Ronik Sharma
Due to the present alarming situation in Bangladesh and the recent deadly violence and attacks in Bangladesh against the innocent Hindu minority community have not only drawn international condemnation, but they have also revealed a strong sense of dissatisfaction towards the working and functioning of the country’s authorities as well as the working of the world’s human rights organizations. It is the prime duty of the country, and international organisations working on Human rights concerns to protect religious minorities’ existence and identity. Legally, the country is also bound by these regulations to provide safeguards to the minorities of the country, failing which clearly violates substantive equality. The rise in religious extremism in Bangladesh has led to an increase in violence and physical and deadly attacks on Hindu citizens of Bangladesh. Due to the recent unrest in Bangladesh over the employment quota issue, which turns into deadly riots and violence against the innocent Hindu minority community of Bangladesh by the majority community of the country.
These violent attacks against the innocent Hindu minority community of Bangladesh faced a number of terrorist-like deadly incidents throughout the different parts of Bangladesh. Massive damages were sustained by these violent, terrorist-like attacks, resulting in massive losses to movable as well as immovable property of innocent Hindu minorities in Bangladesh. The jihadist mindset not even spared the religious places of the Hindus and also targeted innocent children, including old and infirm people and women folk. The so-called international organisations that purport to monitor and address violations of human rights have stopped speaking about the riots that have recently targeted innocent Hindu community in Bangladesh. While social media reports chronicle the terrible reality of the innocent Hindu community people of Bangladesh, mainstream media in Bangladesh continues to hide violence against innocent Hindu minority community and other minorities. Owing to many reports on social media sites Several Hindu temples were set on fire or looted, causing damage worth millions of rupees, including their business establishments. Hindu minority households faced a range of violent attacks and abuses across the nation; furious mobs rushed into their homes, damaging furniture and other household things, and stole jewellery and other belongings, including savings. Children and the elderly were also not spared, and these members of innocent Hindu minorities were also subjected to the physical abuses and migration. After this unrest, they have also failed to grant common fundamental rights to the innocent Hindus and other minorities living in Bangladesh and also failed to hold Bangladeshi establishments accountable.
Although the recent turmoil in Bangladesh against a popular government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina revealed to the international community that minorities are not protected in the nation with a majority of Muslims. Additionally, the Bangladeshi state was unable to protect these innocent members of the minority population from the well-planned attacks by Islamic fundamentalists. The Muslim clergy in Bangladesh, with the active cooperation and support of the Pakistani agency ISI and its establishment, are now routinely committing crimes against innocent Hindu minority community people. This is not only unacceptable, but it also requires widespread condemnation on a global scale. Sheikh Hasina’s son also admits in front of the international media that the ISI, a Pakistani agency, is responsible for the ongoing upheaval in Bangladesh. He gave a briefing and accused Pakistan’s intelligence service, the ISI, of stoking the recent turmoil in Bangladesh. The protests and attacks on innocent Hindus were strategically well-planned, well-coordinated, and deliberate attempts to continue inflaming the situation on social media platforms. The current state of affairs in the country like Bangladesh has entirely changed.
The environment in Bangladesh is unfavourable to the Hindu minority community. Nobody is blamed for the violent unrest directed towards the innocent Hindu minorities despite the destruction of many holy sites, such as temples, and the forcible possession of other areas, such as the Hindu minority community’s commercial establishments. Numerous video recordings show the Bangladeshi army and other paramilitary groups brutally hitting and targetting innocent Hindu community members mercilessly. It is entirely unacceptable for such violent acts of brutal force to be committed against innocent members of the Hindu community of Bangladesh, and international organisations that address human rights violations and concerns have remained silent about these atrocities and have not spoken out against such acts of atrocities against the hindu minority community of Bangladesh. Why have international organisations that monitor human rights concerns taken no action against Pakistani establishment if Pakistani agencies and their establishments are directly involved in recent unrest in Bangladesh? Why is there a restricted strategy against Pakistan, Bangladesh and why did international organisations not act against it? Do they not know that Hindus are being persecuted in Pakistan as well as now in Bangladesh? How the Hindu population quietly and gradually declined in both countries.
Why have no sanctions been imposed on Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries that are specifically targeting innocent Hindus and other minorities in their countries where they are in the majority population? As a result of several violent attacks, the proportion of the Hindu minority community in Bangladesh has declined from about 22 to 25 percent to about 5 to 8 percent only since the country’s independence. This is all due to the reasons for the forced conversions, kidnappings, and murders committed against innocent Hindu minorities. Fundamentalist forces in Bangladesh destroyed numerous Hindu temples as a result of the fight against innocent Hindu minority, but no one was held responsible for encouraging this violence and endangering Bangladesh’s Hindu minority community members. There are variety of reasons for the declining of the population of the Hindus in Bangladesh. The crimes committed against Hindus have been unrelenting, forcing young girls to be converted to Islam as well as forcing Bangladeshi innocent Hindu minority families to relocate from time to time. The innocent Hindu minority community members in Bangladesh continue to face explicit discrimination and repression from the state, depriving them of their basic fundamental rights and grave Human Rights violations without any accountability.
The main reason for this is that the communal forces are very active in Bangladesh and are being operated by Pakistan and its agency, ISI. The fundamentalist forces have been given free hands to operate their communal sectarian goal against innocent Hindu minority communities. Despite the fact that all of these incidents are public and obviously violate international human rights laws, international Human Rights Watch organisations have not responded forcefully to these flagrant abuses of human rights in nations such as Bangladesh.
Not only have the international organisations involved in Human Rights Watch been mute in this regard, but they have also failed to take decisive action against these flagrant abuses of human rights concerns and to aggressively address the issue in Bangladesh. Every country has an obligation to protect the right to life by taking all necessary preventive measures, even in cases where private individuals have committed crimes. However, the situation in Bangladesh is completely out of control, and international organisations (World Bodies) that deal with human rights issues have not performed effectively and completely failed on the ground situation in case of the Hindu minority community of Bangladesh. However, it is doubtful of their ability to work and function given the silence of international human rights organisations following such severe deadly attacks and atrocities against innocent Hindu minorities. It also puts a question mark on world human rights organisations silence on such atrocities against innocent Hindu minority communities.
(The author is an advocate by profession and works on J&K affairs)
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