In the initial days after Yunus Government was formed, the excuse that was given when Hindus were being indiscriminately targeted was that they were attacked not for their faith but for their affiliation to Awami League, and that the attacks were not religious but political in nature. In the last month that veil or window dressing is no longer being used. It has now become brazen. From systemic impoverishment by forcing Hindu minorities to relinquish from their jobs, to boycotting of Hindu business establishment, from abduction and molestation of Hindu women, to violent attacks on Hindu localities, from false cases of murder and conspiracy, to public humiliation and beatings, all have been happening with endorsements and support from the establishment, which today is in the hands of those heavily influenced by radical religious extremism. It is no more a situation where some fringe elements are targeting the helpless and hapless minorities of Bangladesh. It is no more a situation where there is expectation that the law enforcement agencies would come to salvage the situation and secure the minorities. Today, the fringe has become establishment and the law enforcement agencies, if at all they exist, are their foot soldiers to execute the remaining task of entirely subjugating the dwindling population of religious minorities, especially Hindus.
Persecution of Hindus
Targeting Hindus, stripping them off their land and other properties are nothing new in Bangladesh. The Vested Property Act of 1974, which replaced the Enemies Property Act, literally legitimised the grabbing of land of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh. Even during the rule of Awami League, minorities may have faced persecution but they never got eradicated entirely. Grabbing land of minorities continued unabated even then. For decades, minorities of Bangladesh, especially Hindus and Buddhists, in the face of relentless torture, assault, humiliation and loot, either left Bangladesh for elsewhere, mostly to India, or converted to Islam to save the honour of their families. Or simply continued to silently live a life of perpetual torment, knowing well there was not an iota of possibility of justice. Many lost their lives too. It is not for nothing that the Hindu population got reduced to a mere seven to eight per cent now, from a level of around 22 per cent even in 1971. Desecration of temples too, much like living a life of humiliation, has been a norm rather than an exception for Hindus in Bangladesh.
A Rallying Figure
Yet, the attacks on Hindus since August this year has been so overwhelming, that the minorities of Bangladesh who never got united and came out on to the streets to fight for their rights, found a pied piper in the form of Chinmoy Krishna Das . The monk from ISKCON, for the first time, in many years, galvanised the persecuted minorities, and made them come on the road to protest for their rights. Responding to his call, lakhs of Hindus and Buddhists, poured on the streets to seek nothing more than mere laws to protect the helpless minorities from the hands of radical religious extremists. In return not only did they get brickbats, lathi charge and more attacks, but Chinmaya Prabhu was arrested and put into jail on charges of sedition. The Islamists now want ISKCON to be designated as a ‘terrorist’ organisation. Their real problem is the role being played by ISKCON to organise minorities. This has sent jitters among those who don’t even consider Bangladeshi religious minorities as citizens.
Drawing False Equivalence with Bharat
The sad reality is how a false equivalence is being drawn with India, fuelled by some politicians in India itself, which is giving more impetus to Bangladesh to continue with what they are doing with minorities there. In contrast to the contention by the likes of Mehbooba Mufti trying to equate the condition of minorities in India with that of Bangladesh, it is important to remember that in India, what happened to Kashmiri Pandits, or the burning of the Sabarmati Express in Gujarat, or the innumerable terror attacks across India, in most cases, the victims have been the majority community and the perpetrators were from a minority community.
Also, it is pertinent to note that, unlike in Bangladesh, every State of India and the Union Government has dedicated Ministries for minority welfare, and with annual budgets that run into thousands of crores. No minority in India has ever been persecuted or stripped off his properties through something as heinous as Vested Property Act. On the contrary, it is the Hindus who have often been at the receiving end of overreach and sweeping powers given to the Waqf Board.
No Lawyer Dares to Represent Chinmoy Krishna Das
The situation is so grim in Bangladesh today that whoever standing up to become counsel of Chinmoy Krishna Das in court to file the bail application is being brutally beaten up. There are videos circulating in social media of lawyers’ associations giving open threats that anyone standing up for the sanyasi would be dealt with by an irate mob. If this is the condition of a monk having long standing affiliation with ISKCON, one wonders what actually is the condition of the hapless and impoverished Hindu population of Bangladesh, who are mostly Dalits, and have no one to fight for them. Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Government has been trying to create a false sense of normalcy to window dress the grim reality.
Was Deep State Creating Chaos?
During his US visit in September this year, Md. Yunus, while addressing at the Clinton Global Initiative, introduced Mahfuz Alam as his Special Assistant, and mentioned how the protests against Hasina Government was ‘a meticulously designed thing’, and that ‘it’s not just suddenly came’. Reports indicate Mahfuz Alam has links with Hizb ut Tahrir, an extremist organisation.
If the statement of Md. Yunus is to be believed, it becomes pretty clear that the Arab Spring type of protests in Bangladesh, followed by paradropping of Clinton protégé Md. Yunus as Chief of the interim Government had little to do with making Bangladesh a better nation, and making it surpass its previous economic records. As things stand today, it seems amply clear that the real motive behind the game of regime change was to ensure that Bangladesh plunges into bigger chaos where radical extremist elements would be given a free hand to commit atrocities on minorities, spew venom against India, and provoke India to such an extent that India would be compelled to react. This would potentially plunge India into a perpetual conflict-like situation on its eastern borders, resulting in its economy taking a hit, and thereby making Bangladesh as India’s Ukraine. To that extent India has shown considerable maturity in not falling into the trap, because any conflict like situation would invariably be capitalised by the likes of China and Pakistan to create multiple crises for India.
