Guwahati: On December 10, on the occasion of International Human Rights Day, hundreds of concerned citizens in Guwahati demonstrated against the continued brutal persecution and repression of Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh in front of the office of the Assistant High Commissioner of Bangladesh. The demonstrators, standing under the banner of Lok Jagaran Manch, Assam, also delivered a strongly worded memorandum to the Interim Government of Bangladesh via the Assistant High Commission of Bangladesh in Guwahati.
Both the Bangladeshi government and Islamic fundamentalists were specifically charged with committing atrocities against Hindus and other minorities in the country in the letter sent to Muhammad Yunus, Chief Advisor of the Interim Government of Bangladesh. The predicament of Hindus in Bangladesh deeply troubled the demonstrators.
The statement expressed strong displeasure with Islamic extremists’ attacks, murders, looting, arson, and cruel treatment of women and against Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh. The terrible circumstances faced by religious minorities in Bangladesh were discussed at a protest meeting held at the grounds of Navagraha Kali Mandir in Silpukhuri prior to the submission of the memorandum. Distinguished speakers from a range of disciplines underlined the importance of protecting Bangladeshi Hindus.
In his keynote speech, senior advocate Bijon Mahajan urged action to defend Bangladesh’s persecuted Hindus and other minorities. Using the Nehru-Liaquat Pact as justification, renowned scholar Diganta Biswas Sharma attacked Pakistan and Bangladesh for failing to protect religious minorities. Kailash Sharma, a social activist, called for Muhammad Yunus’ Nobel Peace Prize to be canceled. Other well-known individuals, such as social activists Simantini Barua and Paramesh Dutta, vehemently denounced the government of Bangladesh’s inability to safeguard its Hindu populace.
After that, the demonstrators held a sit-in outside Bangladesh’s Assistant High Commission office, Guwahati. A group from Lok Jagran Manch, Assam, comprising Dhruva Prasad Baishya, Bijon Mahajan, and Diganta Biswas Sharma, met with the official after receiving an invitation from the Assistant High Commissioner. They handed over the memorandum to Muhammad Yunus.
In order to achieve the release of Chinmoy Krishna Das, stop the crimes against Hindus and other minorities, and defend the rights, life, and dignity of all minorities in Bangladesh, the memorandum’s conclusion called for the Bangladeshi government, led by Muhammad Yunus, to act immediately. It also called for a halt to all human rights abuses and the protection of sites of religious worship.
Meanwhile, hundreds of citizens of the Barak valley region of Assam wrote to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, requesting that they release a statement denouncing the purported crimes committed against minorities by the Nobel laureate-led interim government in Bangladesh.
