Future of the Hindus in Bangladesh

Source: The Guardian

( November 16, 2013, Dhaka, Sri Lanka Guardian) After the death of the father of the nation of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahaman, the noted intellectual of India Annada Shankar Roy wrote regarding the future of Hindus in Bangladesh. He wrote, a day would come when, if somebody found any person, who is Hindu in religion, in Bangladesh, he would ask why his forefather came in this land, they would not believe that he was a Bengali kayesto by cast. In fact, he wanted to say that, one day this land would be a Hindu free country. This article was published in 1976 or 77. Then freedom fighters of Bangladesh were young. So it was very shocking matter for those Hindu boys who fought for the freedom of this country because before the assassination of Sheikh Mujib ,they never thought that they are Hindus and they have not equal rights in this country and they have to leave this country.

However, after the death of Sheikh Mujib, thirty eight years have passed and in these thirty eight years many things have been happened in Bangladesh and a much water has flown through the river Padma but still more than twelve million Hindus are living in Bangladesh. They are not only living in this country but also fighting for changing the political and economic situation. In politics, from 15 august of 1975 to still now Bangladesh is fighting for restoring its political spirit, which the country has lost in 15 august 1975 through the assassination of Sheikh Mujib by the defeated force of 1971. Simultaneously, the Hindus are fighting for building the economy of the country put shoulder on the shoulder of the majority people. On the other hand, a large number of Hindus have left the country and most of them have gone to India. A small portion of them has gone other countries. Those people who have gone to India, they were bound to leave Bangladesh, the motherland.

However, it is a big question, why a large number of Hindu people have left the country; on the other hand, more than twelve million Hindus are living and fighting for this countries good fate. First thing is that though immigration is the nature of the human being from the very beginning of the civilization; but people try their level best to stay in their birthplace because of their culture, heredity and habits. Besides, an uncertainty always remains in any kind of immigration; it is economic and social insecurity. Therefore, the Hindu people of Bangladesh are trying their best to stay in their own land. It is a natural cause. The socio-political cause is that, a large number of people in Bangladesh are non-communal; they want a religious harmony in the society. Besides, the most organized and big political party in Bangladesh, `Bangladesh Awami League’ and some other small political parties want a secular country and they are fighting for this at least three and a half decades. Similarly, a large number of intellectuals of Bangladesh are fighting for a secular Bangladesh by their heart for a long; even for this reason some of them have lost their jobs, the Muslim fundamentalist attacked some of them and some of them were captive in jail by the fundamentalist government. Overall, in Bangladesh a good number of educated young generations are now very much vocal in favor of secular Bangladesh. They are modern, secular and love the freedom struggle spirit of Bangladesh from their eternal heart. Thus, the progressive people are helping the Hindu people of Bangladesh, thinking that it is their country too. Besides, after the assassination of Mujib, Awami League was in the movement against the reactionary military government. In those twenty-one years, Awami League was lead by Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of Sheikh Mujib for sixteen years. The Hindu people of Bangladesh have kept faith on her. When Awami League was in the movement, the Hindu people took a lot of pain but they had hoped that, one-day Awami league would win the movement and then they would get their full rights.

