Hindus have been historically persecuted during Islamic rule of the Indian subcontinent.

During Islamic rule of the Indian sub-continent

The Muslim conquest of the Indian subcontinent led to widespread carnage because Muslims regarded the Hindus asinfidels and therefore slaughtered and converted millions of Hindus. Will Durant argued in his 1935 book "The Story ofCivilization: Our Oriental Heritage" (page 459):

`The Mohammedan conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. The Islamic historians and scholarshave recorded with great glee and pride the slaughters of Hindus, forced conversions, abduction of Hindu women andchildren to slave markets and the destruction of temples carried out by the warriors of Islam during 800 AD to 1700AD. Millions of Hindus were converted to Islam by sword during this period.`

There is no official estimate of the total death toll of Hindus at the hands of Muslims.

As Braudel put it: "The levies it had to pay were so crushing that one catastrophic harvest was enough to unleashfamines and epidemics capable of killing a million people at a time. Appalling poverty was the constant counterpart ofthe conquerors' opulence."

The backward castes of Hinduism suffered worst. Monarchs (belonging to backward castes) such as Khusrau BhangiKhan, Hemchandra and Garha-Katanga were knocked off their throne and executed. Backward caste saints likeNamadeva[1] were arrested, while women like Kanhopata were forced to commit suicide. Ghisadis have an “Urdu” title[2].

Prof. K.S. Lal, suggests a calculation in his book Growth of Muslim Population in Medieval India which estimates thatbetween the years 1000 AD and 1500 AD the population of Hindus decreased by 80 million. Even those Hindus whoconverted to Islam were not immune from persecution, which was illustrated by the Muslim Caste System in India asestablished by Ziauddin al-Barani in the Fatawa-i Jahandari. [3], where they were regarded as "Ajlaf" caste andsubjected to severe discrimination by the "Ashraf" castes.[4]

By Arabs

Muslim conquest of the Indian subcontinent began during the early 8th century, when the Umayyad governor of whatis now Iraq, Hajjaj responded to a casus belli provided by the kidnapping of Muslim women and treasures by piratesoff the coast of Debal,[5] by mobilizing an expedition of 6,000 cavalry under Muhammad bin-Qasim in 712 CE.Records from the campaign recorded in the Chach Nama record temple demolitions, and mass executions of resistingSindhi forces and the enslavement of their dependents. This action was particularly extensive in Debal, of whichQasim is reported to have been under orders to make an example of while freeing both the captured women and theprisoners of a previous failed expedition. Bin Qasim then enlisted the support of the local Jat, Meds and Bhutto tribesand began the process of subduing and conquering the countryside. The capture of towns was also usuallyaccomplished by means of a treaty with a party from among his "enemy", who were then extended special privilegesand material rewards.[6] However, his superior Hajjaj reportedly objected to his method by saying that it would makehim look weak and advocated a more hardline military strategy:[7]

`It appears from your letter that all the rules made by you for the comfort and convenience of your men are strictly inaccordance with religious law. But the way of granting pardon prescribed by the law is different from the one adoptedby you, for you go on giving pardon to everybody, high or low, without any discretion between a friend and a foe. Thegreat God says in the Koran [47.4]: "0 True believers, when you encounter the unbelievers, strike off their heads." Theabove command of the Great God is a great command and must be respected and followed. You should not be sofond of showing mercy, as to nullify the virtue of the act. Henceforth grant pardon to no one of the enemy and sparenone of them, or else all will consider you a weak-minded man.`

In a subsequent communication, Hajjaj reiterated that all able-bodied men were to be killed, and that their underagesons and daughters were to be imprisoned and retained as hostages. Qasim obeyed, and on his arrival at the town ofBrahminabad massacred between 6,000 and 16,000 of the defending forces.[8] The historian, Upendra Thakur recordsthe persecution of Hindus and Buddhists:

`When Muhammad Kasim invaded Sind in 711 AD, Buddhism had no resistance to offer to their fire and steel. Therosary could not be a match for the sword and the terms Love and Peace had no meaning to them. They carried fireand sword wherever they went and obliterated all that came their way. Muhammad triumphantly marched into thecountry, conquering Debal, Sehwan, Nerun, Brahmanadabad, Alor and Multan one after the other in quick succession,and in less than a year and a half, the far-flung Hindu kingdom was crushed, the great civilization fell back and Sindentered the darkest period of its history. There was a fearful outbreak of religious bigotry in several places andtemples were wantonly desecrated. At Debal, the Nairun and Aror temples were demolished and converted intomosques.[Resistors] were put to death and women made captives. The Jizya was exacted with special care.[Hindus]were required to feed Muslim travellers for three days and three nights.[9]̀

Other historians and archaeologists such as J E Lohuizen-de Leeuw, take the following stance regarding eventspreceding the sack of Debal:

In fact, we have clear evidence that the Arabs were very tolerant towards both Buddhists and Hindus during the restof the campaign and throughout the time they ruled Sind...Of course that does not mean that no monuments wereever destroyed, for war always means a certain amount of damage to buildings but it does prove that there was nowanton and systematic destruction of each and every religious center of the Buddhists and Hindus in Sind.[10]

