Court orders demolition of three floors of mosque in Himachal Pradesh
A court in Himachal Pradesh has ordered the demolition of the top three floors of a mosque in Shimla. Moreover, the ruling declared that the Waqf Board — an entity that administers property given for a charitable cause by Muslim philanthropists — would bear the expenses of the demolition.
Since early September, Hindu supremacist organizations have been demanding the demolition of portions of the mosque, leading to an ongoing anti-mosque campaign, triggering protests and threats to demolish several Muslim places of worship.
News reporter heckles Muslim man for selling fish bones on Hindu festival
In Rajasthan’s Bharatpur, a news reporter heckled a Muslim man who was selling fish bones, and baselessly accused him of “hurting Hindu sentiments” because he was selling them during the day of a Hindu festival.
In a similar incident in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur, Hindu extremists from the Rashtriya Bajrang Dal created a disturbance at a temple over allegations of Muslim men owning shops within the temple premises. They also raised anti-Muslim slogans calling for an economic boycott of Muslims.
Hindu militants attempt to forcibly stop Christian prayer meeting
In Maharashtra’s Mira-Bhayander, Hindu militants from the Bajrang Dal tried to stop a Christian prayer meeting, over allegations that the worshippers were forcibly converting Hindus to Christianity.
Christians across states have been arrested under India’s draconian anti-conversion law, which criminalizes conversion away from Hinduism. D.C.-based human rights group International Christian Concern has named India among the top 10 countries persecuting Christians in its 2023 Persecutors of the Year Report.
Christians demand arrest of Hindu extremist leader over remarks on St. Xavier
Christians in Goa have demanded the arrest of Subhash Velingkar, a former leader of the Hindu paramilitary group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), over his offensive remarks about St Francis Xavier, a revered Catholic missionary. At least five protestors were detained.
Velingkar recently called for a “DNA test to verify the identity of the remains believed to be those of Saint Francis Xavier.”
