Attacks on Bangladesh Hindus During Durga Puja 2021

Perpetrator: Islamist mobs in Bangladesh

Date: 13-24 October 2021

Numbers: At least 1650 homes of Hindus burnt with arson, 343 Hindu temples vandalized and destroyed with arson, more than 14 Hindus brutally murdered, 26 Hindu women and girls raped, 17 Hindus are missing, and hundreds have been critically injured, and hundreds of Hindu businesses and shops arsoned and ransacked.

Starting Durga Puja, a holy and sacred festival season for all Hindus, especially Bengali Hindus, a series of brutal attacks were carried out on Hindus of Bangladesh which continue unabated as of this writing, inspite of presence of police and statements from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that this violence will be curbed and stern action will be taken against the perpetrators.

The violence was reported as triggered due to an act of “blasphemy”, the placement of a Quran in a Durga puja mondap. It has now come to light that the said Quran was placed by an Iqbal Hussain. The reasons and intent behind such an act are clear: these are pogroms driven by hatred of a minority ethnic group.

A brief timeline covering some key incidents in the ongoing pogroms of Hindus:

Several Hindu temples and puja mondaps were completely vandalized, desecrated and destroyed with arson. The intent was to stir unrest amongst the Hindu community, to insult them and their gods and goddesses, and trigger them into a retaliation. These actions look like the result of an inherent bias against Hindu methods of worship, since not just Hindu men and women, but also their places of worship were desecrated and disrespected in the worst possible ways.

Hindu homes and businesses were ransacked, and decimated with arson or with arms. To wage this sort of large-scale violence, the mobs would have to be armed and prepared in advance. Hence, claims of these attacks being spontaneous are false and illogical. This level of violence cannot be caused by or justified due to a rumour of a Qoran at a Puja mondap.

Hindus all over Bangladesh are currently terrorized and unsure of their future. The police has failed to protect their lives. Many Hindus have lost everything they owned, and are now penniless and in a state of despair and destitution. Nobody has received any aid from any organization or any government agency, as per the news reports.

Hindus constitute a minority in Bangladesh, with their population continuously declining, since the formation of East Pakistan. Currently, their population is estimated to be between 8% to 9 % of the total population.

Official Statement With Details of Attacks by World Hindu Federation, Bangladesh Chapter

To apprise people of the scale of the atrocities, World Hindu Federation, Bangladesh Chapter, released a detailed update on the number, location and other details of the attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, documented up till 24th October.

Condemnation by Human Rights Organizations

After a few days of attacks, arson and vandalization of Hindu Puja mondaps and temples, there was condemnation by Human Rights organizations of the atrocities.

The United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), tweeted, asking Bangladesh government to safeguard Hindus:

United Nations Resident Coordinator for Bangladesh tweeted out:

Amnesty has issued a stern statement, asking Bangladesh government to act immediately and stop the ongoing religious persecution.

“Reports of a spate of attacks by angry mobs against members of the Hindu community, their homes, temples and puja pandals during the country’s biggest Hindu festival, are symptomatic of the growing anti-minority sentiment in the country.

Repeated attacks against individuals, communal violence, and destruction of the homes and places of worship of minorities in Bangladesh over the years show that the state has failed in its duty to protect minorities.”

Amnesty International UK

The State Department for International Religious Freedom has also issued a statement condemning the heinous attacks on Hindus.

Protests by Hindu Community

Hindus worldwide have been aggrieved watching the news of helpless Hindus being continuously attacked in Bangladesh, without any let up. There have been peaceful protests by Hindus in India, Bangladesh and USA opposing the brutal attacks on Hindus of Bangladesh.

Censorship of Information

The sad part of this ongoing genocide is that there is a mass suppression and censorship of information ongoing, as regards the horrors of the pogroms. Two prominent twitter handles, ISKCON Bangladesh @ISKCONBDH (the temple that was arsoned in Bangladesh) and Bangladesh Hindu Unity Council @unitycouncilBD have been deleted from Twitter. It is shocking that organizations speaking up for the persecuted Hindus, a minority group in Bangladesh, are being removed from social media platforms like Twitter, at a time when their presence there is crucial.

On 1 December 2021, the Twitter handle of @StoriesofBHs was suspended. It was an account dedicated to creating content on the culture of Bengali Hindus in India and Bangladesh, and sharing information on the persecution of Bengali Hindus.

A journalist shared further information on self-censorship by mainstream media in Bangladesh in a thread. He says:

“Media in Bangladesh have grown a habit of censoring news. Some covered the anti-Hindu violence so timidly that it almost felt as if nothing happened. So I spoke to 4 journalists — two from newspapers, one TV station and the other a news website — to understand what caused this.

Two reporters — both from two outlets known as friendly to the govt. — told me that two different govt. agencies asked them to exercise restraint in covering the violence. A news editor at another outlet, also pro-government, says they didn’t receive explicit instructions.

However, he said, editors at the outlet figured something was off, given the dearth of news in other outlets, despite outcries on social media. “So we also followed them,” he said, explaining why his outlet was also so mute. In other words, they simply exercised self-censorship.”

— Nazmul Ahsan on Twitter

Prime Minister Hasina Sheikh needs to take firm action and compensate all the affected Hindu families in Bangladesh. All destroyed Hindu temples must be reconstructed with state protection and funds. Human Rights Organizations must mount pressure on the government to not censor information, and reign in on the censorship by big tech media as well. This matter requires urgent intervention, and if this is not addressed ASAP, more Hindus will lose lives and homes in Bangladesh. Bangladesh must live up to its secular character.

References:

Bangladesh violence: Furfura Sharif cleric’s ‘beheading’ remark kicks off controversy

Violence, vandalism in several districts

Bangladesh violence needs to stop: UN

Two killed in religious unrest in Bangladesh

UNRC: Attacks on Hindus need to be stopped

Bangladesh Durga Puja violence: Vandalism continues

Bangladesh communal violence: 20 Hindu homes set afire by mob

18 bombs recovered near Khulna temple

‘What will happen to us when police leave?’

Timeline: Attacks on Hindus since October 13

Certain Iqbal Hossain kept holy Quran at puja mandap in Cullima: Police

Bangladesh: Wave of anti-Hindu attacks must be fully investigated by authorities

WHF Report: Brutal Attack on Hindus in Bangladesh (13-24 October 2021)

Last updated on 9 December, 00:30 IST