Anti-Hindu sentiment, also referred to as Hinduphobia, is the fear, hostility, or negative perceptions directed toward practitioners of Hinduism or the religion itself. It has been seen in various contexts across multiple countries, often arising from historical conflicts and sociopolitical factors.
Definitions Historical In the late 19th and early 20th century, the word Hinduphobia was used more generally to refer to prejudice against Indians, regardless of religion. This reflected an earlier usage of the word Hindu, which referred to everyone from India. Sudhindra Bose, president of the Hindustan Association of America, used the word Hinduphobia as the title of a 1914 essay in The Cosmopolitan Student in this sense. The Hindustan Association of America clarified in a 1915 pamphlet that "Hindus unified peoples of India not as Hindus, Mohammadans and Christians; [...] sons and daughters of India but not as Brahman , sudra, and untouchables."
Contemporary Hinduphobia in the sense of prejudice against Hindus in terms of their religion was coined by activist Rajiv Malhotra. Scholar Jeffery D. Long defined the term as an irrational aversion of Hindus or Hinduism. Vamsee Juluri, a Professor of Media Studies at the University of San Francisco agrees. Sophie-Jung H. Kim said that the definition of Hinduphobia as presented by some Hindu activist groups "evolve depending on the evidence that the members of these groups discover."
Distribution Afghanistan
Religious persecution, discrimination of Hindus has caused Afghanistan's Hindu population to dwindle. Sikhs and Hindus are continuing to flee from Afghanistan as of July 2020.
The Taliban government in Afghanistan, which enforced strict sharia (Islamic law), announced plans to require all Hindus (and Sikhs) to wear identifying badges in public in May 2001 as part of the Taliban's campaign to segregate and repress non-Muslim parts of Afghan society. At the time, about 500 Hindus and 2,000 Sikhs remained in Afghanistan.. The anti-Hindu decree was seen by many as being reminiscent of the Nazi law which required all Jews to wear identifying yellow badges. The order prompted international outrage, and it was denounced by the Indian and U.S. governments, as well as by Abraham Foxman of the ADL. Following international pressure, the Taliban regime dropped the badge plans in June 2001.
Australia In April 2024, a Hindu woman named Swastika Chandra from Sydney was banned from using the Uber app because it considered her first name (Swastika) to be offensive and related to Nazism. The Swastika is a Hindu symbol of divinity and spirituality that the Hindu community has used for centuries; however, its perception in other parts of the world is different due to the adoption of the symbol by the Nazi Party in the early 20th century. After a period of six months, Uber eventually lifted the ban and apologized for the misunderstanding.
Bangladesh
A well publicised event of Anti-Hindu statement occurred in 1996 when Khaleda Zia a previous Prime Minister, and then leader of the opposition, declared that the country was at risk of hearing "uludhhwani" (a Bengali Hindu custom involving women's ululation) from mosques, replacing the azaan (Muslim call to prayer).
The fundamentalists and right-wing parties such as the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jatiya Party often portray Hindus as being sympathetic to India, making accusations of dual loyalty and allegations of transferring economic resources to India, contributing to a widespread perception that Bangladeshi Hindus are disloyal to the state. Also, the right wing parties claim the Hindus to be backing the Awami League.
On 28 February 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, the Vice President of the Jamaat-e-Islami to death for the war crimes committed during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Following the sentence, Jamaat-e-Islami activists attacked Hindu communities across the country. Hindu properties were looted and burned down, and temples were desecrated and set on fire. While the government has held the Jamaat-e-Islami responsible for the attacks on the minorities, the Jamaat-e-Islami leadership has denied any involvement. The minority leaders have protested the attacks and appealed for justice. The Supreme Court of Bangladesh has directed the law enforcement to start suo motu investigation into the attacks. US Ambassador to Bangladesh express concern about attack of Jamaat on Bengali Hindu community. The violence included the looting of Hindu properties and businesses, the burning of Hindu homes, and desecration and destruction of Hindu temples. According to community leaders, more than 50 Hindu temples and 1,500 Hindu homes were destroyed in 20 districts. On 5 May 2014, A mob of almost 3,000 attacked Hindu households and a temple in eastern Bangladesh after two youths from the community allegedly insulted the Islamic prophet, Muhammad on Facebook. In 2025, a 21-year-old Hindu woman was gang-raped in the Cumilla district in Central Bangladesh by a member of the Khaleda Zia-led Bangladesh Nationalist Party. There were 2,442 instances of atrocities against religious minorities (mainly Hindus) in Bangladesh in 2024, and that the number stands at 72 in 2025 till the end of March 2025.