From the assassination of the Mujib, the Hindu community has been gradually loosing many of their rights in the state. After the birth of Bangladesh, they would live under a constitution, which gave them equal rights in every sector but after the assassination of Mujib, the quasi military ruler made a lot of change in the constitution by the proclamations of the martial law. By changing the constitution they cut the equal rights for all citizens, they divided the citizen of Bangladesh in the name of religion. From then the state had started discriminating the people of Bangladesh through religion. It had started by the military ruler Ziaur Rahaman and the next military ruler gave its finishing. Amending constitution the next military ruler Earshad, introduced Islam as a state religion in the constitution. From then according to the constitution Hindus have not equal rights in Bangladesh due to their religion. However, it is not the full scenario, there is another picture in Bangladesh. A number of progressive people are not with this dirty works of the military and fundamentalist. They want to repel it from the constitution and they are fighting for it with the minor communities from the very beginning. However, reality is not in favor of it. Indeed, after getting freedom, Bangladesh had been run for twenty-seven years by the military and their successors; they had always been patronizing the Islamic fundamentalists. So, now the Islamic fundamentalists are very strong in Bangladesh, besides they have been trainen by Al Qyeda and Taleban; so they have a power that they can mislead people in the name of religion. That’s why, present government of Bangladesh has changed the constitution, they have tried to return the constitution, which, the country got through the freedom struggle, but they could not do it properly due to the fear of Islamic fundamentalists. Despite of their all efforts, they could not erase the Islamic religion words and Islam is the state religion from the constitution introduced by the two military rulers. However, the present government has failed to do the constitution very secular, but it is true, if this government of Awami league continues in Bangladesh, one-day constitution will be a secular constitution. It is not only for the present leadership but also for the new generation. Recently in Bangladesh, a huge number of new generation came on the road demanding a capital punishment of war criminals. They stayed on the road more than one month; it was a revolution, it has changed the mind of the huge portion of the new generation. In this uprising of the new generation, it has made clear that the new generation will be a big and strong force of the secular politics. So if government of Awami league continues upholding the secular politics, in very near future they will get a big supporter, they would be in favor of secular politics. So, if Awami league lead government can continue their power up to that time, then in Bangladesh the Hindus and the other minorities will live with equal rights in all sectors. Nobody could dare to discriminate anyone in the name of religion.

But in Bangladesh, after the uprising of the secular young generation a notorious thing has been happened. After this uprising of the secular new generation the Islamic fundamentalist groups, those who have been consolidating their economic and political power last thirty-nine years, they come out on the street under the leadership of the present opposition party, Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Making people confused they blame that, the secular young generation is atheist and they have insulted the prophet of Islam. By using the Islamic cards they came out on the street, they ruined many parts of the capital of the country, and the main opposition went to take the advantage of it. The main opposition tried to topple the elected government with the help of those notorious fundamentalists, but they failed and the fundamentalist groups were driven away from the capital. In spite of that, they are working with the main opposition in favor of Islamic fundamentalism. in the mean time, the world knows very much that the government of Bangladesh is trailing the war criminals, those who committed war crime in 1971, the freedom struggle time of Bangladesh. The war crime tribunal has given nine verdict and most of them got death sentence and the Supreme Courte has given one verdict, which also death penalty. However after starting the war crime trial, the war criminal party Jammat-E- Islami ( Jammat) with the help of their ally Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have targeted the Hindu people along with all the minorities. For last one and half years the Jammat and BNP men have attacked more than thousands of Hindu houses and vandalized their many Gods statue. Even their sketch is now very clear that they will force the Hindu people to leave this country. Because, they know that Hindus are the supporter of the secular politics. On the other hand, they think that, the culture, which is upheld by the progressive Bengali people as Bengali culture is Hindu culture. They never admit that, it is the culture of this soil. They think that this culture is the main enemy of their Islamic fundamentalism. The young generation who are called by them atheist, they are to uphold the Bengali culture. That is why from the epoch of Pakistan they have identified that Bengali culture as their main adversary and they believe that Hindu people patronize this culture.

So now, they have understood that, if the present government can be successful to get power in the next election,they will continue and finish the trial of the war criminals and the war criminal party Jammat would be banned; then scenario will be different. If jammat become banned in Bangladesh and government can finish the trial and execute the criminals then the root of the Islamic fundamentalist in Bangladesh will be cut. Then the Middle East groups and ISI will not get chance to do their terrorist works in Bangladesh. For this reason, they are trying their level best to win the next election. That is why for three and half years with the help of their Middle East friends and Inter Service Intelligence (ISI), they are spending huge amounts of money inside and outside of the country. They have engaged lobbyists in America and Europe by huge money. They have purchased media inside of the country and abroad. They have employed a huge number of women in the city, town and the village to confuse the women in the name of religion that present government is the enemy of Islam, so for saving Islam they should cast their vote for the present opposition party. Besides, their policy is that before the election they want to terrorize the Hindu locality by killing, looting, arson, raping and vandalizing the statue of the Gods. Now they are doing this. Now they are doing this for stopping the Hindu people going to the vote center. By using all the weapons if they can win the election under the leadership of BNP then from the very victory night Bangladesh will fall in real danger. The Jammat people, fundamentalists and a group of BNP people will start the genocide. Their first target will be the Hindu people, intellectuals and the progressive new generations. Then thousands of people will die and hundreds thousands people will try to take Shelter in India.

So the minority Hindu people in Bangladesh is now living in a dangerous border line. If fundamentalist groups lead by BNP win in the election, the forecast of Annada Shankar Roy will be correct; then Bangladesh will be a Hindu free country. On the other hand if the Awami league lead ally win the election, Bangladesh will be a modern and secular country where a generation will come in the front line who are like son of God, they won’t make the country Hindu free and it will be fundamentalist free country.

Hindus attacked in Bangladesh; temples and houses torched

Source: JAGRAN Post

Hindu temples, homes attacked in Bangladesh

Dhaka: Islamic activists have attacked dozens of Hindu temples and hundreds of homes across Bangladesh since an Islamist leader was sentenced to death for war crimes last month, a Hindu group said on Thursday.

Bangladesh Puja Udjapon Parishad, an organization which looks after Hindu temples, said 47 temples and at least 700 Hindu houses had either been torched or vandalised since the verdict against Delwar Hossain Sayedee.

Sayedee, vice-president of the country's largest Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami, was sentenced to hang on February 28 for crimes including rape and murder committed during the 1971 independence conflict.

The sentencing of Sayedee and other Jamaat-e-Islami leaders has triggered the worst violence in impoverished Muslim-majority Bangladesh since independence, with 85 people so far killed in the unrest.

Jamaat-e-Islami blamed

Kazal Debnath, a vice-president of Bangladesh Puja Udjapon Parishad, blamed the attacks on Hindu temples and homes on Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir.

"It was the work of the Jamaat and Shibir, but we also accuse the government, the police and the local government representatives including (our) MPs for failing to protect the temples and our community," he said.

He said the attackers were given free rein to "torch our temples, houses and properties".

Jamaat has denied any role in the attacks, blaming supporters of the ruling Awami League party for the violence.

Govt urged to protect Hindus

But Foreign Minister Dipu Moni told diplomats last week that Jamaat and Shibir attacked Hindu temples and houses in a "pre-planned manner".

Amnesty International has appealed to the government to better protect Hindus.

"The Hindu community in Bangladesh is at extreme risk, in particular at such a tense time in the country. It is shocking that they appear to be targeted simply for their religion," said Abbas Faiz, an Amnesty researcher.

Red Cross provides aid

The Red Cross said it had started providing aid to 113 families affected by the violence.

Hindus, who make up nearly 10 percent of Bangladesh's 153 million-strong population, are traditionally seen as supporters of the Awami League, which brands itself as a secular party.

They were the main targets during Bangladesh's 1971 independence war against Pakistan and during post-poll violence in 2001 when a centre-right party allied with Jamaat won a two-thirds majority.

Jamaat-e-Islami leaders have been on trial at the domestic International Crimes Tribunal, accused of colluding with Pakistan and pro-Pakistan militias during the war for independence.

But the party says the process is an attempt by the ruling party to settle scores and not about delivering justice.

Bangladesh on the brink

Source: CNN World

March 13th, 2013

By Toby M. Cadman, Special to CNN

Editor’s note: Toby M. Cadman is a London based international barrister specializing in war crimes, international terrorism, extradition and human rights. He served as legal counsel to the chief prosecutor of the Bosnian war crimes chamber. The views expressed are his own.