Mahmud of Ghazni

Mahmud of Ghazni was an Afghan Sultan who invaded the Indian subcontinent during the early 11th century. Hiscampaigns across the gangetic plains are often cited for their iconoclastic plundering and destruction of Hindutemples such as those at Mathura and he looked upon their destruction as an act of "jihad".[11]

Pradyumna Prasad Karan further describes Mahmud's invasion as one in which he put "thousands of Hindu's to thesword" and made a pastime of "raising pyramids of the skulls of the infidels".[12][13] 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",[14]

and was tolerant in dealings with his own Hindu subjects, some of whom rose to high posts in his administration, suchas his Hindu General Tilak [14]

Mahmud of Ghazni sacked the second Somnath Temple in 1026, and looted it of gems and precious stones and thefamous Shiva lingam of the temple was destroyed and it's fragments taken away to Ghazni where they were used asstepping stones for a mosque.[15]

Shahab-ul-Din, King of Gazni (1170-1206), put Prithwi Raj, King of Ajmer and Delhi, to death in cold blood. Hemassacred thousands of the inhabitants of Ajmer who opposed him, reserving the remainder for slavery (The Kamiu-tTawarikh by Asir).

In the Taj-ul-Ma’asir by Hassn Nizam-i-Naishapuri, it is stated that when Qutb-ul- Din Aibak (1194-1210) conqueredMeerat, he demolished all the Hindu temples of the city and erected mosques on their sites. In the city of Aligarh, heconverted Hindu inhabitants to Islam by the sword and beheaded all those who adhered to their own religion. ThePersian historian Wassaf writes in his Tazjiyat-ul-Amsar wa Tajriyat ul Asar that when Alaul-Din Khilji (1295-1316)captured the city of Kambayat at the head of the gulf ofCambay, he killed the adult male Hindu inhabitants for theglory of Islam, set flowing rivers of blood, sent the women of the country with all their gold, silver, and jewels, to hisown home, and made about twentv thousand maidens his private slaves. Ala-ul-Din once asked his Qazi’, what wasthe Mohammadan law prescribed for the Hindus. The Qazi replied, “Hindus are like the mud; if silver is demandedfrom them, they must with the greatest humility offer gold. If a Mohammadan desire to spit into a Hindu’s mouth, theHindu should open it wide for the purpose. God created the Hindus to be slaves of the Mohammadans. The Prophethath ordained that, if the Hindus do not accept Islam, they should be imprisoned, tortured, finally put to death, and

their property confiscated.” Sayad Mohammad Latif writes in his history of the Punjab, “Great jealousy and hatredexisted those days between the Hindus and Mohammadans and the whole non-Muslim population subject topersecution by the Mohammadan rulers.”

In the Delhi Sultanate

The first Muslim Empire of India, the Sultanate of Delhi, was established in 1210 CE by Turkic tribes that invaded thesubcontinent from Afghanistan. Many temples were looted and destroyed. Infamous cases include the destruction ofthe Somnath.

Muhammad Ghori

Muhammad Ghori committed genocide against Hindus at Koi (modern Aligarh), Kalinjar and Varanasi, according toHasan Nizami's Taj-ul-Maasir, 20,000 Hindu prisoners were slaughtered and their heads offered to crows.[16]

Timur the Lame's Campaign against India

r bin Taraghay Barlas (1336 – February 1405), known in the West as Tamerlane, was a 14th century warlordof Turco-Mongol descent,[17][18][19][20] conqueror of much of western and central Asia, and founder of the TimuridEmpire and Timurid dynasty (1370–1405) in Central Asia, which survived in some form until 1857. Perhaps, he ismore commonly known by his pejorative Persian name Timur-e Lang (Persian: ) which translates to Timurthe Lame, as he was lame after sustaining an injury to the leg in battle.

Informed about civil war in India, Timur began a trek starting in 1397 to invade the territory of the reigning SultanNasir-u Din Mehmud of the Tughlaq Dynasty in the north Indian city of Delhi.

Timur crossed the Indus River at Attock on September 24. The capture of towns and villages was often followed bythe massacre of their inhabitants and the raping of their women, as well as pillaging to support his massive army.Timur wrote many times in his memoirs of his specific disdain for the 'idolatrous' Hindus, although he also waged waragainst Muslim Indians during his campaign.

Timur's invasion did not go unopposed and he did meet some resistance during his march to Delhi, most notably bythe Sarv Khap coalition in northern India, and the Governor of Meerut. Although impressed and momentarily stalled bythe valour of Ilyaas Awan, Timur was able to continue his relentless approach to Delhi, arriving in 1398 to combat thearmies of Sultan Mehmud, already weakened by an internal battle for ascension within the royal family.

The Sultan's army was easily defeated on December 17, 1398. Timur entered Delhi and the city was sacked,destroyed, and left in ruins. Before the battle for Delhi, Timur executed more than 100,000 captives.

