Two prominent Indian-American lawmakers have sought direct US intervention to stop “coordinated attacks” against minority Hindus in Bangladesh, underlining that instability in the region “fuelled by religious intolerance and violence” is not in the interest of the US or its allies.
Members of minority communities in Bangladesh have faced at least 205 incidents of attacks in 52 districts since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government on August 5, according to two Hindu organisations in the violence-hit country – Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad.
Thousands of Bangladeshi Hindus are trying to flee to neighbouring India to escape the violence.
In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on August 9, Congressman Sri Thanedar said that he is not alone in his stance against the atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh. Many people in the international community, including some from his own district, have condemned the violent actions against minority groups in Bangladesh.
“With Muhammad Yunus taking office as interim Prime Minister of Bangladesh, the United States has an obligation to assist this new government to ensure that violence and civil unrest end. I urge the Biden Administration to grant temporary protected status as refugees to persecuted Bangladeshi Hindus and other religious minorities,” the Michigan congressman wrote to Blinken.
Mr Yunus, an 84-year-old Nobel laureate, was sworn in as head of the interim government in Bangladesh on Thursday.
According to Hindu community leaders in Dhaka, several Hindu temples, homes and business establishments were vandalised, women were attacked and at least two Hindu leaders associated with Hasina’s Awami League party were killed in the violence that broke out in Bangladesh after they fled the country.
Mr. Thanedar urged Mr. Blinken to work closely with Yunus and his government “to end the coordinated attacks against Bangladeshi Hindus”.
He stressed that Mr. Yunus has called for an end to the violence and welcomed his desire to rebuild the country.
The Indian-American lawmaker said, “This is a critical time for Bangladesh and we must do everything we can to support them in their efforts to end the violent actions and rhetoric against Hindus in the country.”
In a letter to Mr. Blinken dated August 8, a copy of which was released to the press on Friday, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said credible eyewitness reports of anti-Hindu attacks in various media reports demonstrate the scale of the attacks.
Mr Krishnamurthy wrote, “I am writing to you regarding the volatile situation in Bangladesh and the escalation of coordinated anti-Hindu violence following the resignation of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Now that Muhammad Yunus has been sworn in as chief adviser to the interim government, it is imperative that the United States engage with her government to end the violence and bring the perpetrators to justice.”
He said, “Sadly, this is not the first time that anti-government protests in Bangladesh have turned into anti-Hindu violence. Anti-Hindu riots in October 2021 left nine people dead amid the destruction of hundreds of homes, businesses and temples… In 2017, more than 107 Hindus were killed and 37 ‘disappeared’… after the International Crimes Tribunal convicted Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delwar Sayeedi of war crimes.”
Mr. Krishnamurthy underlined that instability in the region, “fueled by religious intolerance and violence, is clearly not in the interest of the United States or our allies”.
He urged Mr Blinken to engage “directly” with the interim government and use US influence to help his administration end the violence and “bring those responsible to justice”.
Mr. Thanedar said in his letter that political violence is not a new phenomenon in Bangladesh and the country has witnessed several coups and leadership changes since its formation in 1971.
Targeting the Hindu population is also not new. The Congress member said Hindus make up only eight per cent of Bangladesh’s population, leaving this minority community vulnerable to discrimination and violence.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