Days of bloody riots in Dhaka are spreading throughout the country; scores are dead thousands injured. Bangladesh has a long history of civil unrest but the current situation is approaching historic proportions. In the past, unrest has led to military coup. Six months ago, another coup was unthinkable; now it is apossibility increasingly being discussed.

Yet while some have compared the protests to the Arab spring, nothing could be further from the truth. In Cairo, people ousted a dictator and demanded democratic reform. In Dhaka, the demonstrations are comprised of two camps: the larger is made up of those seeking immediate execution of people convicted of war crimes related to the 1971 war of independence; the other is made up of those who believe the war crimes tribunals are show trials allowing the government to eliminate the leaders of a critical political party that threatens to shift the balance of power in upcoming elections.

I am a member of the defense team, but was expelled from the country for complaining about the lack of due process. I am not a politician. I support no political party in Bangladesh. But I do support the rule of international law and believe that the ongoing defilement of that rule not only threatens the lives of presumed innocent defendants, it also is placing the country on the brink of chaos.

The 1971 war pitted the two Pakistans against each other. The East and West Pakistan concept created in 1947 by the British during their departure from the subcontinent resulted in an unworkable bifurcated “nation” separated by more than 1,000 miles, with two distinct languages and cultures. The concept was to split the subcontinent by religion: India is primarily Hindu, the Pakistans Muslim. But the Pakistans shared little beyond Islam revolution was inevitable.  The war was bloody, with as many as 3 million people killed in East Pakistan, according to the Bangladeshi side, thousands raped and unknown numbers tortured. As part of the India-brokered treaty, Bangladesh became an independent state and the Pakistan military received effective amnesty. Bangladeshi collaborators received no amnesty.

The Awami League-led government created the War Crimes Tribunal in 2010, basing it loosely on tribunals like Nuremberg. The government rejected suggestions from the international community of the necessity for transparency, strict adherence to legal precedent and involvement of unbiased outsiders. The government wrote its own rules. Charges were brought against 11 suspects out of an estimated total of 1,600. Each defendant held leadership roles in the opposition party Jamaat-e-Islami. In the history of Bangladesh, elected governments have rotated between Awami and BNP led coalitions. Historically, each time BNP held power, its majority relied on a Jamaat coalition seat. Without Jamaat’s votes, BNP is unlikely to regain power.

Early procedural actions by the War Crimes Tribunal raised concerns among bodies including the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. Foreign lawyers, including myself, were prohibited from participating on the defense team, prosecutors were given great latitude and defense lawyers limited in the ability to cross-examine and present evidence.

Last year, a series of tapes and emails surfaced that seemed to suggest collusion between the chief judge of the tribunal, the prosecutors, outside pro-government consultants and indications of direct instructions from the cabinet for quick convictions and death sentences.

The evidence seemed to confirm the international community’s concerns and led to the resignation of the judge. But his replacement stuck to the original playbook and the convictions are now coming down.

Demonstrations followed the first conviction, with pro-government mobs demanding the tribunal forego appeals and move straight to the gallows. A second conviction with a life imprisonment sentence amped up the mobs and demonstrations turned to riots. But with the recent conviction of Jamaat leader Maulana Delwar Hossain Sayedee, the country is exploding. And, while there are indications the police took a policy of turning a blind eye toward pro-government rioters, they now seem to have lost control.

As someone who prosecuted war crimes in Bosnia, I understand the need for justice. However, I do not believe that there can be justice under the current tribunal, which is at best suspect, at worst a tool of a government looking to execute politicians for electoral gain.

What is required now is immediate and effective action to ensure that the trials of the accused before the tribunal are suspended pending an independent, international investigation into the serious allegations of gross misconduct against members of the tribunal including judges and prosecutors, as well as senior members of the Bangladeshi Government and undeclared third parties.

It is unclear what steps, punitive or otherwise, the U.N. Human Rights Council will take in Geneva over the coming weeks.  It will also be deliberating on Syria, Burma, Bahrain and Sri Lanka.  Arguably, two weeks ago, Bangladesh paled in comparison to these, but the events of the past several days paints an entirely different picture.