Timur himself recorded the invasions in his memoirs, collectively known as Tuzk-i-Timuri.[21] In them, he vividlydescribed the massacre at Delhi:

In a short space of time all the people in the [New Delhi] fort were put to the sword, and in the course of one hour theheads of 10,000 infidels were cut off. The sword of Islam was washed in the blood of the infidels, and all the goodsand effects, the treasure and the grain which for many a long year had been stored in the fort became the spoil of mysoldiers. They set fire to the houses and reduced them to ashes, and they razed the buildings and the fort to theground....All these infidel Hindus were slain, their women and children, and their property and goods became the spoilof the victors. I proclaimed throughout the camp that every man who had infidel prisoners should put them to death,and whoever neglected to do so should himself be executed and his property given to the informer. When this orderbecame known to the ghazis of Islam, they drew their swords and put their prisoners to death.

One hundred thousand infidels, impious idolators, were on that day slain. Maulana Nasiruddin Umar, a counselor andman of learning, who, in all his life, had never killed a sparrow, now, in execution of my order, slew with his sword

fifteen idolatrous Hindus, who were his captives....on the great day of battle these 100,000 prisoners could not be leftwith the baggage, and that it would be entirely opposed to the rules of war to set these idolaters and enemies of Islamat liberty...no other course remained but that of making them all food for the sword. [22]

According to Malfuzat-i-Timuri[23], Timur targeted Hindus. In his own words, "Excepting the quarter of the saiyids, the'ulama and the other Musalmans [sic], the whole city was sacked". In his descriptions of the Loni massacre he wrote,"..Next day I gave orders that the Musalman prisoners should be separated and saved."

During the ransacking of Delhi, almost all inhabitants not killed were captured and enslaved.

Timur left Delhi in approximately January 1399. In April he had returned to his own capital beyond the Oxus (AmuDarya). Immense quantities of spoils were taken from India. According to Ruy Gonzáles de Clavijo, 90 capturedelephants were employed merely to carry precious stones looted from his conquest, so as to erect a mosque atSamarkand — what historians today believe is the enormous Bibi-Khanym Mosque. Ironically, the mosque wasconstructed too quickly and suffered greatly from disrepair within a few decades of its construction.

Qutb-ud-din Aibak

Historical records compiled by Muslim historian Maulana Hakim Saiyid Abdul Hai attest to the iconoclasm of Qutb-ud-din Aybak. The first mosque built in Delhi, the "Quwwat al-Islam" was built after the demolission of the Hindu templebuilt previously by Prithvi Raj and certain parts of the temple were left outside the mosque proper.[24] This pattern oficonoclasm was common during his reign, although an argument goes that such iconoclasm was motivated more bypolitics than by religion.[25]

Iltutmish

Another ruler of the sultanate, Shams-ud-din Iltutmish, conquered and subjugated the Hindu pilgrimage site Varanasiin the 11th century and he continued the destruction of Hindu temples and idols that had begun during the first attackin 1194.[26]

Firuz Shah Tughlaq

Firuz Shah Tughluq was the third ruler of the Tughlaq dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. The "Tarikh-i-Firuz Shah" is ahistorical record written during his reign that attests to the systematic persecution of Hindus under his rule.[27] Inparticular, it records atrocities committed against Hindu Brahmin priests who refused to convert to Islam:

An order was accordingly given to the Brahman and was brought before Sultan. The true faith was declared to theBrahman and the right course pointed out. but he refused to accept it. A pile was risen on which the Kaffir with hishands and legs tied was thrown into and the wooden tablet on the top. The pile was lit at two places his head and hisfeet. The fire first reached him in the feet and drew from him a cry and then fire completely enveloped him. BeholdSultan for his strict adherence to law and rectitude.[27]

Under his rule, Hindus who were forced to pay the mandatory Jizya tax were recorded as infidels, their communitiesmonitored and, if they violated Imperial ordinances and built temples, they were destroyed. In particular, an incident inthe village of Gohana in Haryana was recorded in the "Insha-i-Mahry" (another historical record written by Amud DinAbdullah bin Mahru) where Hindus had erected a deity and were arrested, brought to the palace and executed en-masse.[27]

In 1230, the Hindu King of Orissa Anangabhima III consolidated his rule and proclaimed that an attack on Orissaconstituted an attack on the king's god. A sign of Anangabhima's determination to protect Hindu culture is the fact thathe named is new capital in Cuttack “Abhinava Varanasi.” His anxieties about further Muslim advances in Orissaproved to be well founded.

In the Mughal empire

The Mughal Empire was marked by periods of tolerance of non-Muslims, such as Hindus, Christians and Sikhs, aswell as periods of violent oppression and persecution of those people.[28] The reign of Aurangzeb was particularlybrutal. No aspect of Aurangzeb's reign is more cited - or more controversial - than the numerous desecrations andeven the destruction of Hindu temples.[28] Aurangzeb banned Diwali, placed a jizya (tax) on non-Muslims andmartyred the ninth Sikh guru Tegh Bahadur.[28]

During his reign, tens of thousands of temples were desecrated: their facades and interiors were defaced and theirmurtis (divine images) looted.[28] In many cases, temples were destroyed entirely; in numerous instances mosqueswere built on their foundations, sometimes using the same stones. Among the temples Aurangzeb destroyed weretwo that are most sacred to Hindus, in Varanasi and Mathura.[29] In both cases, he had large mosques built on thesites.[28]

