Amid the Hindu genocide in Bangladesh, social media platform Twitter deleted the accounts of ISKCON Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Hindu Unity Council on Tuesday (October 19).
“Twitter needs to explain why have they shut down @IskconBDH and @unitycouncilBD amidst the brutal attacks. Is this pressure from #Bangladesh government or @Twitter? Why are Hindu voices are being silenced in the midst of an emergency” said Yudhistir Govinda Das, Director of Communications for ISKCON.
Both the accounts did not post even one unverified report about the attacks on temples, Durga pooja pandals and Hindu houses.
The attacks on Hindus by Islamists in Bangladesh started on Wednesday (October 13) last week when the Hindus were celebrating the Navratri festival.
Muslim mobs attacked and vandalized multiple pooja pandals. The excuse they used for targeting Hindus was that a copy of the Quran was desecrated in the Durga pooja pandal of Qoumillah. It was fake news.
More than 22 temples were vandalized in 22 districts of Bangladesh. On Friday (October 15) last week, when Hindus were celebrating Dussehra, a Muslim mob of more than 300 people attacked the ISKCON temple in Noakhali.
Not just the Islamists vandalized the temple, they killed three devotes too. Seven people have lost their lives, and thousands have been injured.
On October 15, a mob of more than 15000 Muslims gathered in Dhaka, raising slogans against the Hindus. They also threatened they would teach Hindus a ‘good’ lesson.
On Sunday (October 17), ISKCON issued a statement asking the Bangladesh government to provide security to Hindus in Bangladesh.
It said, “ISKCON calls upon the Bangladesh government to take swift action to bring an end to the violence against minorities that has undermined the peace and well-being of Bangladeshi society and to take tangible steps to ensure the long-term safety and well-being of all Bangladeshi citizens.”
The ISKCON has organized a Global Kirtan Protest on Saturday (October 23).
The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) has organized a nationwide protest today (October 20) to press the Bangladesh government to take swift action to protect Hindus.
It also demanded that the UN should send the Peace Keeping Force to Bangladesh.
“The atrocities being committed by the radical Islamic Jihadists and fundamentalists on Hindus can only be compared with the brutality of the Nazis. There is no sign of a stop to the sequence of brutal atrocities against Hindus. Now the UNO should take the initiative in this matter and send its Peace Keeping Force to Bangladesh without any delay for the protection of the badly afflicted minority native Hindus there”, Dr Surendra Jain, Joint General Secretary of the VHP, said.
Accusing the Bangladesh government of being a mute spectator, Dr. Jain added, “Instead of controlling the radical Jihadis, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh is advising the Government of Bharat that it should not allow any such incident to happen in Bharat/India that would inflame the Muslims in Bangladesh. After this statement of Sheikh Hasina, Muslim fundamentalists became more frenzied and the brutal atrocities on Hindus increased. The cycle of atrocities shows no sign of stopping yet.”
The Hindu population in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) was 22% in 1951; from 18% in 1971 at the time of the creation of Bangladesh, it has now come down to just 7%.