Bangladesh is descending into sectarian conflict every bit as serious as its competitors for attention, and has now matured into a fully-grown problem for the United Nations. Failure to find a resolution could see the country descend into civil war.

Hindu temples, homes under attack across Bangladesh

Source: Gulf Times

9:17 PM

13

March

2013

 A man pours water from a bucket onboard a bus after activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) set fire to it during a nationwide strike in Dhaka on Tuesday.






AFP/Dhaka
Islamic activists have attacked dozens of Hindu temples and hundreds of homes across Bangladesh since an Islamist leader was sentenced to death for war crimes last month, a Hindu group said yesterday.
Bangladesh Puja Udjapon Parishad, a group which looks after Hindu temples, said 47 temples and at least 700 Hindu houses had either been torched or vandalised since the verdict against Delwar Hossain Sayedee.
Sayedee, vice-president of the country’s largest Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami, was sentenced to hang on February 28 for crimes including rape and murder committed during the 1971 independence conflict.
The sentencing of Sayedee and other Jamaat-e-Islami leaders has triggered the worst violence in impoverished Muslim-majority Bangladesh since independence, with 85 people so far killed in the unrest.
Kazal Debnath, a vice-president of Bangladesh Puja Udjapon Parishad, blamed the attacks on Hindu temples and homes on Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir.
“It was the work of the Jamaat and Shibir, but we also accuse the government, the police and the local government representatives including (our) MPs for failing to protect the temples and our community,” he said.
He said the attackers were given free rein to “torch our temples, houses and properties”.
Jamaat has denied any role in the attacks, blaming supporters of the ruling Awami League party for the violence.
But Foreign Minister Dipu Moni told diplomats last week that Jamaat and Shibir attacked Hindu temples and houses in a “pre-planned manner”.
Hindus, who make up nearly 10% of Bangladesh’s 153mn-strong population, are traditionally seen as supporters of the Awami League, which brands itself as a secular party.
They were the main targets during Bangladesh’s 1971 independence war against Pakistan and during post-poll violence in 2001 when a centre-right party allied with Jamaat won a two-thirds majority.
Jamaat-e-Islami leaders have been on trial at the domestic International Crimes Tribunal, accused of colluding with Pakistan and pro-Pakistan militias during the war for independence.
But the party says the process is an attempt by the ruling party to settle scores and not about delivering justice.
Panel to monitor blasphemous online remarks
Bangladesh’s prime minister ordered the formation of a committee to monitor content posted online that could offend the country’s Muslim majority, officials said yesterday.
The nine member committee, headed by a senior bureaucrat at the home ministry, will take legal action against bloggers posting derogatory comments about Islam and the Prophet Muhammad, government spokesman Abul Kalam Azad said.
“The home ministry will take necessary actions against the individuals uploading comments on their Facebook or blog pages undermining Islam and the Prophet,” the official said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s call for the Internet monitoring committee comes after an anti-Islamist blogger was killed last month by activists from an Islamist party.
Regulators earlier blocked a few blogs and Facebook pages as atheists and Islamists launched campaigns against each other following the February 15 murder of blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider.
Haider was one of the organisers of a demonstration that demanded capital punishment for a leader of the Islamist Jammat-e-Islami party for war crimes committed during Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation war.

Hindus under attack in Bangladesh, temples destroyed

Source: ZEENEWS

Dhaka: The revenge attacks on Hindus that began after a top Islamist leader was sentenced to death for war crimes continue unabated in Bangladesh with the government appearing to be in position to contain the violence. 

Delwar Hossain Sayedee, vice-president of the Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami, was sentenced to death on February 28 for crimes including rape and murder committed during the 1971 independence conflict. 

The death sentence to Sayedee and other JeI leaders has triggered the worst violence in the Muslim-majority country since independence; 85 people have so far lost their lives in the unrest. 