The Kesava Deo temple in Mathura, marked the place that Hindus believe was the birth place of Shri Krishna.[29] In1661 Aurangzeb ordered the demolition of the temple, and constructed the Katra Masjid mosque. Traces of theancient Hindu temple can be seen from the back of the mosque. Aurangzeb also destroyed what was the mostfamous temple in Varanasi- the Vishwanath Temple.[29] The temple had changed its location over the years, but in1585 Akbar had authorized its location at Gyan Vapi. Aurangzeb ordered its demolition in 1669 and constructed amosque on the site, whose minarets stand 71 metres above the Ganges. Traces of the old temple can be seen behindthe mosque. Centuries later, emotional debate about these wanton acts of cultural desecration continues. Aurangzebalso destroyed the Somnath temple in 1706.[29]

According to Hindu claims the Mughals supposedly also destroyed the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, at the birthplace ofthe Hindu deity Rama. On top of it, they built the Babri Masjid, which has since been a source of tension between theHindu and Muslim communities.

Writer Fernand Braudel wrote in A History of Civilizations (Penguin 1988/1963, p.232-236), Islamic rule in India as a"colonial experiment" was "extremely violent", and "the Muslims could not rule the country except by systematic terror.Cruelty was the norm -- burnings, summary executions, crucifixions or impalements, inventive tortures. Hindu templeswere destroyed to make way for mosques. On occasion there were forced conversions. If ever there were an uprising,it was instantly and savagely repressed: houses were burned, the countryside was laid waste, men were slaughteredand women were taken as slaves."

Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan

Hindu groups revile Tipu Sultan as a bigot who massacred Hindus[30]. He was known to carry out forced conversionsof Hindus and Christians.[31]. According to Ramchandra Rao "Punganuri" Tipu converted 500 Hindus in Kodagu(Coorg)[32]. A Mogul general, known only by his initials, M.M.K.F.G., wrote an account of Tippoo Sultaun's life, whichwas corrected by one of Tippoo's sons, wherein he asserts that the Sultan, in his wars against the Maharaja ofTravancore, had 10,000 Hindus and Christians killed and 7,000 transported back to Seringapatam, where they werecircumcised, made to eat beef and forced to convert to Mohammedanism. A more solid proof may be had from thedestruction meted out to numerous lesser temples, especially in the Sultan's southern domains, in the late 1780s. Anoutstanding example of this may be seen in the ruins of the temple in the hill-fort of Dindigul which has none of thepresiding deities in the sancta sanctora, besides having other reliefs disfigured.

In Kashmir

The Hindu minority in Kashmir has also been historically persecuted by Muslim rulers.[33] While Hindus and Muslimslived in harmony for certain periods of time, several Muslim rulers of Kashmir were intolerant of other religions. SultãnSikandar Butshikan of Kashmir (AD 1389-1413) is often considered the worst of these. Historians have recordedmany of his atrocities. The Tarikh-i-Firishta records that Sikandar persecuted the Hindus and issued ordersproscribing the residency of any other than Muslims in Kashmir. He also ordered the breaking of all "golden and silverimages". 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 bybecoming Mahomedans. After the emigration of the Bramins, Sikundur ordered all the temples in Kashmeer to bethrown down......Having broken all the images in Kashmeer, (Sikandar) acquired the title of ‘Destroyer of Idols’"[34].

During European rule of the Indian subcontinent

The Goa Inquisition, was established in 1560 by Portuguese missionaries. It was aimed primarily at Hindus andwayward new converts and by the time it was suppressed in 1774, the inquisition had had thousands of Hindustortured and executed by burning. The British East India Company engaged in a covert and well-financed campaign ofevangelical conversions in the 19th century. While officially discouraging conversions, officers of the Companyroutinely converted Sepoys to Christianity, often by force. This was one of the factors that led to the First Indian Warof Independence.[36]

In the Indian subcontinent

Hindus, like Muslims, Sikhs, and members of other religious groups, experienced severe dislocation and violenceduring the massive population exchanges associated with the partition of India, as members of various communitiesmoved to what they hoped was the relative safety of an area where they would be a religious majority. Hindus wereamong the between 200,000 and a million who died during the rioting and other violence associated with thepartition.[37]

Jammu and Kashmir

Kashmiri militants have engaged in attacks on Hindu pilgrims in both Kashmir and neighboring Jammu. Kashmirimilitants have attacked Hindus in the region, as well as moderate Muslims suspected of siding with India. KashmiriPandit Hindus, who have been residents of Kashmir for centuries, have been ethnically cleansed from Kashmir byIslamic militants.[38][39] In particular, the Wandhama Massacre in 1998 was an incident in which 24 Kashmiri Hinduswere gunned down by Islamists disguised as Indian soldiers. Many Kashmiri Hindus have been killed and thousandsof children orphaned over the course of the conflict in Kashmir.

