Hindus in

South Asia and the

DiasporaA Survey of Human Rights

2013

HAFHINDU AMERICANFOUNDATION

Executive SummaryThe human rights of Hindu citizens are consistently violated in nine countries and one state in India where Hindus constitute a minority: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bhutan, the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, Sri Lanka, Fiji, Saudi Arabia, and Trinidad and Tobago. This report provides a brief overview of ongoing violations of human rights in these regions.

Hindus Across the DiasporaHindus, numbering nearly one billion, constitute the world’s third largest religious group.

Hinduism is one of the oldest surviving religions, tracing back to at least the third millennium BCE.

Pluralistic in their beliefs, Hindus accept the myriad means of worship and prayer available to human beings seeking spiritual enlightenment.

Hindu minorities are subject to varying degrees of legal and institutional discrimination, restrictions on their religious freedom, social prejudice, violence, social persecution, and economic and political marginalization. Hindu women are especially vulnerable and face kidnappings and forced conversions in countries such as Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Persecution has led many Hindus to flee their country of origin and live as refugees.

Bangladesh 1971@Raghu Rai/Magnum Photos

Egregious ViolatorsHAF has designated the following countries as egregious violators in 2013, as they have engaged in or allowed rampant and systematic human rights violations to take place against their minority Hindu populations.

  Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

  People’s Republic of Bangladesh

  Malaysia

  Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

  The Hindu community, which was estimated at 200,000 in the 1970s, is now nearly extinct, with only 3,000 Hindus/Sikhs remaining after years of violence and persecution. Many of the Hindus that fled the country continued to endure problems as refugees.

  The increased conflict and violence in Afghanistan in 2013 led to a degradation of basic human rights for all Afghans, including restrictions on women’s rights, increased internal displacement and migration, and abuses by both militants and government forces.

 Afghanistan’s constitution and legal system institutionalized discrimination against non-Muslims and firmly established Islam as the state religion. The constitution failed to adequately protect the religious freedom of minorities, who faced significant legal inequalities.

 Hindus and Sikhs lacked cremation rights, and were often attacked and humiliated while trying to cremate their dead. Hindus/Sikhs remained politically disenfranchised, as the Lower House of Parliament denied them representation through a reserved seat.

  Violence, social prejudice, and harassment were major concerns, especially for school-aged Hindu/Sikh children.

Sathbir, an Afghan Hindu refugee in Sweden, asserted, “The Hindu minority continues to be the most vulnerable; not only from Taliban or other political entities but from our own erstwhile neighbors.”

People’s Republic of Bangladesh

  In 1947, Hindus constituted 31% of Bangladesh’s (formerly East Pakistan) population. By 1991, an estimated 20 million Hindus were “missing” from Bangladesh. Today, Hindus comprise less than 9% of the population.

  The International Crimes Tribunals continued to try and convict those responsible for committing war crimes during the 1971 War of Independence. High-level Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) leader, Abdul Qader Molla, was executed on charges of rape and the mass murder of 350 unarmed civilians. Another convicted war criminal and U.S. citizen, Ashrafuzzaman Khan, is living freely in New York.

  Following convictions by the Tribunals, Hindus were systematically attacked by mobs of JeI supporters, resulting in the destruction of nearly 50 temples and 1,500 homes.

  Through the remainder of the year, JeI and the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party launched violent riots and carried out targeted attacks on the Hindu community. Between November 2013 and January 2014, 495 homes, 585 shops, and 169 temples were damaged or destroyed. Hefazat-e-Islam demanded the imposition of Sharia (Islamic law).

  The ruling Awami League government repressed political dissent and failed to protect minority communities. Security forces committed widespread human rights abuses.

Sadhanchandra Mandal, a 60 year-old Hindu man, recounted that a mob of more than 3,000 JeI activists set his home on fire, while chanting, “We are the Taliban, this Bengal will be Afghan.”

Malaysia  Malaysia is a self-declared Islamic Republic, with

Islam as the official state religion, despite significant Hindu (6.3%), Christian (9.1%), and Buddhist (19.2%) populations. Ethnic and religious minorities were subjected to inequitable constitutional provisions, such as the Bumiputra (sons of the soil) policies, which favor the Muslim Malay majority.

  The government’s policies in 2013 represented a significant step back for human rights and ethno-religious harmony. The government continued to suppress free speech and other civil liberties, while increasing economic entitlements for the majority Muslim Malay population.

 Non-Muslims faced ongoing government restrictions on their religious freedom, including being forced to adjudicate family disputes with Muslims in Sharia courts. Hindu temples were frequently destroyed or forcibly relocated by the government.

  The Malaysian government placed severe restrictions on the rights of minority Muslims.

In April 2013, S. Deepa, a 29-year-old Hindu woman, discovered that her estranged husband had converted her two children (ages five and eight) to Islam without her knowledge or consent.

