This year Bangladesh has witnessed a lot of social and political upheavals. It all started in the month of August when students protested against Sheikh Hasina. The protests escalated so much that Sheikh Hasina had to take refuge in New Delhi . However the most troubling issue has been the way minorities have been treated in Bangladesh. The month of August witnessed violent killings of the Hindus in Bangladesh. The Hindu Buddhist Christian unity council reported that from August 4 to August 20 , a total of 2,010 incidents of attacks took place against the minorities in Bangladesh. What is the point of having these international conventions to protect the minorities?.
It seems like a precarious situation for the Hindus in Bangladesh under Muhammad Yunus. The recent arrest of the ISKCON priest , Chinmoy Krishna Das has further escalated the issue. Das has been arrested under a sedition case . He was accused of insulting the national flag of Bangladesh, however the issue here is the way Bangladesh is treating its minorities and arresting people based on unproven allegations. Is it fair to arrest a person and deny him bail just because he belongs to a minority group?. There is clearly an anti minority sentiment prevailing in Bangladesh. Over the years the Hindu population in Bangladesh has declined significantly and the government has been in most cases indifferent towards the plight of Hindus there. In this situation it is only fair for Hindu leaders over there to raise these issues and protest peacefully. Why are peaceful protestors being unfairly targeted?.
The issue also highlights the hypocrisy prevailing in Bangladesh where terror suspects are given bail whereas peaceful protesters are arrested without bail for baseless allegations. Radical Islamist groups over there are not targeted in the same way as peaceful Hindu groups, clearly highlighting the hypocrisy prevailing over there. This is a clear example of majoritarianism.
The Bangladesh issue highlights the major issue of minority rights. There are international agreements and conventions to protect minorities. But what is the point of all this if minorities everywhere feel threatened. Democratic countries at least talk about minority rights , but countries who call themselves democratic are not really democratic in practice. That is why a global attention is required to deal with the issues of minorities. The struggle of minorities is a never ending struggle but it becomes imperative to address these issues in the international arena, especially when it comes to Bangladesh. However the most troublesome thing is Bangladesh being reluctant to find a feasible solution to the crisis. India has promised trade sanctions on Bangladesh, however even that couldn’t help resolve the issue. Bangladesh is denying the fact it’s been intolerant towards Hindu minorities , it has accused India of disinformation. The lies in Bangladesh have now reached such an extent that even road accidents are being falsely portrayed as part of ISKCON’s conspiracy. How can minority rights be assured if nation- states are in denial of being intolerant towards them?. This has made the issue a very serious one and has strained Indo- Bangladesh relations.
The solution here is definitely a global one. It is important for this issue to be raised in the international arena. Nation- states should find a common consensus to resolve the issue. As minorities are being targeted, it becomes important for nation- states to condemn the issue as much as possible . It’s high time that all these international conventions and laws to protect the minorities are finally put in place. Until then it’s a precarious situation for minorities all over the world. Addressing minority rights is definitely the need of the hour.