Kerala

The Moplah Riots in 1921 where Muslims in Kerala, influenced by the Khilafat movement rioted in rebellion againstBritish Raj and Hindu Jenmis, resulted in thousands of Hindu deaths and a number of forcible conversions. Parts ofKerala such as Ernad and Walluvanad were declared as Khilafat kingdoms by groups of Muslim mobs and flags of theIslamic Caliphate were flown[40]. Annie Besant stated in her book: "They Moplahs murdered and plundered abundantly,and killed or drove away all Hindus who would not apostatise. Somewhere about a lakh (100,000) of people weredriven from their homes with nothing but their clothes they had on, stripped of everything...Malabar has taught us whatIslamic rule still means, and we do not want to see another specimen of the Khilafat Raj in India."[41]

Northeast India

In Northeastern India, especially in Nagaland, Hindus are not able to celebrate Durga Puja and other essentialfestivals due to harassment and killing by Christian terrorist groups. In Tripura,[42] the NLFT has targeted Swamis andtemples for attacks. The Baptist Church of Tripura is alleged to have supplied NLFT with arms and financial supportand encouraged the murder of Hindus, particularly infants.[43] A conventional tactic of the terrorists is to torch housesbelonging to Hindus while the residents are still inside. They have been known to raid Hindu sanctuaries and shoot allthe members.

Pakistan

There has been severe and often institutionalized persecution of Hindus by Muslims in Pakistan since its formation in1947. The increasing Islamization has caused many Hindus to leave Hinduism and seek emancipation by converting

to other faiths such as Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. Such Islamization includes the blasphemy laws, which makeit dangerous for religious minorities to express themselves freely and engage freely in religious and culturalactivities.[54] Minority members of the Pakistan National Assembly have alleged that Hindus were being hounded andhumiliated to force them to leave Pakistan.[55] In addition to the ethnic cleansing of Hindus following the Partition ofIndia in 1947, Hindus in Pakistan have been subjected to anti-blasphemy laws, hate propaganda, attacks, and forcedconversions. 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 its systematic state-sponsored religious discrimination against Hindusthrough "anti-blasphemy" laws. It documents numerous reports of Hindus being held as "bonded laborers" in slavery-like conditions in rural Pakistan, something repeatedly ignored by the Pakistani government. Pakistan aggressivelyportrays its struggle against India as a Hindu-Muslim conflict, making it clear that its own Hindu minority is fair gamefor persecution.

1971 Bangladesh atrocities

During the 1971 Bangladesh atrocities there were widespread killings and acts of ethnic cleansing of civilians inBangladesh (then East Pakistan under Pakistani occupation), and widespread violations of human rights were carriedout by the Pakistan Army, which was supported by political and religious militias during the Bangladesh LiberationWar. In Bangladesh, the atrocities are identified as a genocide, which is disputed by Pakistan. Many of the victimswere Hindus, and the total death toll was in the millions[56][57].TIME magazine reported that "The Hindus, who accountfor three-fourths of the refugees and a majority of the dead, have borne the brunt of the Muslim military's hatred."[58]

Forced Conversions

Forced and coerced conversions of religious minorities to Islam occurred at the hands of societal actors. Religiousminorities claimed that government actions to stem the problem were inadequate. Several human rights groups havehighlighted the increased phenomenon of Hindu girls, particularly in Karachi, being kidnapped from their families andforced to convert to Islam.

Hindu women have also been known to be victims of kidnapping and forced conversion to Islam.[60] Krishan Bheel, aHindu member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, came into the news recently for manhandling Qari GulRehman.[61]

On October 18, 2005, Sanno Amra and Champa, a Hindu couple residing in the Punjab Colony, Karachi, Sindhreturned home to find that their three teenage daughters had disappeared. After inquiries to the local police, thecouple discovered that their daughters had been taken to a local madrassah, had been converted to Islam, and weredenied unsupervised contact with their parents[59].

Temple Destruction

Several Hindu temples have been destroyed in Pakistan. A notable incident was the destruction of the Ramna KaliMandir in former East Pakistan. The temple was bulldozed by the Pakistan Army on March 27, 1971.TheDhakeshwari Temple was severely damaged during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, and over half of the temple'sbuildings were destroyed. In a major disrespect of the religion, the main worship hall was taken over by the PakistanArmy and used as an ammunitions storage area. Several of the temple custodians were tortured and killed by theArmy though most, including the Head Priest, fled first to their ancestral villages and then to India and thereforeescaped death.

In 2006, the last Hindu temple in Lahore was destroyed to pave the way for construction of a multi-storied commercialbuilding. The temple was demolished after officials of the Evacuee Property Trust Board concealed facts from theboard chairman about the nature of the building. When reporters from Pakistan-based newspaper Dawn tried to coverthe incident, they were accosted by the henchmen of the property developer, who denied that a Hindu temple existedat the site.[62]

Several political parties in Pakistan have objected to this move, such as the Pakistan People's party and the PakistaniMuslim League-N.[63][64] The move has also evoked strong condemnation in India from minority bodies and politicalparties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress Party, as well as Muslim advocacy political partiessuch as the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat.[65] A firm of lawyers representing the Hindu minority hasapproached the Lahore High Court seeking a directive to the builders to stop the construction of the commercial plazaand reconstruct the temple at the site. The petitioners maintain that the demolition violates section 295 of the PakistanPenal Code prohibiting the demolition of places of worship.[66]

Bangladesh

The HAF report documents the long history of anti-Hindu atrocities in Bangladesh, a topic that many Indians andIndian governments over the years have preferred not to acknowledge. Such atrocities, including targeted attacksagainst temples, open theft of Hindu property, and rape of young Hindu women and enticements to convert to Islam,have increased sharply in recent years after the Jamat-e-Islami joined the coalition government led by the BangladeshNational Party.

