Minor Hindu girl gets rape and death threats for being a part of ISKCON

Case ID : b45f3a3 | Location : Bangladesh | Date of Incident : Wed, 11 December, 2024

Case ID : b45f3a3

Bangladesh

11 December, 2024

Minor Hindu girl gets rape and death threats for being a part of ISKCON

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

Since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024, Bangladesh has plunged into chaos as Islamist extremists have taken advantage of the political turmoil to unleash a wave of terror and violence against the Hindu community. The Islamist mobs have attacked Hindu homes, burned them to the ground, and abducted women in a horrific descent into anarchy. Several temples have been destroyed in the area in a major crackdown on Hindus. Further, the arrest of three Hindu priests exacerbated the situation with Hindu minorities protesting across Bangladesh seeking justice. Amid this, a minor Hindu girl was caught by the border security force while illegally trying to enter India from Bangladesh. She revealed that she was an ISKCON devotee. Muslim fundamentalists had, for the last few days, been threatening her family. The situation worsened when they recently started threatening to kidnap and rape her and kill her family members. Fearing persecution, she fled from Bangladesh and was trying to enter India by foot when she was caught and handed over to the West Bengal police.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the category of- Attack not resulting in death and within this the sub-category under which the case has been placed is- Attacked for Hindu identity. In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime under this category. The removal of Sheikh Hasina from power in Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, escalated the persecution and marginalisation of the Hindu minority in the predominantly Islamic nation, intensifying what can be described as a silent genocide. Since her ouster, Islamists have carried out unchecked atrocities against Hindus, including physical violence, the destruction of temples and religious symbols, and the systematic displacement of Hindus from their ancestral lands. Over 205 attacks on Hindu temples, shops, and businesses have been recorded following Sheikh Hasina's removal as Prime Minister. Many Hindus have been brutally murdered or injured in these assaults. Following a pattern of attacks on Hindu individuals and religious institutions, ISKCON members and devotees have increasingly become targets of aggression in the Muslim-majority nation. These incidents are marked by physical assaults, intimidation, and systemic neglect by authorities, leaving victims without recourse to justice. Amid this, the Hindu minor girl revealed how she was receiving rape and death threats merely for her association with ISKCON. It is important to emphasize that the girl's religious identity was the sole trigger for the threats and intimidation she faced. Such attacks can be perceived as a larger attack on the entire Hindu community, as the purpose is clearly to send a broader message of hostility towards the community. It is a tactic to intimidate the community; instil fear and disrupt the cohesion and morale of the community. Such attacks are a form of symbolic aggression against the Hindu community that stems from an innate hatred for Hinduism and this is why, this case has been documented here.