There is also no confusion any more than those who wanted a regime change in India, and wanted a more pliable Government in New Delhi, in place of PM Modi, having failed in that mission, in spite of major efforts, they now wanted to create a permanent headache on India’s eastern side. One can even witness a major connection between what happened in Bangladesh and what is happening in Manipur. The radio silence of global human rights organisations, UN and even the Biden administration on the plight of the Bangladeshi Hindus is further proof of their alleged complicity. They also knew that if India restrains itself and does not resort to any kinetic response, it would only make the Modi Government more unpopular among his core voters. In essence, they wanted to create a catch-22 situation for the Modi Government.
Can India Remain Silent?
However, on the flip side, if India does not do anything, what are the chances of return of normalcy in relation between India and Bangladesh? What are the chances that Bangladesh would not return to the pre-1971 era, or become a Gaza, and emerge as fertile ground for radical terror outfits to spawn and eventually target India through its 4,000 km of porous border? Did India’s adversaries plan to outsource the perpetual threat of terror to India, from Pakistan to Bangladesh? Already, there are intel warnings being given by British intelligence agencies, of a potential and imminent terror attack in Bangladesh, especially in areas frequented by foreigners.
Further, the kind of commentary that is emanating from Bangladesh, especially from the Bangladeshi clerics, and even their intellectuals, ranging from threats to create Greater Bangladesh, war cries to conquer Delhi after having ousted Hasina from Bangladesh, choking the Chicken Neck Corridor and making Seven Sisters (North Eastern States ) part of Bangladesh, as well as even elite intellectuals discussing possibilities of having nuclear deal with Pakistan and having Pakistani missiles deployed in Bangladesh, is bound to unnerve India, and send alarm bells ringing.
Does India Consider Bangladesh as Adversary?
It must be remembered, India was never an adversary of Bangladesh, especially given the number of Indians who lost their lives while helping Bangladesh gain its independence. And most of the time, people in India hardly even bother about Bangladesh, leave alone thinking of dominating that country. Most Indians would have loved to witness Bangladesh become part of the Asian growth story and many often used to take the economic rise of Bangladesh as an example that even Pakistan should emulate. Even after what happened on August 5, no one would have given much importance to what was happening there, had Bangladesh focused on developing its economy.
Even on the Bangladesh-China relationship, India never put any lid. Bangladesh even acquired Chinese submarines for its navy. In fact, India would have been happy to witness Bangladesh emerging as another UAE or a Kuwait in terms of an economic wonder.
Bonhomie With Pakistan
However, talks of proximity between Bangladesh and Pakistan certainly is sending jitters in India. It is all too well known what an impoverished and bankrupt Pakistan can offer to Bangladesh, except for men, money and material for surveillance and covert operations against India. If Bangladesh takes that path, and apparently it seems that hardlines are pushing Bangladesh in that direction, it would be difficult for India to remain silent. The only thing that India expects from Bangladesh is to not allow her soil to be used against India’s strategic and security interests, given the sordid history of Bangladesh becoming a safe haven for North Eastern insurgent groups or what was done by Pakistan from there in the pre-1971 era.
Is Bangladesh Fundamentally Changing?
During the independence movement of Bangladesh in 1971, there were an estimated 30% of the population which still wanted it to remain part of Pakistan, while around 70% wanted the formation of a secular moderate state of Bangladesh. However, in the last fifty years, systematic penetration of fundamentalist ideologies, aided by funds from West Asia, and organised indoctrination with anti-India literature has taken that figure of 30 per cent pro-Pakistani population to almost around 50 per cent now.
If things continue as it is, it may soon reach around 70 to 80 per cent. Its cascading impact on West Bengal, Bihar and North East is inevitable. Further, when Yunus Government took over the mantle, it released Jashimuddin Rahmani, the head of Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), an Al Qaeda affiliated terror outfit, infamous for plotting terror attacks on India. That is an indication enough of what backers of Yunus want. Bangladesh also started a liberal visa policy for Pakistanis visiting Bangladesh.
Does India Need Change in its Bangladesh Policy?
Many in India want that India’s basic approach towards Bangladesh, particularly in border management, needs a radical reform. The concept of soft-border policy henceforth would be disastrous. Already, illegal infiltration over the last several decades is having its negative fallout on India.
As things stand today there is considerable public pressure on the Government of India to act. The least they expect is that Citizenship Amendment Act 2.0 be enacted to ensure that those Hindus who want to relocate to India, are allowed to do so. Let them at least live in peace in India instead of a life of perpetual fear of persecution in Bangladesh. India’s concern for Hindu minorities of Bangladesh is not interference in internal affairs of Bangladesh. The Hindus of Bangladesh are victims of a skewed Partition policy and idiosyncrasies of the likes of Jogendra Nath Mandal. What future entails for South Asia, and especially for Indo-Bangladesh relation is difficult to forecast, but Bangladesh which used to be almost like a blind spot for most Indians, has now become an issue of daily discussions. Most, especially those of Bengal, have not forgotten the horrors of Partition and what was done with Bengali Hindus then. They fear that if Bangladesh becomes another Pakistan, their future in Eastern India may not be secure anymore.
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