Bangladesh Hindu leader: BNP, Jamaat ensured Temples, Hindus are not targeted
Categorically refuting the reports in a section of Indian Media about attacks on Bangladeshi Hindus, the Bangladesh Jatiya Hindu Mohajote said the leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) ensured the safety of their homes and Hindu places of worship
Categorically refuting the reports in a section of Indian Media about attacks on Bangladeshi Hindus, the Bangladesh Jatiya Hindu Mohajote said the leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) ensured the safety of their homes and Hindu places of worship.
Bangladesh Jatiya Hindu Mohajote, or Bangladesh National Hindu Mahajot, is the grand alliance of 23 small and big Hindu religious organizations of Bangladesh.
“After Sheikh Hasina's resignation last afternoon, the Hindu community of this country thought they would be attacked on a large scale, and there'd be incidents of arson and looting.
“But, leaders of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat instructed their functionaries to ensure that Hindu homes are not attacked and temples are protected”, Advocate Gobinda Pramanik, Secretary General of Bangladesh Jatio Hindu Mohajote, said in a video statement.
“And we actually saw that Temples are being protected”, he said.
Advocate Gobinda Pramanik’s video statement came in the wake of anti-government protests in Bangladesh and the consequent resignation of Sheikh Hasina as Prime Minister.
Sheikh Hasina who was in power in Bangladesh since last 15 years resigned as Prime Minister Monday and fled the country.
She is currently residing at the Hindon Air Force base in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad - around 30 km from Indian capital Delhi. According to reports, she is in conversation with a number of countries for asylum.
Sheikh Hasina’s resignation came after months of violent protests by students which saw deaths of more than 300.
Amid the anti-government protests in Bangladesh, a section of Indian media in a blatant communal coverage claimed widespread violence and attacks on Bangladeshi Hindus.
Advocate Gobinda Pramanik however refuted all these reports saying homes of some Hindu leaders who were known supporters of Sheikh Hasina were attacked, like her supporters from the Muslim community.
“The houses of some Hindu leaders of the Awami League who were very active as well as those of some Muslim leaders were attacked”, Advocate Pramanik said.
“Some opportunistic people attacked a few local temples, but no big incident”, he added.
Advocate Gobinda Pramanik also slammed the Indian media, especially the Republic TV.
“Today, we saw Republic TV from India spreading rumours and making strange claims, and expressing pain that Sheikh Hasina had to resign and leave the country”, he said.
“One Republic TV reporter called me. I told him if you are so worried about Hasina, remove PM Modi and announce Sheikh Hasina as your PM. She will protect India and also the Seven Sisters.
"You are repeatedly saying that Seven Sisters would not exist if Hasina is not there. Now, this is a big opportunity for you. You make Sheikh Hasina India's PM”, Advocate Gobinda Pramanik can be heard saying in the video message.
Photos, videos of Muslims protecting temples viral
Meanwhile, photos and videos of Muslims sitting outside Hindu temples and ensuring their safety are viral on different social media platforms.
In one social media post, a student leader is seen appealing the masses from the mosque loudspeaker to maintain communal harmony and protect Hindu minorities.
In another post, a student taking to the social media platform X accused the BJP and the Indian media of spreading misinformation and fake news.
He said contrary to what is being reported by the Indian media, Muslims in Bangladesh are actually protecting Hindus and the Hindu places of worship.
S Jaishankar hails 'groups' protecting minorities
Commenting on the latest development in the neighbouring country, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar in a briefing in Parliament expressed India's concerns over the violence against minorities in Bangladesh, at the same time praising the protection provided to the minorities.
"There are reports of violence against the minorities and their properties at various places of Bangladesh. But, the full extent of this is still not clear.
"There are also reports of initiatives by various groups and organisations to ensure the protection of minorities and their well being. We welcome that", Jaishankar said in Rajya Sabha.
Speaking in the Indian Parliament's Upper House, Jaishankar also said that there were an estimated 19,000 Indian nationals in the country, of them about 9,000 were students, adding that the bulk of students returned home in the month of July.
The Human rights activists and lawyers in a statement also ruled out attacks of Hindus or the Hindu Temples. They said the students’ protest has not been against Hindus or other minorities.
“It is the goal of the next generation to build Bangladesh where it is free for all citizens, especially the minority groups. The student leaders leading the movement have called upon their cadre to form small groups to protect Hindu temples”, Mohammed Rakibul Hakim, Human Rights activist, said.
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