At least six people were killed and hundreds injured in a spate of attacks on the minority community in Bangladesh since Durga Puja last week. Several incidents of communal violence, including attacks on places of worship of minority communities and torching of houses of Hindus, were reported across the country.

The first incident of violence was reported at a Durga Puja pavilion in Cumilla over an alleged blasphemy incident. Paramilitary forces were soon deployed in several administrative districts.

Rise in attacks on minorities

The Hindu community represents 10 percent of Bangladesh’s 169 million population. Around 3,721 attacks on the Hindu community, averaging 413 per year, have been reported in Bangladesh between January 2013 and September this year, Dhaka Tribune said quoting prominent rights group Ain o Salish Kendra.

During the period, 1,678 cases of vandalism and arson attacks on Hindu places of worship, temples and idols were reported, the report said. These incidents led to the death of 11 citizens from the Hindu community and injured another 862, another report by bdnews24.com said quoting the same source.

In the last three years, around 18 Hindu families were attacked. Prior to 2021, the worst situation had occurred in 2014 when miscreants had vandalised or torched 1,201 houses and set-ups of minorities. The same year, four women were sexually assaulted and two women from the minority community were raped, bdnews24.com reported.

The rights group, however, said in reality, the number could be different.

However, 2021 has been the deadliest in the last five years, the group added.

India's reaction

While the Indian High Commissioner in Bangladesh Vikram Doraiswami and four consulates have been in touch with officials, India has been guarded on its statements over the incident.

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 16, informing him of the rising attacks on Hindus in the neighbouring country. Calling for his intervention with Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina, ISKCON said its temples in Noakhali were systematically attacked in the ongoing communal violence and one devotee was killed.

Radharaman Das, Vice President of ISKCON, Kolkata, also wrote to the UN asking them to look into the matter.

Chief Ministers of Bengal and Tripura, Mamata Banerjee and Biplab Kumar Deb, expressed confidence in the Sheikh Hasina-led government, saying they were hopeful the Bangladesh administration would take all necessary steps.

Meanwhile, districts in West Bengal, particularly those bordering Bangladesh, were alerted against the misuse of social media and fake news on the recent attacks.

What the Bangladesh government says

Virtually addressing devotees at Dhakeshwari National Temple on October 14, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said: “The incidents… are being thoroughly investigated. Nobody will be spared. It doesn’t matter which religion they belong to. They will be hunted down and punished.”

Hasina said the government would not hesitate to take action against criminals as it had done in the past, irrespective of their religion. “They must face appropriate punishment. We want such a punishment that no one dares do this in the future.”

She asked the people to be vigilant against such criminal activities.

How it all started

Tensions had escalated over an alleged incident of blasphemy on October 13 during the Durga Puja celebrations in Cumilla district. Since then, acts of vandalism in Hindu temples were reported from Chandpur’s Hajiganj, Cox’s Bazar’s Pekua and Chattogram’s Banshkhali.

According to Dhaka Tribune, riots broke out in a number of Durga Puja venues.

On October 14, an ISKCON temple was vandalised in Noakhali and a devotee was killed in a mob attack.

Sporadic incidents of attacks and vandalism were reported by PTI on October 15. The Associated Press also reported a mob clash with the Dhaka police on October 15.

According to DW, nearly 10,000 demonstrators gathered in Dhaka on October 16, holding banners of Islamist political parties and chanting slogans like ‘Down with the enemies of the Islam’ and ‘Hang the culprits.’

Attacks continued on October 17 in Feni, which is 157 km from Dhaka. Several Hindu homes were set ablaze in a village in Rangpur, about 255 km Dhaka, bdnews24.com reported.

The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council has called for a hunger strike on October 23 to protest the attacks.

Is the violence linked to CAA?

Terming the communal violence in Bangladesh as “extremely worrying,” Congress leader Milind Deora has asked the government to amend the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to protect Bangladeshi Hindus.

The CAA seeks to provide citizenship to members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have entered India before December 31, 2014, fleeing religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. If India were to provide citizenship to Hindus from Bangladesh, then the cut-off date will have to be tweaked.

“CAA must be amended to protect & rehabilitate Bangladeshi Hindus fleeing religious persecution. India must also reject & thwart any communal attempt to equate Indian Muslims with Bangladeshi Islamists,” he tweeted on October 18.

Meanwhile, the BJP made a case for the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), calling it a humanitarian legislation.

"The impunity with which religious freedom of Hindus in Bangladesh is being trampled, reiterates the importance of the CAA, a humanitarian legislation," BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya said.

(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)

First Published:Oct 19, 2021 7:41 PM IST