Bangladesh Hindu leaders say 278 locations attacked since Hasina fled

Dhaka: The apex body of Hindus in Bangladesh on Tuesday said the minority Hindu community faced attacks and threats in 278 locations across 48 districts since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government on August 5 and termed it as an “assault on the Hindu religion.”

The Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance members also pointed to the increase in attacks in recent times and asserted, “We too have rights in this country, we were born here.”

The minority Hindu population has faced vandalisation of their business and properties and devastation of Hindu temples in the students’ violence that ensued for days following the ouster of prime minister Hasina, who soon fled to India on August 5.

The Alliance’s press conference took place on the same day as Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who took charge as Chief Advisor of the interim government on August 8, reached out to the distressed Hindu community members at the famous Dhakeshwari Temple here earlier in the day and urged the people to “exercise patience” before judging his government's role.

Palash Kanti Dey, the Alliance's spokesperson and executive secretary said: “The incidents of vandalism, looting, arson, land grabbing, and threats to leave the country have been repeatedly inflicted on the Hindu community due to the shifting political landscape.”

“This is not just an attack on individuals but an assault on the Hindu religion,” Dey alleged during a press conference here.

“As of Monday, there have been attacks and threats against the Hindu community in 278 locations across 48 districts. We have conveyed our concerns to Home Affairs Advisor Brigadier General (Retd) M Sakhawat Hussain, who has assured us that these issues will be raised at the next cabinet meeting,” he was quoted as saying by The Dhaka Tribune newspaper.

Dey also emphasised that the alliance had long expressed its demands to various political parties over the past 24 years, but they had remained unmet.

“We now hope that the interim government will address our longstanding demands. Additionally, we support the nationwide movement led by our students,” he added.

Alliance's President Prabhas Chandra Roy lamented the recurring violence against the Hindu community during times of political change and said, “Whenever there is a change in government, Hindus are the first to be attacked.”

“Although there were fewer incidents in the past, they have increased recently. We want to live in this country with security. We were born here, and we have rights in this country,” he said.

The press conference by the group came a day after they seven demands to the government, including a judicial inquiry into recent attacks on Hindu communities, the creation of a minority protection act and commission, and the restoration of temples and homes at public expense.

They also demanded speedy trials and public investigation reports for those convicted, the release of minority abuse reports from 2000 to the present, a three-day holiday during Durga Puja, and the establishment of a minority ministry, the Dhaka Tribune said.

Earlier on Saturday, two Hindu organisations -- Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad -- had claimed that members of the minority communities in Bangladesh faced at least 205 incidents of attacks in 52 districts since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government on August 5 till the weekend.

Meanwhile, during his interaction with the members of the Hindu community, Yunus said: “Rights are equal for everyone. We are all one people with one right. Do not make any distinctions among us. Please, assist us. Exercise patience, and later judge -- what we were able to do and not. If we fail, then criticise us.”