Hindus, their houses and temples had come under attacks in districts like Noakhali, Satkhira and Sirajganj. 
As per an organisation that looks after Hindu temples in the country, 47 temples and at least 700 Hindu houses had either been torched or vandalised by members of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir.

Jamaat, which is an ally of Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nation Party, has denied any role in the attacks, blaming supporters of the ruling Awami League party for the violence. 

For the record, Zia has demanded that the government identify and punish the perpetrators through "neutral" investigation and compensate the victims. 

"I called upon the administration and law enforcers to prevent such attacks on minorities with an iron fist," said Khaleda. 

However, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni had said last week told diplomats last week that Jamaat and Shibir attacked Hindu temples and houses in a "pre-planned manner". 

Amnesty International has made an urgent appeal to the Bangladesh government to provide its minority better protection. 
“The Hindu community in Bangladesh is at extreme risk, in particular at such a tense time in the country. It is shocking that they appear to be targeted simply for their religion. The authorities must ensure that they receive the protection they need,” said Abbas Faiz, Amnesty’s Researcher. 

Hindus, who make up 8-10 percent of Bangladesh's 153 million-strong population, are traditionally seen as supporters of the Awami League, which brands itself as a secular party. 

They were the main targets during Bangladesh's 1971 independence war against Pakistan and during post-poll violence in 2001 when a centre-right party allied with Jamaat won a two-thirds majority. 

Bangladesh minorities 'terrorised' after mob violence

Source: BBC

BBC News, Noakhali district, southern Bangladesh

Residents of the village of Aladin Nagarhave been living in fear since the attack last month

Continue reading the main story

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Saraswati Rani Das ran for her life with her two young children when a Muslim mob rampaged through her village in the southern Noakhali district of Bangladesh.

Mrs Das broke down repeatedly as she tried to explain how their tiny tin-roof house was destroyed and set on fire.

The attack started hours after a senior hardline Islamist leader was sentenced to death by a special tribunal in late February.

Jamaat-e-Islami party Vice President Delwar Hossain Sayedee was given a death sentence for crimes committed during the war of independence from Pakistan in 1971.

The sentencing triggered a wave of angry protests from the Islamist party's supporters. In many districts, buildings and vehicles were damaged. More than 60 people were killed in clashes with the security forces.

Living in fear

Minority Hindu and Buddhist communities bore the brunt of the attacks as their houses and temples were vandalised and burnt down.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

This should not have happened. We feel sorry about it. It is not in the Holy Koran”

Nurul Alam BhuiyanNoakhali district cleric

"We heard the mob was coming towards our house. So, we just ran away. Our house was completely burnt. They looted all our belongings, including our savings. We have lost everything," Mrs Das says.

The village of Aladin Nagar, about 120km (75 miles) south of the capital Dhaka, was strewn with torn tin sheets, broken glass, food grain, damaged books and burnt bicycles.

Its residents have been living in fear since the attack and are afraid that they may be targeted again.

Hindu community leaders allege that the attacks were co-ordinated and widespread. So far, they say, more than 50 temples have been damaged and more than 1,500 houses destroyed in the attacks, which took place in nearly 20 districts over the last few weeks.

In some villages near the southern city of Chittagong, statues of Buddha were damaged and Buddhist temples were vandalised.

But the authorities say that such crimes will not go unpunished.

"We are fully committed to protecting the minorities. We have taken enough measures so that these people are not attacked in the future. We have also provided sufficient relief," Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir told the BBC.

'Targeted again'

Hindus make up nearly 10% of the population of about 153 million in this Muslim-majority nation. The two communities live side by side in villages across Bangladesh.

Saraswati Rani Das and her children had to run for their lives when the village was attacked

Muslim community leaders have condemned the attacks.

"This should not have happened. We feel sorry about it. It is not in the Holy Koran," Noakhali district cleric Mohammad Nurul Alam Bhuiyan said.

