Hindus in South Asia and the Diaspora: A Survey of Human Rights 2006 www.HAFsite.org July 11, 2007 “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, Article 1) “Religious persecution may shield itself under the guise of a mistaken and over-zealous piety” (Edmund Burke, February 17, 1788) Endorsements of Hindu American Foundation's 2 nd Annual Report “Hindus in South Asia and the Diaspora: A Survey of Human Rights 2005” “We thank the Hindu American Foundation for its ongoing efforts in keeping Congress informed about human rights issues worldwide.” Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) “I commend the Hindu American Foundation for their work to promote tolerance and combat hate, discrimination, and terror. This 2nd Annual report on the status of human rights violations against Hindus in South Asia provides an important chronicle of abuses that are all too common, even today. I hope that this report will draw appropriate attention to the despicable practices of genocide and ethnic cleansing, so that we can take immediate steps to ensure the physical, political, and economic security of Hindus in South Asia.” Congressman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) “HAF’s human rights report is a welcome analysis of the situation of Hindus across the world. Often ignored situations of serious oppression, such as in Bangladesh, are described in detail.” Sannyasin Arumugaswami Managing Editor, Hinduism Today Magazine “Everyone who is concerned with obtaining the necessary human rights and privileges for people of all religions should be indebted to the Hindu American Foundation for bringing into the light the serious discriminatory practices and unacceptable behavior which in any way makes for insensitive treatment of Hindus and their faith. The impressive scholarship and challenging research in the Hindu American Foundation’s study provides a unique foundation to secure long overdue attention to the concerns of the Hindu community. All of us who are concerned with the true meaning of human rights must lend our support to the Hindu community whenever and wherever ignorant and cruel judgments isolate and demean Hindus and any other minority which is suffering, even briefly, pain, indifference and antagonistic assaults.” Ernest H. Weiner Executive Director, Northern California Region, American Jewish Committee “It gives me great pain to note that extremist Muslims, a tiny minority, are unleashing terror on our Hindu brothers and sisters. In this day and age - we all must work jointly to root out extremism not only from the Indian continent but all over the world.” Iftekhar Hai President, United Muslims of America Interfaith Alliance Hindu American Foundation Board of Directors Mihir Meghani, M.D., President Aseem R. Shukla, M.D. Nikhil N. Joshi, Esq., M.B.A. Legal Counsel Suhag A. Shukla, Esq. Executive Director Ishani Chowdhury Executive Council Pawan Deshpande Jay Patel Rajan Patel, Ph.D Ramesh Rao, Ph.D Sheetal Shah Vinay Vallabh Swaminathan Venkataraman The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) is a human rights group whose purpose is to provide a voice for the 2 million Hindu Americans in the United States. HAF interacts with and educates government, media, think tanks, academia and public fora about Hinduism and issues of concern to Hindus locally and globally. Promoting the Hindu and American ideals of understanding, tolerance and pluralism, HAF stands strong against hate, discrimination, defamation and terror. The Hindu American Foundation is not affiliated with any religious or political organizations or entities. HAF seeks to serve Hindu Americans across all sampradayas (Hindu religious traditions). www.HAFsite.org Acknowledgements This is the third of our annual Hindu human rights reports. As in the past, numerous grass-roots organizations were involved in collecting data about the violation of human rights of Hindu minorities, and we thank them for sharing the information they have collected. Chief among these organizations are the Bangladesh Hindu, Buddhist, Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) – which provided us with critical data of the daily violence against the Hindu minority in Bangladesh; Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) – an organization that has been at the forefront of publicizing the plight of Hindus in Bangladesh; Indo-American Kashmir Forum and the Kashmir Taskforce – both have worked to bring the attention of the United States government and media to the plight of Kashmiri Hindus; Panun Kashmir – working hard to recover the lost properties and homes of Hindus forced to leave the Kashmir valley; Hindu Rights Action Force – working for the human rights of Hindu minorities in Malaysia; Global Human Rights Defense (GHRD) – seeking to educate European media and government