In a powerful appeal to the global community, Hindu American groups waved a giant airline banner, calling for immediate global action to stop the ongoing violence against Hindus in Bangladesh.
The large banner flew over the Hudson River and circled the Statue of Liberty, a global symbol of human dignity, freedom and equality.
The 1971 genocide, as documented by US Congressional Resolution HR 1430 in 2022, took the lives of 2.8 million people and at least 200,000 predominantly Hindu women were raped, leaving an indelible mark on the region.
Since then, Bangladesh’s Hindu population has declined from 20 percent in 1971 to only 8.9 percent today.
Recent reports of targeted violence, systematic impoverishment, lynching, kidnapping of minor girls and forced resignations from jobs affecting 200,000 Hindus, along with confiscation of property pose a serious existential threat to the 13 to 15 million Hindus living in the country. produces.
There have been approximately 250 verified attacks and more than 1,000 incidents reported since August 5, 2024.
Sitangshu Guha of the Bangladesh Hindu community and one of the organizers of the event highlighted the threat and said, “Hindus in Bangladesh are on the verge of extinction. Hopefully, this will raise awareness in the civilized world and motivate the United Nations to take action.” Will be done.” Save the victims of extremist Islamic forces in Bangladesh. If Bangladesh becomes Hindu-free, it will become Afghanistan 2.0, and terrorists will spread to other parts of the world, including neighboring India and the West.”
Pankaj Mehta, another activist who helped organize the event and a member of the Interfaith Human Rights Coalition, said, “It is time for the UN Human Rights Council to put politics aside and officially recognize the Bangladesh genocide of 1971, which “This is the largest massacre since World War II.” Three US-based organizations – the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention, Genocide Watch and the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience – have already recognized the atrocities committed by Pakistani occupation forces and their Islamic allies in 1971 as genocide, the main Were clearly the target. Hindu minority. The United Nations must follow suit and take action to prevent another impending genocide.”
Surjit Chaudhary, founding member of Shri Geeta Sangh in New Jersey, US, urged the Bangladesh government to stop all violence against the Hindu community and resolve political differences through democratic processes.
The rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Bangladesh poses a serious threat to India, as it has the potential to spread through porous borders, with existing ties between radical forces on both sides, affecting West Bengal and beyond.
It is also raising concerns among mainstream Americans, similar to those seen during the Afghanistan crisis. Humanitarian watchdogs are closely monitoring the deteriorating conditions in Bangladesh, fearing that the escalating violence could lead to a full-scale genocide.
Americans are being urged to boycott Bangladeshi apparel, which accounts for 85 percent of the country’s export earnings, until the violence stops and the perpetrators are brought to justice.
Officials of major buyers of Bangladeshi apparel – such as Walmart, H&M, Gap Inc., Target, PVH Corp and VF Corporation – have been appealed to stop shipments from Bangladesh as economic support for the country is seen being cut today. As enabling terrorism against Hindus and other minorities.
The Jewish community in the US has also expressed solidarity with the Hindu minority, comparing it to the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists in Israel. Just as the world united against extremist violence in Israel, many are now calling for immediate intervention to prevent further atrocities in Bangladesh.
The event was live-streamed on StophinduGenocide.org, where all the atrocities are being systematically documented with historical context and the ominous future facing the Hindus of Bangladesh unless the global community takes action.