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 inBangladesh.[45] The government of Bangladesh, a nationalist party openly calls for ‘Talibanisation’ of the state.[46][47][48]

However, the prospect of actually "Talibanizing" the state is regarded as a remote possibility, since BangladeshiIslamic society is generally more progressive than the extremist Taliban of Afghanistan. Political scholars concludethat while the Islamization of Bangladesh is real, the country is not on the brink of being Talibanized.[46] In 1971 at thetime of the liberation of Bangladesh from East Pakistan, the Hindu population accounted for 15% of the totalpopulation. Thirty years on, it is now estimated at just 10.5%.[49] 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 intopower, of all the rape crimes registered in Bangladesh, 98% have been registered by Hindu women. Hindu temples inBangladesh have also been vandalised.[50][51] The United States Congressional Caucus on India has condemnedthese atrocities.[52]

Bangladeshi feminist Taslima Nasrin's 1993 novel Lajja deals with the anti-Hindu riots and anti-secular sentiment inBangladesh in the wake of the destruction of the Babri Masjid in India. The book was banned in Bangladesh, andhelped draw international attention to the situation of the Bangladeshi Hindu minority.

In October 2006, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom published a report titled 'PolicyFocus on Bangladesh', which said that since its last election, 'Bangladesh has experienced growing violence byreligious extremists, intensifying concerns expressed by the countries religious minorities'. The report further statedthat 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 againstthem in Bangladesh, such as perceptions of dual loyalty with respect to India and religious beliefs that are nottolerated by the politically dominant Islamic Fundamentalists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Violence againstHindus has taken place "in order to encourage them to flee in order to seize their property".The previous reports of theHindu American Foundation were acknowledged and confirmed by this non-partisan report.[53]

On November 2, 2006, USCIRF criticized Bangladesh for its continuing persecution of minority Hindus. It also urgedthe Bush administration to get Dhaka to ensure protection of religious freedom and minority rights beforeBangladesh's next national elections in January 2007.[53]

Afghanistan

During the Taliban regime, Sumptuary laws were passed in 2001 which forced Hindus to wear yellow badges in publicto identify themselves as such.This has been compared to Adolf Hitler's treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany duringWorld War II.[67][68] 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.[69] In addition, Hindus were forced to mark their places of residence identifying them as Hinduhomes.

The decree was condemned by the Indian and United States governments as a violation of religious freedom.[70]

Widespread protests against the Taliban regime broke out in Bhopal,India. In the United States, chairman of the Anti-Defamation League Abraham Foxman compared the decree to the practices of Nazi Germany, where Jews wererequired to wear labels identifying them as such.[71] The comparison was also drawn by California Democrat andholocaust 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.[72] In the United States, congressmen and severallawmakers.[73] wore yellow badges on the floor of the Senate during the debate as a demonstration of their solidaritywith the Hindu minority in Afghanistan[74].

Indian analyst Rahul Banerjee said that this was not the first time that Hindus have been singled out for state-sponsored oppression in Afghanistan. Violence against Hindus has caused a rapid depletion in the Hindu populationover the years.[74] Since the 1990s many Afghan Hindus have fled the country, seeking asylum in countries such asGermany.[75]

Malaysia

Approximately nine percent of the population of Malaysia are Tamil Indians, of whom nearly 90 percent are practicingHindus. Indian settlers came to Malaysia from Tamil Nadu in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Between April toMay 2006, several Hindu temples were demolished by city hall authorities in the country, accompanied by violenceagainst Hindus.[78] On April 21, 2006, the Malaimel Sri Selva Kaliamman Temple in Kuala Lumpur was reduced torubble after the city hall sent in bulldozers.[79]

The president of the Consumers Association of Subang and Shah Alam in Selangor State has been helping toorganise 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 followminority religions such as Hinduism.[80] On May 11, 2006, armed city hall officers from Kuala Lumpur forcefullydemolished part of a 60-year-old suburban temple that serves more than 1,000 Hindus. The "Hindu Rights ActionForce", a coalition of several NGO's, have protested these demolitions by lodging complaints with the MalaysianPrime Minister.[81] Many Hindu advocacy groups have protested what they allege is a systematic plan of templecleansing 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.[81] On average, a Hindu temple is demolished inMalaysia once every three weeks.[82]

Another form of persecution is the requirement by the Malaysian government for the annual Thaipusam procession toobtain a police permit under the Internal Security Act, which by the anti-discriminatory standards of most nations, isflawed because it requires permits only for Hindu religious festivals. The Malaysian government has brutally attackedHindu protestors, at some times using tear gas and water cannons on these innocent individuals.[83]

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is an Islamic theocracy, and officially does not tolerate any other religion. Hindus are consideredpolytheists by Islamic law, which is used as a justification for greater discrimination in calculating accidental death orinjury compensation. According to the country's "Hanbali" interpretation of Shari'a, Hindus receive 1/16 of the amounta male Muslim receives.[84].

