Dhaka/ New Delhi: After former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to neighboring India on 5 August, social unrest swept across the country. This turmoil led to attacks on some Hindu households and resulted in at least two Hindu fatalities due to mob violence.
The Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Unity Council has reported incidents of vandalism and looting targeting Hindu homes, businesses, and temples across 29 districts. The Daily Prothom Alo has highlighted such attacks in at least 12 districts, with these events being widely shared on social media in India.
Amid violent protests, popular Bangladeshi folk singer Rahul Ananda’s 140-year-old residence in Dhaka, which was also a cultural hub and housed over 3,000 of his instruments, was vandalised, looted and burnt.
The 135-year-old Maharaja Bir Chandra library in Comilla, too, was vandalised and several historic books and documents were burnt. Several social media handles shared pictures of the vandalised property.
In another tragic incident, Bangladeshi actor Shanto Khan and his father Salim Khan were lynched by a mob Monday night.
These incidents of extreme violence have sparked fear among people.
Speaking to ThePrint, Robin Biswas, a Dhaka-based apparel merchandiser said that his ancestral home in the southwestern district of Patuakhali was targeted by vandals. “My relative reported that a group of individuals entered our house, looted money, and stole other valuables,” he said.
Biswas noted that his family has no political ties. “I don’t understand why our home was attacked? According to my relatives, several other homes in the area, both Hindu and Muslim, were also targeted,” he added.
Talking with ThePrint, Rana Dasgupta, General Secretary of Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, said he received a number of calls over the past few days that a lot of Hindu households across the country are in “serious terror” of facing attack from “fundamentalist Muslim forces.”
Gupta also confirmed that, so far, two Hindus have died after the fall of Hasina’s regime, but refuted the notion that only Hindus with a connection to the Awami League were attacked. “No, families with no political connections were also attacked and they called me for help,” he said without giving details of those families.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (BJI) Wednesday said they were aware of attacks on religious minorities, which included vandalism, looting, and arson. The party strongly condemned these actions, asserting that the “ideas of majority and minority are irrelevant” and emphasised “that all citizens have equal rights”.
Student leaders who led the mass protests against former PM Hasina in Bangladesh also urged their supporters to protect Hindu temples and churches.
Gobinda Pramanik, President of the Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance, told ThePrint that, to his knowledge, Hindu households not connected to the Awami League were not attacked, adding that the violence was “politically motivated”.
“These attacks were politically motivated rather than religiously driven, and the way some Indian media are falsely portraying these incidents as attacks on the Hindu community is concerning,” he said.
On Thursday, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) appealed to the Indian government to protect Hindus in violence-ridden Bangladesh amid the ongoing unrest and to prevent “jihadis posing as refugees from entering India.”
Rajesh Jain, Secretary of VHP Madhya Bharat, urged the Indian government to take all necessary steps to safeguard Hindus in Bangladesh, who are facing persecution and whose homes and places of worship are being vandalised. He stressed the importance of ensuring the safety of Hindus, who are particularly vulnerable in the neighbouring country.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has extended his best wishes to Muhammad Yunus, who was sworn in as head of the interim government in Bangladesh, and urged him to ensure the safety and protection of Hindus and all other minority communities who have come under attack.
Infiltration attempts
As the turmoil in Bangladesh continued, attempts to enter India illegally were made at three border outposts in the Border Security Force’s (BSF) North Bengal frontier, which shares a border with Bangladesh.
These border outposts are ‘Shubhendu’ in Siliguri sector, and ‘Mukesh’ and ‘Moria Ghati’ in Kishanganj sector.
The BSF Wednesday dispersed nearly 500 individuals, presumably of Bangladeshi origin, from the border check posts, and stopped them from entering India illegally. The force even had to resort to firing a round in the air to disperse the crowd.
ThePrint reported earlier that India has issued a high alert along the country’s 4,096-kilometre border with strife-torn Bangladesh where the Army took control.
All units of the BSF in the east were asked to intensify patrolling, and more personnel have been deployed in the area to prevent any illegal influx.
Stressing that the government in India must take cognizance of the problem, Pradyot Manikya Deb Barma, the leader of Tipra Motha, said that the Centre must ensure the protection of indigenous people residing in Bangladesh.
Also read: India says ‘closely analysing’ Bangladesh crisis, including possibility of ‘foreign hand’
He also said that the centre should ensure the protection of its own people in India.
“Tribal population in the Northeast is small. When people from Bangladesh come to India and become part of the state, it will lead to large scale demographic changes. In Tripura, the tribal population is 30 percent. This situation will instill fear in the minds of people that they may be reduced to a minority in their own state due to the influx of immigrants. The Centre needs to ensure that we first protect our own people,” he said.
The Ministry of External Affairs Thursday said it is closely monitoring the situation in Bangladesh with respect to the country’s minorities.
Ministry’s spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “This issue was addressed by the EAM in his suo motu statement. We are also monitoring the situation, about the status of the minorities. There are also reports that various initiatives have been taken by groups and organisations to ensure the protection and well-being of minorities.”
‘A threat’
Experts said that the change of guard in Bangladesh may prove to be bad news for India. Sheikh Hasina, an ally to India, worked on controlling terror and radical elements. However, with the release of Begum Khaleda Zia from jail, a possible change of power may not be in India’s interests.
Speaking to ThePrint, Ajay Sahni, Executive Director of the Institute for Conflict Management and South Asia Terrorism Portal, said that while terrorism in Bangladesh was under control during Sheikh Hasina’s regime, radicalisation remained a significant challenge and continued to increase. The Jamaat-e-Islami remained strong, which had not been adequately addressed and could now pose a danger to India.
“Just because the violence was controlled does not mean the potential for violence is less. The potential is enormous,” he said, adding that this will impact not just the northeastern states but the entire nation.
“If a Right-wing Islamist-leaning government comes to power in Bangladesh, it will be a problem for India, and this is not just the Northeast but across the country. The extremist groups would want to create trouble in India to destabilise the nation,” Sahni said.
“West Bengal and the northeast are extremely vulnerable, and it is uncertain how the situation will play out. If the movement falls into the hands of Jamaat, it will be problematic. Protestors rejecting the possibility of Army rule is a prelude to demands for an Islamic government,” he added.
A senior officer also said that with turmoil in Bangladesh, it is expected that radical forces would sneak into India leading to increased criminal activity.
“Besides the role of Jamaat, there could be a resumed push for insurgent outfits like the ULFA as they will get emboldened,” the officer said.
He added that the situation at the borders puts India in a “vulnerable position”
“This is not good for India. There is a huge probability that there will be a rise in Islamist movements and radical groups. In this scenario, the safety of Bangladesh’s Hindus is a big concern. Even in 1971 the Hindus had suffered and many of them came to India. This border has become extremely vulnerable. Do not forget Pakistan and China on both sides are keeping a track of this. They will take advantage of it the moment there is a chance,” he said.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhari)