New Delhi: Scattered reports of attacks against Hindus across Bangladesh emerged Monday after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation. Unverified videos showing places of worship belonging to minorities on fire were being shared across social media.
ThePrint could not independently verify the reports.
Reports said Sunday that an ISKCON and a Kali temple in Bangladesh were targeted by demonstrators, along with houses belonging to Hindus. Hindu councillor Haradhan Roy from the Rangpur City Corporation was reported to have been among the dead Sunday.
Hasina, who had led the country since 2009, fled Bangladesh Monday, landing in India.
Following her departure protesters stormed the official residence of the Prime Minister, Gono Bhaban, in Dhaka.
Her supporters and members of the Awami League — the party she led — were also under attack from protesters. People were being asked to show their identity cards and their vehicles were being frisked to confirm that they had nothing to do with the government, reports said.
In 2021 after the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the country, protests broke out across Bangladesh, which saw numerous Hindu temples attacked and at least 11 protesters killed during clashes with law enforcement, according to reports.
Islamist groups across the country accused Modi of discriminating against Muslims in India and marched in the streets in the wake of the Indian prime minister’s visit. Hasina has been accused of being extremely close to India by different groups in Bangladesh.
During Modi’s visit to the country in 2021, he had offered prayers at a centuries-old Jeshoreshwari temple and announced a multipurpose community hall for worshippers.
After months of protests, the anti-quota student protestors succeeded in forcing the resignation of Sheikh Hasina. The protests first began in June 2024 over the reinstatement of a 30 percent quota for families of veterans from the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War in government jobs by the Bangladesh High Court.
On 15 July, an outbreak of violence was witnessed across the country, after Hasina referred to the students as “Razakars” — a historically loaded term. Violence continued across the country till 21 July, when the Supreme Court ordered that 93 percent of government jobs be filled on merit, while the remaining 7 percent be reserved for veterans’ families, minorities and persons with disabilities.
Till then, at least 200 people had been killed and thousands detained by law enforcement agencies. The Internet was shut down and the authorities were given a shoot-on-sight order. The demonstrations resumed Friday, with the protesters eventually calling for Hasina’s resignation.
On Sunday, nearly another 100 people were killed, which led the government to impose a curfew and announce a general public holiday from Monday to Wednesday. However, by Monday afternoon Hasina had left the country, and army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman announced that the process was on to form an interim government.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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