For Bangladeshi Hindu rights activist Joyonto Kumar Karmuker, it is a prolonged nightmare ever since former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country she governed for 20 long years on August 5 in a Army Helicopter. Karmuker has painstakingly written about the plight of Hindus in Bangladesh even during Hasina’s time. But the days between Hasina’s exit and the swearing-in of the interim Government headed by Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus has been nothing like anything he has ever seen before.
“I have shared videos and pictures of the 2021 anti-Hindu attacks across Bangladesh during Durga Puja. The attacks took place after a fake news was circulated that a copy of the Quran was placed at the feet of Hanuman ji. Though the incident happened in the Cumila District, the violence against Hindus spread across the country. Lives were lost, property looted and Puja mandaps and houses of Hindus were set on fire. Many Hindus in India and Bangladesh had asked then, ‘why are Hindus being attacked when Sheikh Hasina is in power?’ but this time it was such a nightmare for Hindus in Bangladesh that global media was forced to take notice,” says Karmuker.
Hindu Plight, Global Media and rising anti-India Sentiment
In a report headlined, “Hindus in Bangladesh Face Attacks After Prime Minister’s Exit” published on August 7 by The New York Times, it was said, “Hindus in Bangladesh, perceived by many to be supporters of the Prime Minister who was ousted in a popular uprising, braced for violent reprisals on Wednesday as the rudderless country awaited the formation of a new government after a month of unrest.
The former Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, fled Bangladesh on Monday after a violent crackdown failed to quell a nationwide movement against her Government. As thousands of protesters celebrated her ouster that afternoon, reports began to emerge of retaliation against members of Ms. Hasina’s party, the Awami League, and against those seen as her allies, including the Hindu minority.
In addition to the party’s offices and the homes of its members, the rioters targeted Hindus, torching their homes and vandalising temples, according to witnesses and local media. Fears of more attacks were amplified in the absence of a Government and with law enforcement retreating from sight in many parts of the country.”
Author and journalist Deep Halder whose book Being Hindu in Bangladesh released last year said to Organiser, “It is important that the global media took notice of the persecution that the Hindu minority in Bangladesh faced after the fall of India. Though the persecution is not new in the country, Hindus in Bnagladesh suffered last week both for being Hindu and been perceived as voters and supporters of Hasina. What their future holds in a country where Islamic terror was kept in check by Sheikh Hasina remains a worry.” Halder also said that there is a prevalent anti-India sentiment in Bangladesh society, especially among the youths that may turn against Hindus
staying in Bangladesh.
The anti-India sentiment was seen recently during the “Boycott India Movement” that started in Bangladesh soon after Hasina came back to power after the national election results this year on January 7. Bangladeshi social media influencers took to Facebook, Instagram and X to tell citizens to boycott FMCG products from India. One prominent social media influencer Pinaki Bhattarcharya even warned Bangladesh actors and actress to not work in Indian cinema. Even after the cricket World Cup 2023 final, videos of Bangladeshi fans celebrating India’s defeat went viral, some of the fans were heard saying they would not have been so happy even if the Bangladesh team has won the World Cup.
What Next for Bangladeshi Hindus?
Niloy Kumar Biswas, 26, former student of Dhaka University, said that he felt relatively safe in Dhaka but he is worried for his family in the village. “Last week, there were attacks on Hindus across Bangladesh, I am worried for my family. In the city, I have friends and well-wishers but I could not sleep at night thinking what will happen to my family if rioters came in.”
Biswas said his Muslim friends stood by him in these difficult times. He spoke of reports where people from Madarsas came out to protect Hindu temples and form human chains.
However, a Hindu student from Chittagong who did not wish to be named fearing security threats, told Organiser that some Hindus are being forced to report to the foreign media that Muslims are helping Hindus in distress. “There might be one or two incidents where this has happened but the attacks on Hindus far exceeded the help that came their way. If students from Madarsas came out to help Hindus and their temples, who exactly attacked them in the first place? Global Media should not fall for such cheap PR exercise,” she said
As gruesome pictures and videos of Hindus being attacked, killed, looted and the places of worship being burnt down continue to come in, the question remains, will everything return to normalcy given the fact that Mohd Yunus recently visited Dhakeshwari temple in Dhaka?
The Bangladesh court had barred Bangladesh’s Jammat-e-Islami from participating in the General Elections this year. Before her Government fell, Hasina had also banned Jammat in Bangladesh. But now that she is no longer, in charge of Bangladeshi affairs, Jamaat is back as a strong force in the country.
Sources in Bangladesh said that in the new Cabinet, Brigadier General M Sakhawat Hossain, AFM Khalid Hasan and Farooqui Azam have strong Jamaat links. Late last year, the Jamaat had publicly said that it doesn’t want man-made laws in the country anymore. It said, it wants Bangladesh to be governed by Sharia Law. What would be the fate of a Bangladeshi Hindu under Sharia Law?
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