India
According to PEW Research, Hindus face "widespread" discrimination in India. Specifically, the study states: "the share of Muslims who see widespread discrimination against their community is similar to the share of Hindus who say Hindus face widespread religious discrimination in India (21%)."
Between 11:30 pm and midnight on 26 August 2024, the idol of the goddess in Bhoolaxmi temple was destroyed by vandals. The temple is located in the Rakshapuram area of Hyderabad, and is from the police station. Local politician, Samreddy Surender Reddy said that the temple had been attacked by vandals five times during the past five years. The police used CCTV to identify two suspects, who they arrested. A crowd gathered outside the temple to protest against the vandalism. The police said that there was no evidence that the vandalism was politically motivated.
In September 2024, stones were pelted at Ganesha idol processions in many parts of India. The police were also attacked in many places, but managed to seize the swords used to attack the devotees; petrol bombs were also used to set shops on fire. In another incident, the Ganesha idol was taken from the demonstrators by the police, who then secured it in an unoccupied police van, the snaps of which went viral online, as well as in newspapers; some claimed it was "belittling" to do so. In September 2025, there were more incidents of stone-pelting of Ganesha idols during immersion and Chappanbhog ceremonies in different parts of India; in an incident in late August 2025, eggs were thrown instead of stones.
Malaysia
In April 2006, local authorities demolished several Hindu temples to make way for developmental projects. Their reason was that these temples were unlicensed and squatting on government land. In April and May 2006, several Hindu temples were demolished by city hall authorities in the country, accompanied by violence against Hindus. On 21 April 2006, the Malaimel Sri Selva Kaliamman Temple in Kuala Lumpur was reduced to rubble after the city hall sent in bulldozers.
The president of the Consumers Association of Subang and Shah Alam in Selangor had been helping to organise 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 follow minority religions such as Hinduism.
On 11 May 2006, armed city hall officers from Kuala Lumpur forcefully demolished part of a 60-year-old suburban temple that serves more than 1,000 Hindus. The "Hindu Rights Action Force", a coalition of several NGOs, has protested these demolitions by lodging complaints with the Malaysian Prime Minister. Many Hindu advocacy groups have protested what they allege is a systematic plan of temple cleansing 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. According to a lawyer for the Hindu Rights Action Task Force, a Hindu temple is demolished in Malaysia once every three weeks.
Pakistan
On Pakistan Day, the Pakistan Army dropped leaflets in South and North Waziristan, warning tribesmen about foreigners and their local supporters, using the term "Yahood Aur Hanood" (Jews and Hindus) to describe the perceived enemies. The leaflets aimed to differentiate between the war on terror and local tribes, urging vigilance against intruders.Military drops leaflets in Waziristan , jang.com.pk At the time of Pakistan's creation, the 'hostage theory' had been espoused. According to this theory, the Hindu minority in Pakistan was to be given a fair deal in the country in order to ensure the protection of the Muslim minority in India.
Separate electorates for Hindus and Christians were established in 1985—a policy which was originally proposed by Islamist leader Abul A'la Maududi. Christian and Hindu leaders complained that they felt excluded from the county's political process, but the policy had strong support from Islamists.
The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), a coalition of Islamist political parties in Pakistan, calls for the increased Islamization of the government and society, specifically taking an anti-Hindu stance. The MMA leads the opposition in the national assembly, held a majority in the NWFP Provincial Assembly, and was part of the ruling coalition in Balochistan. However, some members of the MMA made efforts to eliminate their rhetoric against Hindus.International Religious Freedom Report 2006 Published by the US Department of State
The public school curriculum in Pakistan was Islamized during the 1980s. The government of Pakistan claims to undertake a major revision to eliminate such teachings and to remove Islamic teaching from secular subjects.
A more recent textbook which was published in Pakistan and titled A Short History of Pakistan, edited by Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi, has been heavily criticized by academic peer-reviewers for anti-Hindu biases and prejudices that are consistent with Pakistani nationalism, where Hindus are portrayed as "villains" and Muslims as "victims" living under the "disastrous Hindu rule" and "betraying the Muslims to the British", characterizations that academic reviewers found "disquieting" and having a "warped subjectivity".Lehmann, F., 1968, Pacific Affairs, University of British Columbia, pp. 644–645Calkins, P. B. Pacific Affairs, University of British Columbia, pp. 643–644, 1968Ahmed, A., Pacific Affairs, University of British Columbia, pp. 645–647, 1968
Ameer Hamza, a leader of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, wrote a highly derogatory book about Hinduism in 1999 called "Hindu Ki Haqeeqat" ("Reality of (a) Hindu"); he was not prosecuted by the Government.