Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has spoken out strongly against attacks on the Hindu minority community in Bangladesh during the recent political turmoil in the country following the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Condemning the violence, Mr. Ramaswamy said the deeper issues in Bangladesh are rooted in the country’s long-standing, yet controversial, quota system.
“The targeted violence against Hindus in Bangladesh is wrong, it is worrying, and it is a warning to the victim-dominated quota system,” Mr. Ramaswami wrote in X magazine.
The targeted violence against Hindus in Bangladesh is wrong, it is alarming, and it is a warning against victim-laden quota systems. Here is what happened: Bangladesh fought a bloody war for its independence in 1971. Hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi civilians were killed…
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) August 14, 2024
Mr Ramaswami explained the origins of the quota system, which was implemented after the 1971 war that saw Bangladesh gain independence from Pakistan.
He said, “Bangladesh fought a bloody war for its independence in 1971. Millions of Bangladeshi citizens were raped and murdered. It was a tragedy and rightly mourned. But after that, Bangladesh implemented a quota system for jobs in its civil service: 80% of jobs were allocated to specific social groups (war veterans, rape victims, underrepresented residents, etc.) and only 20% were allocated based on merit.”
Political turmoil in Bangladesh reached a climax on August 5 when 76-year-old Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country by helicopter to India as protesters took over the streets of Dhaka. It brought a dramatic end to her 15-year rule, marred by allegations of human rights abuses. The weeks leading up to her ouster were bloody, with more than 450 people killed during the unrest.
“The quota system has proven to be a disaster,” Mr Ramaswami claimed. He pointed to 2018 protests that led Bangladesh to scrap most quotas, only to reinstate them in 2024. The Indian-origin politician warned that such systems designed to correct past wrongs could inadvertently continue cycles of violence.
He said, “Once chaos begins, it cannot be easily stopped. Radicals are now targeting Hindu minorities. The Kota struggle that was started to correct the wrongs of rape and violence in 1971 is now leading to more rape and violence in 2024. Bloodshed is the end point of grievance and victimhood. It is hard to look at Bangladesh and think about what lessons we should learn right here in our country.”
Members of Ms. Hasina’s Awami League party went into hiding and the country plunged into even further instability. According to reports from the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, there have been at least 205 incidents of attacks on minority communities in 52 districts since Ms. Hasina left. Thousands of Bangladeshi Hindus have taken refuge in India, fearing for their safety in the volatile environment.