Temple attacked by ‘rocket launchers’ in Pakistan's Sindh, fire at Hindu homes, hold Hindus hostage

Case ID : e979ff0 | Location : Kashmor, Sindh, Pakistan | Date of Incident : Sat, 15 July, 2023

Case ID : e979ff0

Kashmor, Sindh, Pakistan

15 July, 2023

Temple attacked by ‘rocket launchers’ in Pakistan's Sindh, fire at Hindu homes, hold Hindus hostage

Attack on Hindu religious representations

Attack on Temples

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

On July 16, 2023, a gang of dacoits attacked a Hindu temple in Pakistan's Sindh's Kashmore region. The assailants targeted Hindu devotees, firing indiscriminately at the temple and adjacent homes owned by Hindus. Police, led by Kashmore-Kandhkot SSP Irfan Sammo, responded to the incident, revealing that the attackers used rocket launchers on the closed temple. The temple, which opens annually for religious services conducted by the Bagri community, was the focus of the assault. Around eight to nine gunmen were involved in the attack, and police initiated a search operation in the riverine areas to locate them. Dr. Suresh, a Bagri community member, confirmed that the rocket launchers used by the dacoits failed to explode, resulting in no casualties. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported that approximately 30 Hindus, including women and children, were held hostage by organised criminal gangs, who have also threatened to target Hindu temples with sophisticated weapons. The commission urged the Sindh Home Department to promptly investigate the matter.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case is being added to two primary categories. The first is 'Attack on Hindu religious representations' under the sub-category 'attack on Temples'. In Hinduism, a temple is the abode of the Deity. The Deity in the Temple is consecrated, thereby, making it a real, breathing entity. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the temple premises itself are sacred to Hindus since Hindus hold the faith that the entire Temple space is an amalgamation of the divine energy of the deity. Given the central significance of Temples in Hindu Dharma, any attack against a Hindu Temple or its peripheral premises is an attack on the faith itself and is born out of animosity towards the faith, of which, the Temple is a central tenet. Any manner of attack against a Temple and/or its premises would therefore be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. The second primary category is 'attack not resulting in death' with the sub-category being '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. In this case, the Muslim perpetrators fired rocket launchers at a Hindu temple with the specific intent of damaging and desecrating the temple out of religious hostility. This is further evidenced by the fact that they fired on Hindu homes surrounding the area as well and 30 Hindus were taken hostage by the dacoits. Pakistan, a Muslim majority country, has displayed exemplary hostility towards the Hindu minority with rampant abductions, forced conversions, murders and other atrocities being committed against Hindus. The hate crime against the Hindu population and the temple is a manifestation of religious extremism and hostility towards non-Muslims, especially Hindus.