Islamic Republic of Pakistan

  2013 marked another year of sectarian violence, political instability, and the flagrant violation of human rights. Islamist militants attacked civilians with impunity, as Pakistani society and the state became increasingly Islamized. Suicide bombers attacked a church in Peshawar, killing 81 Christians, while militant attacks took the lives of more than 400 Shia.

  The Hindu community, which constitutes less than 2% of the population (compared to 15% at the time of Partition), and other minorities were subjected to constitutional and legal discrimination, systematic violence, bonded labor and economic exploitation, and social prejudice. Hindus lacked independent control over their places of worship and crematoriums, which have been frequently attacked, illegally sold, and forcibly occupied.

  The education system fosters hatred and intolerance towards non-Muslims, including Hindus, Christians, and Jews, while promoting violent jihad. Non-Muslim students are forced to take Islamiyat classes and study the Quran in schools.

 An estimated 1,000 Christian and Hindu women are abducted and forcibly converted to Islam every year.

  Large numbers of Hindus continued to seek refuge in India to escape religious persecution in Pakistan. At least 1,000 Hindus migrate to India’s Rajasthan state annually, while many more flee to other parts of India.

Six year-old Jumna and her ten year-old sister, Pooja, were abducted in Mirpurkhas, Sindh, while selling utensils to help their family. They were taken to a mosque and converted, and found in the home of a Muslim man.

Countries of Serious ConcernThe following countries have been labeled as Countries of Serious Concern as they have committed severe human rights violations against their Hindu minority population. The sole exception is the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir, which has been included in this category based only on the treatment of the Hindu minority in the state and not human rights in general in India.

  Kingdom of Bhutan

  Indian State of Jammu & Kashmir

  Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Kingdom of Bhutan

 Bhutan is a Democratic Constitutional Monarchy and comprises a multi-religious, multi-ethnic, and multi-lingual society. In the early 1990s, Bhutan implemented the “One Nation, One People” policy to forcibly homogenize the country to the majority Buddhist Drukpa culture. This culminated in the eviction of over 100,000 mostly Hindu Lhotshampas (ethnic Nepali), reducing their population share from 42% to 30%.

  The Bhutanese government continued to violate the fundamental rights of Hindus, restricting their linguistic and political rights, preventing the open practice of Hinduism, and denying citizenship rights to over 80,000 people. The construction of non-Buddhist places of worship was still largely restricted, particularly in rural areas.

  108,000 Lhotshampa refugees were housed in UNHCR administered camps in Nepal until 2007, when the “resettlement movement” first began. As of September 2013, more than 82,000 refugees were resettled in third countries, including over 69,000 in the U.S.

  The resettled Bhutanese Hindu community in the U.S. has reported facing a number of challenges, including a high incidence of mental illness and suicide, and difficulty retaining their cultural and religious traditions.

In 2012, two Bhutanese Hindu refugees in Ohio reportedly committed suicide after being deceptively converted to Christianity.

Indian State of Jammu & Kashmir

  The former Princely State of Kashmir legally acceded to India in 1947, following an invasion by Pakistani armed forces and Pashtun tribesmen. Pakistan, however, continues to occupy about 35% of the region, India governs approximately half, and China occupies the remainder.

  2013 witnessed a deteriorating security situation in India’s State of Jammu and Kashmir as Pakistan-supported terrorist violence increased. Sectarian clashes between Hindus and Muslims in Jammu led to at least two deaths and the destruction of over 100 Hindu-owned businesses.

  January 19, 2014 marked the 25th anniversary of the ethnic cleansing of more than 300,000 Kashmiri Hindu Pandits from their homeland in the Kashmir Valley (over 95% of the Valley’s Hindu population) by Pakistan sponsored militants.

  25 years later, Kashmiri Pandits have not yet been recognized as Internally Displaced Persons by the Indian government, or safely rehabilitated back to their homes in the Kashmir Valley. Thousands still live in camps in Jammu and New Delhi, suffer from ongoing mental and emotional trauma and are marginalized.

  The State Government failed to enact long pending legislation in 2013 to protect and preserve Hindu temples and shrines in Kashmir, despite the ongoing encroachments and illegal sales of temple properties in the State. Over 100 temples have been illegally occupied since 1989.

A Kashmiri Hindu recalled, “Our people were killed. I saw a girl tortured with cigarette butts. Another man had his eyes pulled out and his body hung on a tree…It wasn’t just the killing but the way they tortured and killed.”

Bangladesh 1971@Raghu Rai/Magnum Photos

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

  Sri Lanka is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious nation that was plagued by decades of violent conflict between the Sinhala-majority government and Tamil separatist groups in the northern and eastern parts of the country.

  The civil war came to an end in May 2009, and both sides were guilty of severe human rights violations and war crimes. The prolonged conflict was detrimental to all Sri Lankans, especially the Hindu minority (7.1%), which experienced an undue share of violence and displacement. Despite censure by the international community, the government remains unwilling to conduct a meaningful investigation into crimes committed during the war.

