamic policies. Seized and taken to Delhi, he was called upon by Aurangzeb to embrace Islam and, on refusal, was tortured for five days and then beheaded in November 1675. Two of the ten Sikh gurus thus died as martyrs at the hands of the Mughals.
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The Mohammedan Conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. It is a discouraging tale, for its evident moral is that civilization is a precarious thing, whose delicate complex of order and liberty, culture and peace may at any time be overthrown by barbarians invading from without or multiplying within. The Hindus had allowed their strength to be wasted in internal division and war; they had adopted religions like Buddhism and Jainism, which unnerved them for the tasks of life; they had failed to organize their forces for the protection of their frontiers and their capitals.
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- ^ Wink 1991, pp. 124–126
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- Iyer, S.; Shrivastava, A.; Ticku, R. (23 January 2017). "Holy Wars? Temple desecrations in Medieval India". Cambridge-INET Institute. doi:10.17863/cam.7847.
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- Wink 1991, pp. 142–143 with footnotes
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- Wink 1991, pp. 142–143 with footnotes
- Wink 1991, pp. 294–295 with footnotes
- ^ Jackson 2003, pp. 123–125 with footnotes
- Jackson 2003, pp. 123–125, 139–145 with footnotes
- Wink (1991), pp. 130–135 with footnotes, for specific examples of destruction and plundering in and around what is now Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, eastern Rajasthan, and central India
- ^ Jackson 2003, pp. 278–279 with footnotes
- ^ Jackson 2003, pp. 279–281 with footnotes
- Jackson 2003, pp. 282–284 with footnotes
- ^ Jackson 2003, pp. 285–287 with footnotes
- Jackson 2003, pp. 208–210 with footnotes
- ^ Jackson 2003, pp. 287–288 with footnotes
- ^ Jackson 2003, pp. 288–289 with footnotes
- ^ Jackson 2003, pp. 290–291, 293–295 with footnotes
- Aquil 2008, pp. 177–181
- Aquil 2008, pp. 168–171, 177–179, 181–189
- ^ Shokoohy 1991, pp. 33–34 with footnotes
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- Shokoohy 1991, pp. 46–47 with footnotes
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External links
- Persecution of Hindus, Shri Kailasa
- Akhilesh, Pillalamarri (3 August 2016), "India's Hindu Right Is Correct About One Thing: India's Muslim Rulers Did Destroy Hindu Temples", The Diplomat
- Gargan, Edward A. (11 December 1992), "The Hatreds of India; Hindu Memory Scarred by Centuries of despotic Islamic Rule", The New York Times
- This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Hunter, William Wilson (1893), A Brief History of the Indian Peoples (PDF), Clarendon Press
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