Hindus in Bangladesh attempt to seek refuge in India amid turmoil

With Hasina now taking refuge in India amid mass protests against her rule, tensions between the two nations have risen. Many Hindus living near the Indian border have attempted to cross over, but have faced resistance on both sides.

Mohammad Rakibul Hasan, a local government official in Thakurgaon district in northwestern Bangladesh, said around 700-800 Hindus tried to flee to India around Wednesday evening after some of their houses were attacked and looted. “They returned home after we provided protection,” Hasan told Reuters. “Border guard troops are patrolling the area. Everything is fine now with no further reports of violence.”

Earlier today, about 300 Bangladeshis gathered at a border point near India’s Jalpaiguri district but were later dispersed. Indian border troops were seen monitoring the situation.

A Hindu goldsmith in the Narsingdi area, about an hour from Dhaka, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals, said two youths demanded protection money of 1 million Bangladesh taka ($8,550) and relented only after they agreed to pay 100,000 taka.

Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, who returned to Bangladesh on Thursday to head an interim government following Hasina’s departure, said attacks on minorities could have been part of a conspiracy. He did not say who was behind the conspiracy. “Our job is to protect all of them,” he said on arrival in Dhaka from Paris.
“If you have faith in me and trust me, please ensure no one is attacked in the country. If you cannot listen to me on this, I have no use being here.”

Meanwhile, India, which has a Hindu majority, has said it was worrying that minorities, their businesses and temples had been attacked in many places. “It is the responsibility of every government to ensure the wellbeing of all its citizens,” India’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, told a press conference. “We hope for the early restoration of law and order in Bangladesh. This is both in the interest of the country itself and the larger region.”

Bangladesh’s Hindu community leaders urged other communities to look after the religious minorities. “I call upon the conscientious people of the country to forget all differences and stand unitedly by the side of the affected people and build social resistance,” said Moyna Talukdar of the Bangladesh Hindu Law Reform Council.

(With inputs from Reuters)