Hindu Minorities Under Attack In Bangladesh: Human Rights Report

Following Sheikh Hasina’s resignation as Prime Minister and fleeing the country, Bangladesh has been witnessing violent incidents with hundreds killed and injured. Reports of rioters looted and vandalised historical structures and attacked members of Hasina’s political party, the Awami League.

According to a Human Rights report, in several districts, members of the Hindu community, which is generally considered to have largely supported the Awami League, were “violently attacked, their homes torched, temples vandalised, and shops looted. There were also reports of attacks against the Ahmadiyya Muslim community and ethnic minorities.”

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In the city of Tangail, a Hindu businessman told Human Rights Watch that “while the crowd was celebrating Hasina’s fall, some crowd members suddenly started attacking the businesses nearby, including my (his) shop.”

A member of the Awami League reportedly claimed that businesses and houses were targeted by rioters who were chanting slogans against Hasina and her political party.

“In many places, Muslim clerics, students, and community leaders came out to protect Hindu temples and Christian churches, while political leaders as well as student protest organisers called for calm,” the report added.

Taking accountability, police chief Mohammad Mainul Islam publicly apologised for the “unprofessional officers” who were not following the “accepted principles of applying force, and violated human rights. The police have generally been disliked for the human rights abuses committed by them in Bangladesh, stated the report.

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The interim government’s head, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, has urged all citizens to refrain from violence and maintain peace.

The report added that the interim government, once in place, should take up the United Nations’ offer to establish an independent investigation to “identify and prosecute those responsible for past human rights violations as well as violations during the recent violence, to restore faith in the country’s justice system.