Editor’s View

How Do We Stop the Hindu Killings? A Call for Global Hindu Unity and Action

On April 22, 2025, in the heart of Pahalgam, the peaceful tourist town in Jammu & Kashmir was mercilessly shattered by bullets of hatred and bloodshed. Twenty-six Hindu tourists were brutally murdered when heavily armed terrorists opened fire near the Lidder River — a popular area often crowded with families enjoying Kashmir’s natural beauty. These tourists were not part of a religious pilgrimage or political event. They were ordinary citizens, from different parts of India, visiting a scenic destination in their country during the spring season. Their day ended in bloodshed simply because of their religious identity, their only “crime.” They were Hindus.

The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed full responsibility. They made it clear that they sent the attackers to kill Hindus. The choice of location, timing, and method was deliberate. The goal was not only to take lives but to send a message of fear and dominance, reigniting a campaign of targeted killings reminiscent of the forced exodus of Kashmiri Hindus in the 1990s.

What makes this attack particularly disturbing is the vulnerability of the victims — peaceful tourists, unarmed and unsuspecting. The incident was not a military encounter. It was not “crossfire.” It was terrorism in its purest form — cold, calculated, and driven by radical ideology.

The massacre at Pahalgam should shake the conscience of every Indian and every global citizen who believes in basic human rights.

But the sorrow doesn’t stop at the border of Jammu & Kashmir. Temples burn, idols are desecrated, and Hindus face beatings, rapes, and murders in Bangladesh. From Noakhali in 1946 to the anti-Hindu pogroms of 2021 and now again in 2024–25, the pattern remains painfully familiar. In West Bengal, what was once known for spiritual giants like Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Ramakrishna is now witnessing mob violence against Hindu families under the shadow of political appeasement. Across the Northeast, militant insurgency lingers — where Hindus have been routinely targeted for decades.

The Time for Silence Has Passed. The Time for Hindu Unity Has Come.

If we wish to stop the Hindu killings, we must do more than mourn. We must unite — not just in India, but across the globe.

Hindu Unity Within India: A Collective Dharma

India’s Hindus number over one billion. And yet, we often stand divided — by region, by language, by caste, and by politics. These divisions serve only our enemies. When Hindus are targeted in Kashmir or Bengal, the rest of India cannot afford to be indifferent.

The teachings of the Bhagavad Gita remind us that Dharma must be protected collectively: 

“Dharmo rakṣati rakṣitaḥ”

Dharma” protects those who protect it.

To stop this ongoing violence:

• Pan-Hindu unity must become more than a slogan. Sanatanis, followers of Bhakti, Shaiva, Vaishnava, and Shakta traditions — all must stand together.
• Hindu organizations across India must collaborate, not compete.
• We must hold the media accountable when it downplays or ignores attacks on Hindus.

We must remember what Swami Vivekananda once said:

“The time has come when every Hindu must stand together shoulder to shoulder and work for the upliftment of our Dharma. We must sink all differences and stand as one united force.”

Hindu Diaspora: From Silence to Voice

Across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, and the Gulf, tens of millions of Hindus reside, contribute, and lead in professional fields. Yet when Hindus are attacked back home, the diaspora often remains passive — not out of apathy, but due to a lack of coordination and support.

Now is the time to change that.

We must begin to:

• Raise awareness of Hinduphobia internationally — in media, in politics, and in education.
• Demand legislative resolutions in foreign parliaments condemning attacks on Hindus, just as other communities have successfully done.
• Host interfaith dialogues that highlight the tolerance and universality of Hindu Dharma — countering the biased narrative that brands Hindu identity as “extremist.”
• Create centralized advocacy groups, like Hindu Public Affairs Councils, that engage with foreign policy institutions in Washington, London, Ottawa, and Canberra.

Let’s not forget: the Jewish community — despite its smaller global population — has successfully raised awareness about antisemitism and secured laws protecting Jewish identity. Hindus deserve the same protections against growing Hinduphobia.

Institutionalizing a United Hindu Front

The time has come to establish a United Global Hindu Coalition — not just ceremonial, but functional.

This coalition must:

• Document and report every instance of Hindu persecution across South Asia.
• Maintain diplomatic outreach to global human rights bodies.
• Launch legal efforts to challenge biased coverage and discriminatory actions.
• Develop rapid-response teams for humanitarian aid in conflict-hit regions.

Additionally, Hindu students, youth, and professionals must be encouraged to enter media, academia, and politics — not to “convert” others, but to ensure our voice is never silenced again.

Politicians Must Be Approached, Educated, and Pressured

Let’s be very clear: governments care where their votes and donations come from.

Hindus abroad must:

• Engage directly with elected officials in their respective countries.
• Write letters, hold town halls, and initiate petitions.
• Support candidates — regardless of party — who speak out against Hinduphobia.
• Demand that the US Congress, UK Parliament, EU Commission, and Australian Parliament include Hindu rights in their international human rights agenda.

In 2022, the UK Parliament discussed “Islamophobia” and “antisemitism.” In 2025, we must ensure they also discuss Hinduphobia.

The Role of Media and Cultural Institutions: Time to Challenge the Bias

Perhaps one of the most dangerous threats we face today is not just the violence on the ground but the violence done to truth by global media narratives.

Following the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam terrorist attack, where 26 Hindu tourists were brutally gunned down by Lashkar-e-Taiba affiliates, major international news outlets failed in their journalistic duty to report the truth clearly and ethically.

The New York Times, in its headline, referred to the attackers as “militants”—a term that conjures images of rebel fighters or resistance groups, not mass murderers targeting unarmed civilians. Other outlets like BBC, Washington Post, France 24, and Al Jazeera followed suit, using generic and sanitized terms such as “gunmen” or “armed assailants.” Nowhere did they clearly call the perpetrators what they were: terrorists driven by ideological hatred of Hindus.

This kind of language manipulation is not accidental. It reflects a deep-seated bias in global media coverage when it comes to Hindu victims. When similar attacks occur against other religious groups, international media outlets show moral clarity and urgency. But when Hindus are killed — whether in Kashmir, Bangladesh, or West Bengal — the headlines become vague, the motive is obscured, and the victims are sidelined.

Such coverage is not just poor reporting — it’s a form of Hinduphobic gaslighting. It erases Hindu suffering from the global conscience and prevents international action by masking the gravity of these crimes.

To fight this:

• We must call out biased coverage wherever it appears and demand accountability from editors and journalists. 
• We must write op-eds, file complaints, and organize Hindu media watchdogs that actively monitor and respond to misrepresentation. 
• • We must support and fund Hindu journalists, filmmakers, and commentators who can tell our story—accurately and unapologetically. 
• Most importantly, we must teach the next generation of Hindu youth that the media is not just a mirror of the world — it is a powerful shaper of public opinion. We must train them to engage with it intelligently and courageously.

From Victims to Vanguards

The cycle of Hindu killings will not stop until we stop it — through unity, courage, strategy, and relentless voice.

Our prayers go out to the families of those killed in Pahalgam, to the assaulted Hindus in Bangladesh, to the displaced families of West Bengal, and to those threatened by insurgencies in the Northeast.

But our responsibility does not end with prayer. It begins there.

Let this moment be a turning point — a moment when Hindus across Bharat and the world unite not in despair, but in dignity and action.

Let this be the moment we say together: “Never again.”

Yes, we believe in “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” — the whole world is one family, but not when somebody attacks our own home and, more importantly, our religion.

Raj Shah

Managing Editor