New Delhi: The Centre for Democracy, Pluralism, and Human Rights (CDPHR) hosted a press conference at the Press Club of India, addressing the dire state of minorities in Bangladesh. Titled “Bangladesh Minorities Under Siege: A Wake-Up Call for the International Community,” the event shed light on the unchecked ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh following the illegal ouster of Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024.
The CDPHR’s ground report revealed staggering statistics of violence: within four days of Hasina’s resignation, 190 cases of looting, 32 homes burned, 16 temples desecrated, and two rapes were reported. By August 20, 2,010 incidents of violence against Hindus, including the desecration of 69 temples and attacks on 157 families, had been recorded by human rights organisations. Despite hopes pinned on Md. Yunus’s Interim Government, sworn in on August 8, the atrocities against minorities intensified.
Ethnic Cleansing Ignored by the World
The speakers emphasised the silence of the global majority on the ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh, calling it a “civilizational tragedy.” Dr. Prerna Malhotra, President of CDPHR, called for international intervention, stating, “The global majority remains silent on the persecution of Bangladeshi Hindus, who have now been reduced to a global minority.”
She further highlighted how state-backed violence has normalized genocidal slogans such as “Catch every Hindu, slaughter them” and recounted chilling incidents like the attack on a Hindu woman by 35 masked radicals and the lynching of a Hindu journalist in Mymensingh. “These atrocities are not isolated events but part of an orchestrated campaign to erase a community,” she said, urging governments worldwide to break their silence and act decisively.
The Security Implications for Bharat
Historian Prof Kapil Kumar warned of the geopolitical implications for India with the rise of radicalism in Bangladesh: “The atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh are a human rights crisis and a threat to Bharat’s security. From 1946’s Direct Action Day to now, ethnic cleansing persists. It’s time to show the world our resolve, as we did in 1971.”
A Call for Global Action
The CDPHR’s report paints a grim picture of the institutionalized persecution of Hindu minorities and political dissenters in Bangladesh. The speakers urged the international community to recognize the ethnic cleansing of Hindus as a crime against humanity and demanded immediate action to safeguard their lives and rights.
Dr. Prerna Malhotra’s concluding remarks underscored the need for collective global responsibility, stressing that silence is complicity in the face of genocide.
