Jamil Ahmed It has been seen in the politics of the last four decades. After the Awami League was defeated in the elections or after being ousted from power. Allegations of torture against minorities, especially Hindus, came to the fore.
Political observers and leaders of various Hindu organizations say the first large-scale attack on Hindus in Bangladesh took place in 1992, during the demolition of the ‘Babri mosque’ in India. At that time, the BNP government was in power under the leadership of ‘Khaleda Zia’. Then large-scale attacks on Hindus took place Awami League was defeated in the 2001 elections.
After BNP won the election, Hindus were attacked in several districts of the country. However, the caretaker government led by Justice ‘Latifur Rahman’ was in power at that time.
From the day the election results were announced to the BNP coming to power, there were attacks on Hindus at various places. Besides, several incidents happened even after BNP assumed power. Behind these allegations were raised against many people involved in BNP politics. The latest allegations of attacks on minorities came after ‘Sheikh Hasina’ resigned on August 5 and fled to India. However, many of the pictures of the incidents that are circulating on social media are fake. But it is not that the attack didn’t happen.
How many attacks have there been?
‘Jatiya Hindu Mahazot’, an organization of Hindus, claimed through a statistic that after the fall of ‘Sheikh Hasina’, there were 278 attacks in 48 districts. On the other hand, another organization called ‘Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad’ claims that at least 205 incidents of minority torture have occurred in 52 districts.
Home Advisor said: Maximum steps have been taken for the security of minorities. According to the information of ‘Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad,’ 1 thousand 45 cases of communal violence-persecution-persecution occurred in one year from July 2023 to June 2024 across the country. 45 people from religious and ethnic minority communities have been killed in these incidents.
An organization called ‘Minority Rights Movement’ has demanded the formation of a ‘Minority Commission’ to investigate the attacks on houses and places of worship of the Hindu community in different parts of the country. However, it has not been possible to verify the truth of the claims made by these organizations. However, in all these cases, attacks have occurred due to religious identity, and how many attacks have been carried out on people close to the government as a part of anger, it has not been possible to verify impartially.
A number of social media posts have been scrutinized, showing that after the fall of ‘Sheikh Hasina’s government in Bangladesh, attacks on minorities have taken place, as have rumors of attacks.
Why the fear of Hindus ?
Although there is a debate about the number of attacks that took place after Sheikh Hasina’s fall and escape, the atmosphere of fear and terror that Hindus are living in can be seen in various places.
‘Rana Dasgupta’ feels that a culture of impunity has been created in Bangladesh for attacks on Hindus. Those involved in these attacks have never been prosecuted in the past. As a result it cannot be stopped.
Professor ‘Mushtaq Khan’ of the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London said that the Awami League and India benefited the most politically from attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh.
Land is a big issue
Two non-governmental research organizations in Bangladesh said in a report that 70 percent of the violence against religious minorities in the country is land-based. And this violence manifests itself through the destruction of minority property or religious places of worship.
Bangladesh Peace Observatory (BPO) of Center for Alternatives (CA) has provided these data in June by analyzing various types of violence against minorities from 2013 to 2022. Most of the violence against minorities has been against Hindus. Many common Hindus also think so.
Political calculations
Professor Mushtaq Khan of the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London said that there are two reasons why the issue of Hindus is sensitive in the politics of Bangladesh. First of all, the communal issue is very strong in Bangladesh’s neighboring country India. Muslims are being subjected to various atrocities there. As a result, its impact is also falling in Bangladesh.
Secondly, Awami League was in power continuously for the last 15 and a half years in Bangladesh. They wanted to show that they were in favor of secularism and that the Islamic forces wanted to overthrow them.
When the Awami League was ousted or defeated in the elections, BNP definitely came forward in the political arena. There is no doubt that the attacks on Hindus put BNP in a negative position in the eyes of India.
BNP is quite active in the political field even though the interim government led by ‘Professor Yunus’ took power after Sheikh Hasina fled. BNP has always been blamed for attacks on Hindus, this time was no exception. BNP National Standing Committee member ‘Salahuddin Ahmed said, Awami League always brings the minority issue to the fore to make BNP politically uncomfortable.
General Secretary of Bangladesh Hindu Mahazot ‘Govinda Pramanik’ said: « Since Hindus support Awami League a little, Awami League is spreading a fear that because we are there, you are also there, if we are not, you will not be there. »
We want a harmonious Bangladesh, a non-communal Bangladesh, where there will be no differences, no discrimination, everyone will have equal rights. everyone will build a golden Bangladesh with happiness and peace.
Finally, in the words of the poet Nazrul: « The song of equality, there is nothing greater than people, nothing noble.«
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