In a country still bearing the scars of its Liberation War, Bangladesh’s Hindu community says it feels increasingly abandoned by the state it helped create. The minority group, which suffered disproportionately during the 1971 war, now faces renewed threats under the army- and Islamist-backed interim government led by Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus.
Yunus has urged Hindus to “see themselves first as citizens rather than as members of a religious minority,” arguing that this mindset would strengthen national unity and protect their rights. But minority advocates say his comments show a deep disconnect from reality. “He tells us not to think of ourselves as Hindus—yet it is as Hindus that we are attacked, displaced, and silenced,” said a community leader in Faridpur, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The government that asks us to forget our identity is the one that denies us justice.”
Controversial Remarks on Minority Identity
In an interview with commentator Mehdi Hasan, Yunus said, “My message to them, when I meet community leaders, is don’t go back and say, ‘I’m a Hindu, so protect me.’ Always say, ‘I’m a citizen of this country. I’m entitled to all the protection the state is supposed to give me.’” He insisted that Hindus should not feel isolated or separate from the rest of the population.
However, his remarks come amid widespread allegations that his interim regime has turned a blind eye to anti-Hindu violence. Human rights organizations report a surge in attacks, land grabs, and arson targeting Hindu homes and temples since the fall of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s elected government in August 2024.
At least 2,000 incidents of murder, rape, and looting against religious minorities were documented between August 4 and 20, 2024, by the Bangladesh Hindu, Buddhist, Christian Unity Council. The group said mobs linked to pro-government Islamist factions raided villages, desecrated temples, and burned Hindu-owned shops in districts such as Narail, Khulna, and Barisal—often under the watch of local police.
Denial and Disinformation
Yunus has repeatedly dismissed such accounts as “fake news” spread by Indian media and hostile groups. “One of the specialties of India right now is fake news—a barrage of fake news,” he told Hasan. He claimed that reports of temple attacks and mob assaults were exaggerated or fabricated, insisting that most were “local disputes” over property.
But international watchdogs paint a far darker picture. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have both raised alarm over “organized, religion-based violence” under the interim regime. Satellite imagery reviewed by independent researchers shows entire Hindu neighborhoods razed in parts of Gazipur and Sylhet during August and September 2024.
Yunus’s dismissive tone has deepened distrust among minorities. “When our temples burn, the government calls it misinformation. When our people disappear, they say it’s political propaganda,” said Subrata Chowdhury, a rights lawyer who has represented families of missing Hindus. “If this is citizenship, it comes without dignity.”
Manindra Kumar Nath, Acting General Secretary of the Bangladesh Hindu, Buddhist, Christian Unity Council, told The Voice today: “It is unfortunate that a Nobel Peace Prize laureate Chief Adviser is denying the truth. Hindus are persecuted minorities in Bangladesh. We have faced inhuman attacks countrywide after the August 5 changeover in the country. Yunus himself earlier admitted that attacks on Hindus were acts of political vengeance. It is not necessary to remind us that we are Bangladeshis. We have sacrificed the most for establishing this country. Still, we are the most persecuted community in this land.”
A Climate of Fear
Bangladesh’s Hindu population, once nearly a fifth of the country, has shrunk to less than 8 percent. The decline has accelerated in the past year amid mob violence, arbitrary arrests, and forced evictions. Hindu families report being pressured to sell land or flee abroad. Many temples have stopped holding public pujas for fear of attacks.
The interim government’s promise of equal protection has done little to restore confidence. Rights groups say state forces often stand by as mobs attack, while victims are denied access to justice. “Under this regime, law enforcement appears selective—protecting perpetrators, not the persecuted,” said a Dhaka University sociologist who tracks minority displacement.
Even as Hindu leaders plead for security, Yunus insists his administration is “alert” to all threats and working to maintain peace. Yet field reports from rights monitors suggest otherwise: attacks have spread beyond traditional flashpoints to urban areas like Mirpur and Savar.
Political and Historical Context
The persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh is not new, but it has sharply intensified since Sheikh Hasina’s ouster. The Awami League—historically seen as a protector of secular and minority rights—was replaced by an interim regime that critics say is beholden to Islamist political interests.
Hindus were among the largest victims of violence during the 1971 Liberation War, when Pakistani forces and local collaborators targeted them as supporters of Bangladesh’s independence. Five decades later, they face a new wave of persecution, this time from forces aligned with those same ideologies.
“The irony is painful,” said Professor Dipankar Dutta, a historian of South Asian politics. “The very community that bled for Bangladesh’s freedom now lives in fear, and the very forces that opposed independence are back in power under a Nobel laureate’s watch.”
Growing International Concern
Global advocacy groups and diaspora organizations have condemned the interim government’s record. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recently called for “immediate steps to protect vulnerable minorities” and urged Washington to review aid to Dhaka in light of human rights violations.
India, which hosts millions of Bangladeshi Hindu refugees, has expressed “grave concern” over the situation but has avoided direct confrontation with the Yunus government. Analysts say New Delhi’s cautious stance reflects its strategic balancing act—wary of pushing Dhaka further toward Islamist influence or Chinese patronage.
Between Fear and Faith
For ordinary Hindus, the struggle is daily and deeply personal. In villages near Gopalganj and Netrakona, families displaced by arson live in makeshift shelters beside riverbanks. “We are citizens, but not equals,” said one widow whose husband was killed while guarding their temple in September. “Our gods have no police protection.”
Many still cling to the hope that Bangladesh’s pluralist spirit can survive the current storm. But as the state’s silence deepens and attacks continue, the country’s Hindu population faces a question that cuts to the core of national identity: can one remain both a proud citizen and a visible Hindu in today’s Bangladesh?