On March 24, Saudi authorities destroyed religious items found in a raid on a makeshift Hindu shrine found in anapartment in Riyadh.[85]

Fiji

Hindus in Fiji constitute approximately 38% of the population. During the late 1990s there were several riots againstHindus by radical elements in Fiji. In the Spring of 2000, the democratically elected Fijian government led by PrimeMinister Mahendra Chaudhry was held hostage by a guerilla group, headed by George Speight. They weredemanding a segregated state exclusively for the native Fijians, thereby legally abolishing any rights the Hinduinhabitants have now. The majority of Fijian land is reserved for the ethnically Fijian community[86]. Since thepractitioners of Hindu faith are predominantly Indians, racist attacks by the extremist Fijian Nationalists too oftenculminated into violence against the institutions of Hinduism. According to official reports, attacks on Hindu institutionsincreased by 14% compared to 2004. Hindus and Hinduism, being labeled the “outside others,” especially in theaftermath of the May 2000 coup, have been victimized by Fijian fundamentalist and nationalists who wish to create atheocratic Christian state in Fiji. This intolerance of Hindus has found expression in anti-Hindu speeches anddestruction of temples, the two most common forms of immediate and direct violence against Hindus. Between 2001and April 2005, one hundred cases of temple attacks have been registered with the police. The alarming increase oftemple destruction has spread fear and intimidation among the Hindu minorities and has hastened immigration toneighboring Australia and New Zealand. organized religious institutions, such as the Methodist Church of Fiji, haverepeatedly called for the creation of a theocratic Christian State and have propagated anti-Hindu sentiment[87].

The Methodist church of Fiji repeatedly calls for the creation of a Christian State since a coup d'etat in 1987[88][89] andhas stated that those who are not Christian should be "tolerated as long as they obey Christian law".

The Methodist Church of Fiji specifically objects to the constitutional protection of minority religious communities suchas Hindus and Muslims. State favoritism of Christianity, and systematic attacks on temples, are some of the greatestthreats faced by Fijian Hindus. Despite the creation of a human rights commission, the plight of Hindus in Fijicontinues to be precarious[90].

Trinidad

During the initial decades of Indian indenture, Indian cultural forms were met with either contempt or indifference bythe Christian majority[91]. Hindus have made many contributions to Trinidad history and culture even though the statehistorically 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[91].After Trinidad's independence fromcolonial rule, Hindus were marginalized by the African based People's National Movement. The opposing party, thePeople's Democratic party, was portrayed as a "Hindu group", and Hindus were castigated as a "recalcitrant andhostile minority"[91]. 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[91].Thedivergence of some of the fundamental aspects of local Hindu culture, the segregation of the Hindu community fromTrinidad, 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 certaindimensions 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 Hinduminority[91]. Hindus have been also been subjected to persistent proselytization by Christian missionaries[92].Specifically the evangelical and Pentecostal Christians. Such activities reflect racial tensions that at times arisebetween the Christianized Afro-Trinidadian and Hindu Indo-Trinidadian communities[93].

Notes

1. ^ P. 88 The Rosary and the Lamp By Baburao Patel2. ^ The Castes and Tribes of H.E.H. the Nizam’s Dominions3. ^ Caste in Muslim Society by Yoginder Sikand4. ^ Aggarwal, Patrap (1978). Caste and Social Stratification Among Muslims in India. Manohar.5. ^ Mirza Kalichbeg Fredunbeg: The Chachnamah, An Ancient History of Sind, Giving the Hindu period down to

the Arab Conquest. [1]6. ^ Wink, Andre, “Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World”, Brill Academic Publishers, Aug 1, 2002, ISBN

0-391-04173-8 pg. 204

7. ^ Trifkovic, Serge (September 11, 2002). The Sword of the Prophet: History, Theology, Impact on the World.Regina Orthodox Press.

8. ^ Trifkovic, Serge. “Islam’s Other Victims: India”, FrontPageMagazine.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-26.9. ^ Sindhi Culture by U.T. Thakkur, Univ. of Bombay Publications, 195910. ^ J E Lohuizen-de Leeuw, South Asian Archaeology 1975, pg 152-153, Jan 1, 1979, Brill Academic

Publishers, ISBN 90-04-05996-211. ^ Saunders, Kenneth. A Pageant of India. H. Milford, Oxford University Press pg. 162.12. ^ Karan, Pradyumna. The Non-Western World:Environment, Development and Human Rights. Routledge pg.

344.13. ^ Barron, Milton (1967). Minorities in a Changing World. Knopf p54.14. ^ a b P. M. ( Peter Malcolm) Holt, Bernard Lewis, The Cambridge History of Islam, Cambridge University Press,

Apr 21, 1977, ISBN 0-521-29137-2 pg 3-4.15. ^ Kakar, Sudhir. The Colors of Violence: Cultural Identities, Religion, and Conflict. University of Chicago

Press P 50.16. ^ Rashid, A. (1969). Society and Culture in Medieval India, 1206-1556 A.D. (Excerpt from Taj-ul-Maasir).

