Chief Adviser to the Interim Government of Bangladesh, mohammad yunushas said that Attacks on minority Hindus The issue has been blown out of proportion in his country and the way India is presenting it has been questioned.
In an interview PTI At his official residence, Mr. Yunus said attacks on minorities in Bangladesh were more political than communal.
He said the attacks were not communal but a result of political turmoil as there was a perception that most Hindus supported the now-ousted Awami League government.
“I have also told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that this is an exaggeration. This issue has many dimensions. When the country was going through turmoil after the atrocities of Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League, people who stood with them were also attacked,” the Nobel laureate said.
The minority Hindu population suffered vandalism of their businesses and properties, as well as destruction of Hindu temples, during the student-led violence that broke out. Removal of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from office,
Following unprecedented anti-government protests that peaked on August 5, Ms Hasina resigned as prime minister and fled to India.
He said, “Now, while beating up Awami League workers, they have also beaten up Hindus because there is a perception that Hindus in Bangladesh mean Awami League supporters. I am not saying that what happened is right, but some people are using it as an excuse to seize property. So, there is no clear distinction between Awami League supporters and Hindus.”
In his first direct contact with New Delhi last month soon after becoming the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, Mr Yunus told Prime Minister Modi that Dhaka would give priority to the safety of Hindus and all other minority groups.
During the conversation, Prime Minister Modi reaffirmed India’s support for a democratic, stable, peaceful and progressive Bangladesh He stressed the importance of ensuring the safety of Hindus and other minority communities in the violence-hit country.
Hindus, who made up 22% of Bangladesh’s population at the time of the 1971 Liberation War, now number about 8% of the population of 170 million and mainly support the Awami League, known for its secular stance.
Describing the attacks as more political than communal, Mr. Yunus questioned the way India was “publicising” them.
“These attacks are political in nature, not communal. And India is publicising these incidents on a large scale. We have not said we cannot do anything; we have said we are doing everything,” the chief adviser said.
Prime Minister Modi, in his Independence Day address from the Red Fort on August 15, had expressed hope that the situation in violence-hit Bangladesh would soon return to normal and said that 1.4 billion Indians are concerned about the safety of Hindus and minorities in the neighbouring country.
Discussing the future of India-Bangladesh relations, Mr. Yunus expressed his desire for good relations with India but stressed that New Delhi should abandon the notion that without Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh would become another Afghanistan.
“The way forward for India is to get out of this narrative. The narrative is that everybody is Islamist, the BNP is Islamist, and everybody else is Islamist and they will turn this country into Afghanistan. And Bangladesh is in safe hands only under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina.
“India has been fascinated by this narrative. India needs to come out of this narrative. Bangladesh, like any other country, is just a neighbour,” he said.
“The attempt to portray the situation of minorities in such a negative light is merely an eyewash,” the eminent economist said.
Mr Yunus said that when he met leaders of the minority community, he urged them to protest not just as Hindus but as citizens of the country with equal rights.
He said, “Even when I met members of the Hindu community, I requested them: Please do not identify yourself as Hindu; rather, you should say that you are citizens of this country and you have equal rights. If someone tries to take away your legal rights as a citizen, there are remedies for that.”
Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC), a major Hindu minority group in Bangladesh, also reported attacks on minorities, particularly Hindus, following the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government on 5 August.
Thousands of Hindus protested in Bangladesh’s capital and the northeastern port city of Chittagong on August 10-11, demanding security amid attacks on temples and their homes and businesses across the country.
Earlier in August, the Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance said the minority Hindu community had faced attacks and threats at 278 places in 48 districts since the fall of the Hasina-led government and termed it an “attack on Hinduism”.
Published – September 05, 2024 03:35 PM IST