  The Sinhala dominated government failed to reach political reconciliation with the Tamil minority (8.5%) in 2013 and refused to cede political power to Tamil political parties, who won provincial elections in the north. Sri Lanka’s security forces suppressed minority rights and committed human rights abuses in former conflict zones in the northeast.

Monitored CountriesThe following nations have been categorized as Monitored Countries due to a history of violations against the Hindu community, with improved conditions in recent years. The one exception is Saudi Arabia, which has a small population of Hindu migrant workers and a lack of available data on violations against Hindus.

  Republic of the Fiji Islands

  Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

  Republic of Trinidad & Tobago

Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism has emerged as a destructive force after the war and has led to the repression of minority rights, and attacks on Hindus, Christians, and Muslims.

Republic of the Fiji Islands

  In Fiji, Hindus constitute approximately 27.9% of the population and comprise the second largest religious community in the country behind Christians (64.5%). Fijian Hindus historically faced discriminatory treatment, hate speech, and violent attacks on temples. Conditions improved significantly in 2009, and there had been no religiously motivated attacks until 2014 when a Hindu religious school was vandalized and desecrated.

 New restrictive regulations on Hindu temples and organizations were implemented in 2012 and continued in 2013. Under the regulations, Hindus were required to acquire permits to hold events with more than ten people. Many Hindu temples were unable to obtain permits for religious gatherings.

  The regime of Prime Minister Frank Bainamirama continued to repress fundamental rights in 2013, including abuses by security forces and suppression of political dissent. A new Constitution adopted in September 2013 gives the government broad powers to impinge on the rights of free speech, assembly, and association.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

  Saudi Arabia has shown an ongoing disregard for fundamental human rights through the suppression of political dissent, restrictions on religious freedom, and absence of basic women’s rights. Saudi law is based on Sharia and mandates all citizens to be Muslims. Public practice of other religions is prohibited, and non-Muslim places of worship are forbidden.

  The Hindu population is primarily comprised of migrant workers from South Asia (165,000 – 300,000), who frequently endure “slavery-like conditions.” Non-Muslim migrant workers, particularly Hindus, are deprived of all basic human rights and religious freedom.

  Saudi Arabia exports extreme forms of Wahhabi Islam to other countries and spends an estimated $3 billion annually on the construction of mosques, provision of educational materials, and support for Islamists.

Moderate religious leaders in Pakistan warn that Saudi Wahhabism is making an “ideological assault” on the country through its funding of hardline mosques and militant organizations.

Fijian Hindus historically faced discriminatory treatment, hate speech, and violent attacks on temples.

Republicof Trinidad and Tobago

  The country is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious island nation with Indo-Trinidadians (35.4%) and Afro-Trinidadians (34.2%) accounting for the majority of the population. The racial and religious animosity between Afro-Trinidadians and Indo-Trinidadians has been exacerbated over the years, with Hindu Indo-Trinidadians (18.2%) facing hate speech and intolerance.

 Hindus have faced a multitude of human rights issues, including physical attacks, temple desecration, economic/political discrimination, and the inequitable distribution of government funds. Conditions for Hindus have significantly improved under the government of Kamla Persad Bissessar, with an increase in religious freedom and equal protection under the law.

 Discrimination based on sexual orientation was an ongoing issue in 2013. The Trinidadian Sexual Offences Act punishes same-sex relationships with up to 25 years imprisonment, and under the Immigration Act, “homosexuals” are banned from entering the country.

HAF Fact Finding and Relief Projects

 An HAF medical team toured Bhutanese refugee camps in 2012 in the city of Damak, Nepal. The trip culminated in a partnership with the UNHCR in 2013 to serve: (1) dental care, and (2) mental health needs of Bhutanese refugees remaining in the camps.

 HAF began working with the resettled Bhutanese American community in Philadelphia in 2013, and launched The Bhutanese American Project in March 2014 to provide grants to directly benefit Bhutanese refugees across the country.

 At the beginning of 2013, HAF conducted an independent fact-finding mission and medical trip to the northwestern Indian city of Jodhpur, where thousands of Pakistani Hindus have sought refuge in recent years. The Foundation conducted interviews, assessed camp conditions, and provided medical care to over 400 refugees.

 HAF spearheaded several Pakistani Hindu refugee assistance projects in 2013-2014 in conjunction with other organizations to address the following needs: (1) Education; (2) Shelter; (3) Warm Blankets; and (4) Lighting/Electricity.

 After severe floods devastated Sindh and southern Punjab in Pakistan in 2013, HAF partnered with other organizations to provide one month’s worth of emergency relief supplies (food, clothing, and medicines) to 650 Hindu families.

The Trinidadian Sexual Offences Act punishes same-sex relationships with up to 25 years imprisonment.

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