Firma K. L. Mukhopadhyay.17. ^ B.F. Manz, “T r Lang”, in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Online Edition, 200618. ^ The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, “Timur”, 6th ed., Columbia University Press: “... Timur (timoor’) or

Tamerlane (t m’url n), c.1336–1405, Mongol conqueror, b. Kesh, near Samarkand. ...”, (LINK)19. ^ “Timur”, in Encyclopaedia Britannica: “... [Timur] was a member of the Turkic Barlas clan of Mongols...”20. ^ “Baber”, in Encyclopaedia Britannica: “... Baber first tried to recover Samarkand, the former capital of the

empire founded by his Mongol ancestor Timur Lenk ...”21. ^ Volume III: To the Year A.D. 1398, Chapter: XVIII. Malfúzát-i Tímúrí, or Túzak-i Tímúrí: The Autobiography

of Tímúr. Page: 389 (please press next and read all pages in the online copy) (1. Online copy, 2. Online copy)from: Elliot, Sir H. M., Edited by Dowson, John. The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. TheMuhammadan Period; published by London Trubner Company 1867–1877. (Online Copy: The History of India,as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; by Sir H. M. Elliot; Edited by John Dowson; LondonTrubner Company 1867–1877 - This online Copy has been posted by: The Packard Humanities Institute;Persian Texts in Translation; Also find other historical books: Author List and Title List)

22. ^ Taimur Lane. Turk-i-Taimuri.23. ^ Volume III: To the Year A.D. 1398, Chapter: XVIII. Malfúzát-i Tímúrí, or Túzak-i Tímúrí: The Autobiography

of Tímúr. Page: 389 (please press next and read all pages in the online copy) (1. Online copy, 2. Online copy)from: Elliot, Sir H. M., Edited by Dowson, John. The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. TheMuhammadan Period; published by London Trubner Company 1867–1877. (Online Copy: The History of India,as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; by Sir H. M. Elliot; Edited by John Dowson; LondonTrubner Company 1867–1877 - This online Copy has been posted by: The Packard Humanities Institute;Persian Texts in Translation; Also find other historical books: Author List and Title List)

24. ^ Maulana Hakim Saiyid Abdul Hai “Hindustan Islami Ahad Mein” (Hindustan under Islamic rule), Eng Transby Maulana Abdul Hasan Nadwi

25. ^ Index_1200-1299,Columbia.edu26. ^ Elliot, Henry Miers (1953). The History of India: as told by its own historians; the Muhammadan period

(Excerpt from Jamiu’l-Hikayat). University of Michigan.27. ^ a b c Banerjee, Jamini (1967). History of Firuz Shah Tughluq. Munshiram Manoharlal.28. ^ a b c d e The South Asian Aurangzeb profile29. ^ a b c d Rajiv Varma Destruction of Hindu Temples by Aurangzeb30. ^ Brittlebank Tipu Sultan pp1-3; Phillip B. Wagoner “Tipu Sultan’s Search for Legitimacy: Islam and Kingship

in a Hindu Domain by Kate Brittlebank (Review)” The Journal of Asian Studies Vol. 58, No. 2 (May, 1999) pp.541-543

31. ^ Brittlebank Tipu Sultan’s Search For legitimacy p10732. ^ Mohibbul Hasan The History of Tipu Sultan (Delhi) 1971 pp362-333. ^ Firishta, Muhammad Qãsim Hindû Shãh; John Briggs (translator) (1829- 1981 Reprint). Tãrîkh-i-Firishta

(History of the Rise of the Mahomedan Power in India).34. ^ Firishta, Muhammad Qãsim Hindû Shãh; John Briggs (translator) (1829- 1981 Reprint). Tãrîkh-i-Firishta

(History of the Rise of the Mahomedan Power in India).35. ^ KASHMIR SENTINEL August 16-September 15, 2000-Terrorists massacre Amarnath yatris

36. ^ Stokes, Eric (1973). The First Century of British Colonial Rule in India: Social Revolution or SocialStagnation?” Past and Present.

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Problems P252 (in English). Kessinger Publishing, LLC. ISBN 1428626050.42. ^ Tripura Society’s Website, Independent, and Authentic Information & Views About Tripura43. ^ Bhaumik, Subhir. “’Church backing Tripura rebels’”, BBC News. Retrieved on 2006-08-26.44. ^ Gunment Slaughter 38 on Bus in India in Bloodiest Attack of Sikh Campaign. July 7, 1987. Page A03. The

Philadelphia Inquirer.45. ^ “Discrimination against Bangladeshi Hindus: Refugees International”, Rediff.com, August 09, 2003 13:19

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28.49. ^ [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3452.htm U.S Department of State: 2006 Census Bureau of South and

Central Asian Affairs50. ^ Hindu temples. Retrieved on 2006-08-26.51. ^ Frank Pallone (2004-05-17). “Persecution Of Hindus In Bangladesh (article mirrored from the US Library of

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• Memoir of the Emperor Timur (Malfuzat-i Timuri) Timur’s memoirs on his invasion of India; describes indetail the massacre of Hindus, forced conversions to Islam and the plunder of the wealth of Hindustan(India). Compiled in the book: “The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The MuhammadanPeriod”, by Sir H. M. Elliot, Edited by John Dowson; London, Trubner Company; 1867–1877