about the status of human rights worldwide; and South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre (SAHRDC) – which keeps track of human rights abuses in South Asia. We acknowledge the work of global human rights organizations – Amnesty International, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch and others – in bringing to our attention the denial of human rights in South Asia and elsewhere. Also, important historical information and contemporary updates were obtained from the U.S. Department of State’s annual reports on religious freedom and human rights, and the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom’s (USCIRF) annual reports. HAF is indebted to the volunteers who have given their time and talents to contribute to this report. These include Shelvin Prasad, who was instrumental in compiling the report on Fiji, Vineet Chander of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) who compiled the report on Kazakhstan, Dilip Guha-Ray who compiled the report on Sri Lanka, Ishanaa Rambachan who compiled the report on Saudi Arabia, and Narad Adhikari who compiled the report on Bhutan. Hindus in South Asia and the Diaspora: A Survey of Human Rights – 2006 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The human rights of Hindu citizens are consistently violated in ten countries and one state in India where Hindus constitute a minority: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Fiji, the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Trinidad and Tobago. This report documents these ongoing violations of human rights. HINDUS ACROSS THE DIASPORA • Hindus, with a population of over one billion, are the third largest religious group in the world. • Hinduism is one of the oldest surviving religions and its origins can be traced back to at least the third millennium BCE. • Hindus are pluralistic in their beliefs, and accept the myriad means of worship and prayer available to human beings seeking spiritual enlightenment. • Hindus in South Asia and many of the twenty million Hindus living outside of India are subject to discrimination, terror, murder and other forms of violence, forced conversions, ethnic cleansing, temple destruction, socio-political ostracization and disenfranchisement. In some countries, fundamentalists from other religions advance a discriminatory and non- inclusive agenda and promote hatred of religious and ethnic minorities in league with politicians and other government officials. ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF AFGHANISTAN • Hindus have an ancient history in Afghanistan dating back to the earliest recorded days of Hindu civilization, the Vedic age (estimated to be between 3000 BCE and 1000 BCE). • Hindu temples destroyed by the Taliban have not been rebuilt and several temples are occupied by Muslim groups leaving nearly no Hindu institutions or places of worship existing today. • Hindus do not send their children to public schools due to fear of persecution and ridicule. • There are no facilities to provide restitution and resettlements of Afghan Hindus were they to return from exile. The resurgence of the Taliban further renders the Hindu population vulnerable. i © Hindu American Foundation 2007 • Afghan Hindus living in exile are subject to intense pressure by the Governments of Britain and Germany to return to Afghanistan despite the continued violence toward and persecution of Hindus. • The Indian government is not adequately supporting Hindu and Sikh refugees from Afghanistan. HAF Recommendations: 1) Existing Hindu temples and institutions in Afghanistan must be restored and rehabilitated. 2) The United States and the international community should apply pressure on the German and British governments to stop involuntary deportation of Hindu refugees from Germany and Britain back to Afghanistan. 3) India should expedite the issuance of visas and provide adequate monetary support to resettle the refugees. 4) Pakistan-based groups that are encouraging the resurgence of Taliban forces should be identified and stopped from their attempts to further destabilize Afghanistan. Any such continued destabilization will clearly affect Hindus and other minorities residing in Afghanistan. PEOPLE ’S REPUBLIC OF BANGLADESH • In 1947, Hindus constituted nearly 30% of Bangladesh’s population. By 1991, 20 million Hindus were “missing” from Bangladesh. Today, Hindus comprise less than 10% of the population. • Hindus of Bangladesh continue to be victims of ethnic cleansing waged by Islamic fundamentalists that includes daily acts of murder, rape, kidnappings, temple destruction, and physical intimidation. • Human rights activists and journalists are continuously harassed and abused in Bangladesh. • 461 acts of murder, rape, kidnappings, temple destruction, and land grab targeting Hindus have