On Monday, 12th August, around 57 Indian authors, columnists, researchers, and scientists raised their voices against the atrocities being faced by the Hindu community in Bangladesh amid the political crisis. In an open letter to the Indian Parliament, they stated that the Hindu community in Bangladesh is in the minority and that they need to be protected from the Islamists who have been launching deliberate attacks on the community after the country’s PM Sheikh Hasina resigned from the post.
Indicating that the Hindus were facing genocide in Bangladesh at the hands of Islamists, an official statement released by the authors read, “Recent incidents have brought global attention to a renewed and alarming pattern of targeted violence against Hindus in the region. The current developments in Bangladesh have destabilized the situation, resulting in increased attacks on minority communities.”
Open Letter by Indian Hindu Authors and Academicians voicing concerns about the ongoing Hindu genocide in Bangladesh. They include @authoramish, @ashwinsanghi, @jsaideepak, @ARanganathan72, @harshmadhusudan, @RMantri, @HindolSengupta, @smitabarooah, @RatanSharda55 and others. pic.twitter.com/2V60GQZOGz
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) August 12, 2024
The statement added that the Hindu community in Bangladesh has always been facing attacks and atrocities at the hands of Islamists and these attacks intensify during periods of political instability. “Since 1971, when the Pakistani regime murdered 2.5 million Hindus before the formation of Bangladesh, there has been an ongoing and systematic pogrom against Hindus,” the note added.
As per the reports, there have been over 3,600 attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh since 2013. A Bangladeshi human rights organization identified as Deutsche Welle discovered that over the last 10-12 years, Hindus have been targeted with vandalism and arson, destroying nearly 550 homes and 440 businesses. Over 1,670 incidences of vandalism and arson attacks on Hindu temples, idols, and places of worship were documented during the same time period.
“In recent days we have observed deeply troubling events, including the burning of an ISKCON center in Meherpur, the vandalism of multiple Hindu temples across the country, and the dissemination of videos showing rioters celebrating the lynching of Hindus,” open letters by Hindu authors added.
These further moved to urge the Parliament to pass a unanimous resolution recognizing the ongoing violence against Hindus in Bangladesh and condemning this wave of communal violence. They also asked the Indian Parliament to collaborate with international bodies, such as the United Nations, to press the Bangladeshi authorities to take concrete steps to protect their Hindu minority and hold the perpetrators accountable.
“We, the undersigned, urge the Indian Parliament to also advocate for the provision of humanitarian assistance and asylum options for Hindus fleeing persecution in Bangladesh,” the open letter added.
The authors and academicians who have signed the letter include Dr AK Singh, Abhishek Banerjee, Ashwin Sanghi, Dr. Amit Thadhani, Dr Ratan Sharda, Hindol Sengupta, Rajeev Mantri, Smita Barooah, Dr Vikram Sampath, Pankaj Saxena, Srinidhi Balasubramanian, and more.
Hindus in Bangladesh are facing constant attacks at the hands of Islamists after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government in the country. Islamists have left no stone unturned to target Hindu homes, businesses, and temples. Several similar incidents have been reported by OpIndia exposing the pain that the Hindus in the country are forced to suffer.
On 9th August, a video emerged on social media showing the pain of a Hindu identified as Bimal Chandra Dey who recorded the arson attack at his automobile shop. As per the video, Dey owned a bike shop named ‘City Bike Centre’ in Comilla, Bangladesh which was set ablaze by Islamists amid the ongoing political crisis in Bangladesh.
“Has anyone seen that your dreams have been shattered in front of your eyes? I am seeing that. I am seeing how my future is being destroyed. My workplace is burned. I worked yesterday here, in my shop and now it has been destroyed,” Dey could be heard saying in the video.
Heartwrenching. Bangladesh based Bike Showroom owner Minority Hindu Bimal Chandra Dey records this heartbreaking video after an Islamist mob set ablaze his ‘City Bike Centre’ in Comilla of Bangladesh.
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) August 9, 2024
Dreams shattered. Life comes to a stand still. This is how Hindus suffer. pic.twitter.com/4vY6sFtXxc
On 9th August, a video went viral on social media in which a woman could be heard saying, “They came and looted our house. They took away our money, gold, and whatever valuable that was left with us. They also abducted my 14-year-old boy. I don’t even know their identity. They vandalized our house and took everything away. They also beat us severely.” The woman could be seen continuously crying in the video.
This evening, Islamists attacked Palash Ghosh's house in Jessore . They vandalised and looted money and other valuable things. They forcefully take signatures on blank stamp paper & also abducted his son Piyas Sarkar(12).#SaveBangladesiHindus #AllEyesOnBangladeshiHindus pic.twitter.com/hzEaNTQb7K
— Voice Of Bangladeshi Hindus 🇧🇩 (@hindu8789) August 8, 2024
In another Facebook video, one Hindu woman narrated how her family was targeted overnight by Islamist mobs. She stated that her 15-year-old brother was assaulted at knifepoint. They also stole Tk 3 lakh from the family.
“Look how they have vandalized our houses…Is this the work of a human? They are claiming that this is an independent country now. See what they have done to my underage brother,” she narrated the ordeal.
“It’s a curse to be a Sanatani in Bangladesh. I, as a student, am asking why my house is being targeted,” the Hindu woman continued. She pointed out that 3-4 other Hindu houses were attacked similarly.
“Who will give us justice? Who is there to protect us Hindus? Today, they are attacking me. Tomorrow, they will attack you. If we do not stand up to it now, then, we will not be able to survive tomorrow.”
On 7th August, a video showed Islamists breaking new benchmarks for savagery and hatred towards Hindus. In the video, Islamists could be seen encircling a dead victim lying on the ground. There was a pool of blood beneath the deceased man’s broken head, and his hands were bound in handcuffs. Many men were gathered around him. With the aid of a stick, one man, whose face cannot be seen in the video, strips the deceased person naked and checks the victim’s private part for circumcision. Shouting ‘Hindu, Hindu’ over the corpse, the crowd hovering over the dead body laughs, realizing that the man is a Hindu because he is not circumcised.
On 5th August, it came to light that Jihadis attacked Hindus’ houses, shops, and temples in Bangladesh in the guise of protests against the Sheikh Hasina government. Despite the resignation by Hasina from the Prime Minister’s post, the protests continued and so did the attack on Hindus. Minister of External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar has also expressed concerns over attacks on Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh. Earlier, OpIndia reported about the list of 54 attacks released by the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and attacks reported by The Daily Star, a Bangladeshi newspaper. Several videos and photos of attacks on Hindus surfaced on social media.
As the day passed by, more details of the attacks with photos and videos surfaced. Apart from the 54 attacks reported earlier, by today, OpIndia has detailed several more incidents of targeted violence against Hindus in Bangladesh after the coup against Sheikh Hasina. Details of Islamist attacks against minority Hindus in Bangladesh can be read here.
