‘Hindus, Ahmadis under attack in Bangladesh’

Bangladeshis protest against attacks  on Hindus

Groups promoting extremist Islam are attacking minorities, particularly those from Hindu and Ahmadi communities, in Bangladesh, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has revealed in its latest report. It also  highlights "a disturbing pattern" of security forces targeting former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League supporters and journalists.

The 50-page report titled, 'After the Monsoon Revolution: A Roadmap to Lasting Security Sector Reform in Bangladesh', offers various recommendations to the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, including seeking technical assistance, monitoring, and reporting by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and other UN rights experts to ensure lasting reforms. 

The report mentions growing attacks on Hindu minorities since the fall of the Hasina government. Several commentators told HRW that Hindus and other religious minorities were attacked because they traditionally supported Hasina’s  Awami League party. "There are repeated allegations of violent attacks against Hindus and other minorities and that the police have failed to ensure protection," the report said.

It also termed the arrest of Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das, a former official of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), as "another worrying indication" for freedom of expression in Bangladesh. "Das's arrest came at a time when there is growing concern over attacks on Hindu minorities.

The interim government has confirmed that at least 88 cases of communal violence had been registered between August 5 and October 22, and that 70 people had been arrested. Hindu groups say that there have been hundreds of incidents of vandalism targeting Hindu businesses, homes, and places of worship," the report stated. 

The spiritual leader's struggle to have a legal representation in the court is acknowledged in the report, which quotes a Hindu lawyer  saying: "Lawyers are afraid to represent Chinmoy as there were threats of mob violence. We all have our families to worry about." The New York-based human rights organisation also suggested that the interim government should immediately ensure that no one is detained arbitrarily or otherwise unlawfully.

According to the report, between August 6 and September 25, Bangladesh police lodged cases against 92,486 people, most of them related to murder. Nearly 400 former ministers, members of parliament, and other Awami League officials have been named in over 1,170 cases, which include hundreds of unnamed individuals and over 200 cases have been filed against Sheikh Hasina. 

Since November, the report highlights, authorities in Dhaka have filed murder charges against at least 140 journalists in connection with their reporting on the student revolution and scrapped more than 150 press accreditations required to attend official events.  "Yunus has insisted on his administration's respect for free speech. However, authorities under the interim government have clamped down on journalists who were perceived to have been sympathetic to the former government," the report said.