While people like Mrs Das witnessed communal violence for the first time, Hindu businessmen like Subash Chandra Ghosh in southern Satkhira district say it was similar to what happened to them in 1971, when Bangladesh fought a bloody nine-month war against Pakistan to gain independence.

"In 1971, our house was damaged and our neighbour's house was set on fire by anti-liberation forces. We are being targeted again. What should we do?" laments Mr Ghosh, who fought for independence.

Some say the minorities are attacked because they mostly support the governing Awami League party and are a soft target.

Bangladesh has long prided itself on its secular values - but that image has taken a knock following the recent violence.

Buddhist villages in Cox's Bazar district also came under attack by Muslim mobs last year, when an image allegedly insulting the Koran was posted on Facebook by a Buddhist youth. Many Buddhist temples were vandalised in the subsequent violence.

War crimes

Investigations by the local media later revealed the youth had nothing to do with the incident.

Hindu artefacts were destroyed in the mob attack in Aladin Nagar

The independence war came to an end after India sent in troops on behalf of the Bengalis. More than 90,000 Pakistani soldiers and officers surrendered to the Indian army and were taken as prisoners of war.

Official estimates say more than three million were killed and tens of thousands of women raped during the war. The minority Hindu community suffered disproportionately because some Pakistanis blamed them for Bangladesh's secession.

A special tribunal in Bangladesh is prosecuting those accused of collaborating with Pakistani forces and carrying out atrocities more than 40 years ago.

The recent violence is mainly blamed on the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami party, whose leaders are facing war crimes at the tribunal. But the party - which opposed Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan - denies the charges.

"The Jamaat-e-Islami is a peaceful political party and they do not encourage any violent activities. People who took part in the attack on minorities belong to other political parties," asserts Mohammad Tajul Islam, a Jamaat leader in Noakhali district.

Hindu community leaders say the attacks are systematic and have been going on for years. They say they are not only carried out by hardline Islamists but also by supporters of other mainstream political parties, including the Awami League and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

The aim of the violence, Hindu leaders allege, is to grab land and other property. As a result, they say, many Hindus are fleeing to India to escape harassment, intimidation and violence.

"In 1947, Hindus constituted around 30% of the population," says Subroto Chowdhury, a Hindu community leader in Dhaka.

"Now it is less than 10%. Hindus are being warned to leave so that locals can take over their land and houses.

"Our community is being persecuted."

But Mr Alamgir, the home minister, says historically there have been movement of Hindus to India and Muslims to Bangladesh - because of various incidents.

"These are aberrations. The governments of the two countries are determined to make sure that they stay in full peace and security."

And people like Mr Ghosh say they will resist attempts to drive them away from Bangladesh.

"This is our motherland and we have been living here for 25 generations. We cannot imagine of leaving this land. This is our country."

Bangladeshi minorities protest at Rådhuspladsen

Source: The Copenhagen Post

Small group protests against treatment of minorities in their home country

The group was protesting against the treatment of religious minorities in Bangladesh (Photo: Minorities from Bangladesh in Denmark)

A small group of protesters took to Rådhuspladsen on Saturday to lend their support to minorities in Bangladesh. 

The group, ‘Minorities from Bangladesh in Denmark’, said they were protesting because of the suffering endured by religious minorities in the largely Muslim country.  The protests were aimed in particular against the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami.

“They [Jamaat-e-Islami] are destroying temples, burning houses and looting properties of Hindus, killing the innocent and making them landless,” the group said in a statement to The Copenhagen Post. “We, the minorities from Bangladesh living in Denmark, strictly condemn and protest the brutal torture against minorities in Bangladesh. We appeal to Bangladeshi and world leaders to save the minorities from the cruelty of Jamaat-e-Islami and others, and ensure their security within Bangladesh.”

Bangladesh is a majority Muslim country, accounting for nearly 90 percent of the population. Hindus make up around eight to ten percent of the population.

According to Statistics Denmark, there are just over 1,000 Bangladeshis residing in Denmark.