140 crore Indians worried about safety of Hindus, other minorities in Bangladesh: PM Modi

In his Independence Day speech from the ramparts of Red Fort in the national capital, Modi said India is committed to peace and will remain a well-wisher of Bangladesh in its development journey.

New Delhi: One hundred and forty crore Indians are concerned over the security of the Hindus and other minority communities of Bangladesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in New Delhi on Thursday, even as Muhammad Yunus’s interim government in Dhaka played down religious persecutions in the neighbouring country as exaggeration by the media.

 “I can understand the concerns (in India) regarding whatever has happened in neighbouring Bangladesh. I hope that normalcy will return soon,” Modi said in his Independence Day speech from the rampart of the Red Fort in Delhi.

“The 140 crore Indians are particularly concerned over the safety and security of the Hindus and other minority communities in Bangladesh,” he added.

Since Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government in Dhaka fell, the Hindus and other minority communities came under attack across Bangladesh, prompting India to express concerns. The minority communities faced over 200 incidents of attacks in 52 districts of Bangladesh since August 5, according to the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad.

An interim government, led by microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus, who had won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, was sworn in three days after the Awami League government fell in the wake of a mass agitation across Bangladesh against its crackdown on students and youths protesting reservation in government jobs.

New Delhi quickly reached out to the interim government in Dhaka with Modi extending his best wishes to Yunus on X and conveying to him India’s expectations about the protection of Hindus in Bangladesh.

"We have a commitment to peace. In the coming days, we will continue to wish well for Bangladesh in its journey towards development because we are people who think about the well-being of humankind,” Modi said on Thursday.

Touhid Hossain, the advisor on foreign affairs in Muhammad Yunus’s interim government, told Pranay Kumar Verma, New Delhi’s envoy to Dhaka, that the media reports in India about atrocities on Hindus and other minority communities in Bangladesh were “highly exaggerated”.

India already affirmed its commitment to working with Bangladesh to fulfil the shared aspirations of both our peoples for peace, security, and development.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat also said in Nagpur that Hindus living in Bangladesh were being subjected to violence for no reason and that India had the responsibility to save them from injustice and atrocities.

 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had in a statement in Parliament on August 6 said that India was "deeply concerned" over the situation in Bangladesh, especially about the status of the minority communities.