Amid reports of Islamist onslaught on Hindus in Bangladesh, the Editor of the popular English daily ‘Dhaka Tribune‘ attempted to whitewash the atrocities committed against the minority community.
In a vicious article published on Friday (23rd August) and titled ’10 things India needs to know about Bangladesh’, Zafar Sobhan rationalised attacks on Hindus as an aftermath of anarchy and lawlessness in the country.
At the very onset, the propaganda artist claimed, “Hindus are not in danger. Yes, in the initial chaos following Sheikh Hasina’s fleeing, there was a short period of anarchy and lawlessness, and, yes, unfortunately, some of those who were targeted were members of the Hindu community.”
Almost immediately, the Editor of the Dhaka Tribune laid the foundation to justify the targeted attacks as ‘regular events’ in the context of the Indian subcontinent.
Zafar Sobhan wrote, “At times like this, those targeted are often the most powerless and as we all know in south Asia, minorities sadly always remain vulnerable.”
As typical of those whitewashing atrocities on Bangladeshi Hindus, the Editor of the Dhaka Tribune was quick to dismiss violence orchestrated by violent Muslim mobs as the aftermath of political targeting.
Editor of Dhaka Tribune negated religious motivation behind attack on Hindus.
“But the notion that Hindus were the subject of some kind of pogrom and that their targeting and dispossession was in fact an integral prong of the revolution is a fiction,” Zafar shrewdly negated the religious motivation behind the attacks on Hindus.
A similar strategy was previously used by the UK’s national broadcaster BBC, which relied on selective ‘fact-checking’, false equivalence and cherry-picking to downplay attacks on the Hindu community.
Zafar was seen siding with the perpetrators and peddling the misleading narrative of Muslims ‘protecting’ temples from being attacked without specifying the religious affiliation of those endangering the Hindu religious sites.
Temple protectors have religion but attackers don’t
This was the same playbook that was earlier employed by Mohammed Zubair of Alt News.
“Things have already calmed down considerably and as important as the reports of minorities under attack were, the accounts of Muslims and Hindus teaming up to protect temples and minority neighbourhoods were far more typical, widespread, and noteworthy,” the propaganda artist claimed.
It’s indeed an interesting case where alleged protectors of temples are identified with the religion but not the attackers.
Zafar Sobhan makes dubious comparisons between India and Bangladesh
To further nullify legitimate concerns among Indians about the religious persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh, the editor of the ‘Dhaka Tribune’ claimed that minorities were safer in Bangladesh as compared to India.
“Things are far from perfect in Bangladesh when it comes to minority rights, but minorities in Bangladesh are much safer and more secure than in, say, India, just to pick a random country by way of comparison,” he brazened out.
Zafar Sobhan was unable to explain how the ‘minority’ Muslim population in India surged from 9.84% in 1947 to 14.09% in 2011 despite supposed ‘lack of safety’ while the Hindu population in Bangladesh has been on a serious decline.
Lies of Bangladeshi ‘journalist’ find takers in Indian media
The anti-Hindu propaganda peddled by Zafar was reproduced by the Indian leftist news portal, Scroll, which itself has a rich history of downplaying Hinduphobia.
View from Dhaka Tribune: 10 things about a Bangladesh in transition that Indians should know https://t.co/2absAMZphH
— Scroll.in (@scroll_in) August 23, 2024
Veteran ‘journalist’ Shekhar Gupta, who runs The Print, also amplified the lies of the Editor of ‘Dhaka Tribune.’
'Hindus are not in danger in Bangladesh. Minorities are safer there than in India'@ZafarSobhan, editor, Dhaka Tribune, lists his 10 points he wants India to keep in mind https://t.co/aeOXsjtggQ
— Shekhar Gupta (@ShekharGupta) August 25, 2024
Zafar Sobhan belongs to the family of the man who masterminded the Great Calcutta Killings
Zafar Sobhan is the son of late Bangladeshi activist and barrister Salma Sobhan, who in turn is related to the ‘Butcher of Bengal‘ Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy.
On August 16, 1946, Kolkata witnessed one of the most violent episodes in its history – Direct Action Day. It was carried out at the behest of Muslim League leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Muslim mobs orchestrated massive violence against Hindus on the directives of the then Bengal’s Chief Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy.
Suhrawardy delivered provocative speeches to large Muslim crowds and encouraged them to attack Hindus. He promised them that the police and army would not stop their carnage.
He also manipulated the police force and ensured that they did not respond to calls for help from Hindus. The political and legal immunity granted to Muslim mobs allowed them to carry out widespread killings, looting, rapes, and displace lakhs of Hindus.
Suhrawardy’s primary aim was to intimidate Hindus into submission and ensure Bengal’s inclusion in the proposed Muslim-majority Pakistan. Encouraged by the success of Direct Action Day, radical Muslims went on to carry out anti-Hindu pogroms such as the Noakhali riots.
