Hindu Minorities present Human Rights report on repression faced in Bangladesh

Kartik Krushna Paksh Saptami, Kaliyug Varsh 5116

Period : 2007-2014

• 1699 temples of minorities were destroyed
• 5050 families were displaced from their land and homes
• 406 persons were forcibly converted
• 302 persons belonging to minority community were killed
• 392 women were raped
• 2900 persons were physically injured
• 50 persons were beaten up in police custody; out of whom 1 had died.

Dhaka (Bangladesh) : A report on human rights has been submitted by minorities through Bangladesh Minority Watch (BDMW) and Bangladesh Centre for Rights and Development (BDCRD) during a press conference held at Dhaka Rashtriya Press Club. In this press conference, aggrieved minority citizens narrated their experiences like kidnapping, rape, gang-rape, murders, forcible conversion, encroachment of land and constant harassment leading to their displacement etc.
 
The President of the Press Conference was Shri. Subrat Chaudhary, advocate in Supreme Court of Bangladesh and a member of Bangladesh Hindu, Buddhists’ and Christian Unity Conference. Many eminent personalities also attended the press conference and expressed their views; among them were Khandkar Mehboob Husain, the President of Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association, the Vice President of Bangladesh Bar Council and senior advocate of Supreme Court, Shri. Manoranjan Ghoshal, a renowned freedom fighter and singer, Dr. Benu Bhushan Chaudhary, a social activist and Dr. Chandankumar Sarkar, Professor of Economics and Vice President of BDMW.

Feedback by the minority community

1. Shri. Manoranjan Ghoshal : Hindus are patriots and they consider Bangladesh as their motherland. There are no ‘Razakar’ amongst Hindus after freedom of Bangladesh; still they have to leave Bangladesh due to repression and insulting treatment meted out to them. Those, oppressing Hindus are, the new ‘Razakars’.
 
2. Dr. Benu Bhushan Chaudhary : Hindus should represent parts where Hindus are in majority and even MP representing that part should also be a Hindu; only then rights of minorities will be safeguarded.
 
3. Prof. Chandan Sarkar : Not only rulers but even opposition parties oppress Hindus in the name of religion. Hindus’ temples are destroyed in the name of Prophet Mohammad and their wealth is looted. If Hindus don’t unite and oppose now, they will be found only in national museum, one day.
 
4. Shri. Subrat Chaudhary : If the Government does not protect Hindus, we will have to take help of World Human Rights Commission. It is our duty to protect our basic rights. Day by day Hindus’ prestige, honour and life has been deteriorating. It is necessary for Hindus to get protection and prompt justice.
 
Advocate Rabindra Ghosh presented report for the period 2007 to 2014 in the beginning of the press conference, as per which, 1699 temples of minorities were destroyed; 5050 families were displaced from their land and homes, 406 persons were forcibly converted, 302 persons belonging to minority community were killed, 392 women were raped, 2900 persons were physically injured, 50 persons were beaten up in police custody; out of whom 1 had died. Many aggrieved citizens from minority community narrated their experiences during the press conference.

Source : Dainik Sanatan Prabhat

For more info, do visit : http://www.justiceforhindus.org/bangladesh-minority-watch-publishes-2014-report-hindus-under-siege/

US Department of State ‘s International Religious Freedom Report for 2013 states that :

”In Bangladesh, there were a large number of arson attacks and looting of minority religious sites and private homes across the country, especially against the Hindu community. According to a domestic human rights organization, 495 statues, monasteries, or temples were destroyed; 278 homes and 208 businesses were destroyed; 188 were injured; hundreds displaced, and one person was killed during the year. In November, a mob assaulted a Hindu man and set fire to 26 homesteads in a predominantly Hindu village in Bonogram, Pabna. The police reportedly did not detain any of the perpetrators the victim named but did detain an individual who sheltered Hindus during the attack. Increased violence against minorities in the lead-up to the elections shows how minority communities are especially vulnerable during periods of political instability, when some partisans exploit latent communal sentiment to settle scores, take land, or intimidate opponents to achieve political aims.”
(http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm#wrapper)