2024-08-14 10:22:45
Dhaka: After Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power in Bangladesh, the minority community is facing danger. Hindus are the largest religious minority in Bangladesh, whose homes, shops and temples are being attacked. Hindus have traditionally been considered supporters of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League, which is known as a secular party. People from Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh Nationalist Party and other right-wing parties are active in the recent movement, so Hindus have also become targets. After this movement turned violent and the Hasina government fell, what kind of situation are the minority Hindus facing? Australia’s ABC News has done a report on this, in which information about the situation has been obtained by talking to some Hindu students.
The report describes how Chhaya, a Hindu student from Bangladesh’s Khulna region, is using a false name out of fear. She says, “I spend my nights crying. Our house has been attacked several times since Hasina resigned. The first time it was attacked, our gate was vandalised and set on fire. The second time they looted our house and we had to run away. I don’t know who they are and why they are doing this. I ask if this country is not for Hindus. Why are Hindus the first ones to be targeted whenever something happens?”
After all why are only Hindus targeted?
There is a widespread feeling among Bangladeshi Hindus as to why they are being targeted. Hundreds of Bangladeshi Hindus took to the streets in Dhaka and Khulna on Sunday to protest the attacks on their community and asked whether Bangladesh does not belong to them. After this, the interim government issued a statement saying that minorities will be protected and the victims will be compensated. However, despite this, minorities are not only scared but they also feel cheated.
Deep Sarkar is a resident of Khulna and is a student. Deep was involved in the student protest and was also beaten up by the police. In such a situation, he feels cheated after the violence targeting the minority community. Sarkar says, ‘I did not join the protest as a Hindu. I went as a student. Now my community is being attacked and there is chaos in the whole country. I participated in the protest to reform the country but I am getting cruelty and violence. Hatred is being spread against Hindus in the country. We have always been used for political gain and this is happening again.’ Unlike Chhaya, Deep Sarkar blames the fundamentalist parties and says that these people have started taking advantage of the chaos. He says that the army is responsible for the chaotic situation, they have handed over the country to the rebels at a critical time.
Fake news also became a challenge, it added fuel to the fire
Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council says that since the fall of Hasina government, 205 attacks have taken place on minorities in 52 districts. The council said in an open letter that there is deep fear, anxiety and uncertainty among the minorities. To escape the violence, thousands of Bangladeshis have also tried to flee to neighboring India. Amidst all this, fake news has also been increasing the difficulties. ABC’s report says that after Hasina fled from Bangladesh, many such news of attacks on Hindu minorities were run, especially in Hindi media, which were later found to be misleading or wrong. The report says that many such claims were made from Indian social media accounts, which were going to make things worse. One such news was about the house of Bangladesh’s Hindu cricketer Liton Das being set on fire. Later it was found that the burnt house belongs to former Bangladesh cricket team captain Mashrafe Mortaza, who is also associated with Awami League.
Another viral post said that the Navagraha temple in Chittagong, Bangladesh was vandalised and set on fire. BBC Verified found that the Awami League office behind the temple was targeted. Temple official Swapan Das confirmed to BBC that chairs and tables in the party office behind the temple were set on fire on August 5.
Participation of Hindus in Awami League is also a reason for anger!
Political analyst Zahid Rahman said the attacks were politically motivated and not religious. Traditionally, Hindus have been voters and supporters of Hasina’s party. He told ABC, ‘Although the percentage of Hindus in the country is 8 percent, they have a good influence in politics and especially their representation in the Awami League is quite high. On this basis also they must have faced attacks. Rahman said that there have been incidents of attacks on Hindus but I do not believe that the secular nature of the country has changed. I hope things will get better soon.’
Hindu politician Suman Kumar Roy says that Bangladesh is burning, we cannot tolerate it anymore. Our community is not safe under any government at present. One party thinks that we support the Awami League, so it is justified to torture and loot us. On the other hand, if the Awami League fails, they feel that Hindus did not support them and they also target us. Roy has also sought help from the Indian government. He said that if our rights are not protected in the interim government, then we demand from India that it should open the border. We do not want to live in this country.
‘A large number of Muslims also came forward to protect us’
Many people in the Hindu community also believe that many Bangladeshis, especially students, did a lot to protect them. Deep Sarkar says, ‘There are a large number of Muslims across the country who have come forward to support us. Muslims have come out on the streets to protect temples. Muslim students are uniting to protect their neighbors and temples. Adri Das, a Hindu student living in Dhaka, says, ‘Common people and students played a big role in countering these attackers. Muslims protected our temples by staying awake at night in many parts of the country. They went ahead only for humanity and for this we are grateful to all such people.’
Muslim student SK Labib is one of those students who are working for the safety of minorities. Labib, who participated in the protest, says, ‘My friends and I are guarding the houses at night. We have formed 10 teams which patrol the streets throughout the night. All are connected with each other and if any trouble is detected, everyone reaches there and handles the situation. Hindu students are also included in this, who keep giving information about their areas.’ He says that the army and police are not helping, so we have to take up this responsibility.
Bahauddin Swapan’s son was killed in the violence that broke out during reservation protests last month. He is angry with everyone and does not trust any party. He said, ‘Awami League, Bangladesh Nationalist Party or Jamaat. All of them are just playing the blame game. Some people in the Awami League want to show how the country has become turbulent without Sheikh Hasina. People in the BNP and Jamaat are happy with this violence because they can promote division. We do not want any of these old parties. They only care about money. Now we want a new party.