Is Ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh tolerated by the state?

Hindu Council UK strongly condemns the recent spurt of violence against the minority Hindu population in Bangladesh. The recent escalation of senseless killings is alarming and inhumane. Whilst Bangladesh, has a secular constitution and prides itself on its diversity the fact remains that the Bangladeshi Hindu population has declined from approx 30% to 8% since the partition (1947) and still further in the aftermath of the freedom struggle and liberation of Bangladesh in 1972. This in itself summarises the “continual ethnic cleansing” the Hindu community is subjected to.

Bangladesh’s Hindus have faced a constant onslaught of government tolerated murder, rape, abduction, forced conversion, land grabs, and more. Regrettably, not only are these heinous incidents barely covered by the international media, also, we hardly witness leaders across the globe taking this issue up.

Sneha Roy, Hindu Council UK’s Executive Officer said “Religious violence, of late, has been on the rise in Bangladesh. The brutal and brazen killing of liberal thinkers, bloggers, journalists and minorities has been a cause for concern for some time now. It is time to address the issue. We understand that Bengali Hindu festivals like Poila Boishak (New Year) and Durga Puja are continually being disrupted and there have been unrest and protests in several pockets of the nation. It is only since the latest atrocity – the Café attack in Dhaka in which the terrorists targeted and systematically killed foreign nationals has the world decided to take note of the worsening human rights situation in Bangladesh for non-Muslims. Islamic Extremist declared responsibility but the Bangladesh government denies this; their version is home grown outfits”.

So which is it? Is it foreign extremists or is it “Home grown”? Whichever it is the Bangladesh government is still in denial mode. Speaking to CNN News18 Gowhar Rizvi, Advisor to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, “We live in a secular atmosphere. They are our brothers. The situation is not that bad and our government is committed to safeguarding their interests”.

Gautam Banerji Director of Governance for Hindu Council UK said “Hindu Council UK calls upon the World Governments, international community and Human Rights Agencies to take immediate action with practical solutions to end this brazen act of ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh. We firmly believe that it does not pertain exclusively to the Hindu community. In fact, it concerns the entire human race. The situation will escalate further if Bangladesh does not address issues of human rights violations as a priority. Hindus from all corners of the globe should stand together to form a pressure group to lobby the Bangladesh government to avert such ethnic cleansing of Hindus”.

Hindu Council UK has had reports that within the last 24 hours, a continuation of the communal attack on Rathayatra in Ramganj (Islampur), and a more serious communal disturbance has occurred in the adjacent Chopra Block in the Hindu minority North Dinajpur district. Hindus have been attacked, their houses gutted, properties looted by armed Muslim mobs. A number of Hindus have been shot at and injured. The Nainital Colony has been ransacked and gutted. Hindus have no defence at all there as the Police are totally incapable of controlling the extremists and they do not even try to stop the Muslim rioters in fear of escalation of violence. We understand that the Police and administration is trying their best to suppress the news by putting pressure on local media representatives.

Hindu Council UK remains strongly of the view that the Hindu minority of Bangladesh must be protected and the Bangladesh Government should prevent its territory from being used as a safe haven for terrorists. We request the Bangladesh government to:

1. Ban the Jamat-e-Islami party
2. Provide protection of minorities in Bangladesh as a constitutional right
3. Address human rights violations and provide stringent punitive action
4. Re-build destroyed temples and other historic buildings

Sanjay Jagatia Director/Secretary General of Hindu Council UK said “Hindu Council UK together with Bengali Hindu groups and individuals are working together to raise the issue of ethnic cleansing of Bangladeshi Hindus with the UK Government, Political Parties, Members of Parliament, the All Party Parliamentary Group for Religion & Belief, the High Commission of India & the High Commission of Bangladesh. In addition, we are in constant touch with our sister organisations in USA, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Europe and India to ensure that the Hindu voice is heard globally. We also ask Hindu professional networking bodies to research their industries and organisations to see how and what trade is conducted with Bangladesh and make their organisation bodies aware there are growing concerns with Bangladesh”.

 

Kavita Protima Gupta
Hindu Council UK Executive Representative for Bengali Hindus matters & Secretary of Saraswat Sangha & Member of Bangladeshi Hindu Association UK