Yunus Is Presiding Over A Bloodbath Against Hindus In Bangladesh. How India Can—And Must—Stop It

Angry protests by Hindus Tuesday (November 26) in Chittagong against the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmay Krishna Das on false charges of sedition have triggered a vicious backlash by police and radical Islamists against Hindus in Bangladesh. 

Das was arrested in Dhaka late Monday (November 25) afternoon and produced before a court in Chittagong Tuesday (November 26), which denied him bail.

The court’s order sending Das, a senior monk of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) to jail triggered protests in the Chitttagong court premises by Hindus. 

Initially, the Hindu protestors only raised slogans. But the police and a number of Islamist lawyers attacked the protestors. The police launched a brutal lathicharge on them. 

According to reports coming out of Chittagong, where an internet ban has been imposed, scores of Hinduphobic radical Islamists joined in the attacks on peaceful Hindu protestors. 

This frenzied Islamist mob driven by bloodlust mistook assistant public prosecutor Saiful Islam Alif for a Hindu and hacked him to death. 

The death of the 35-year-old Alif triggered frenzied attacks on Hindu homes, properties and temples by rabid Muslim mobs. The police also joined in the mayhem that is still continuing.

Areas in Chittagong which have a concentration of Hindus like Patharghata Mathar Potti, Andarkilla and Hazari Goli became targets of the Islamists and police. 

Later in the evening, uniformed personnel of the Bangladesh Army also joined in the attacks in the name of maintaining law and order. 

Scores of Hindu homes were looted and then set on fire. Many Hindu-owned shops, including jewellery shops, were looted by the police, army personnel and the Muslim mobs. 

Hindu community leaders in Bangladesh fear that the attacks on the minority community will spread to other parts of the country as well because of provocative statements that are being issued since Tuesday evening by Muslim organisations, lawyers’ bodies and even civil society leaders. 

The killing of the lawyer in Chittagong by a rabid Islamist mob--a case of mistaken identity by the Muslim mob--is now being used as an excuse by Muslims all over the country to attack Hindus and to call for ISKCON being banned in the Muslim-majority country. 

Even the country’s attorney general, Mohammad Asaduzzaman, has called for a ban on ISKCON and death sentences to those responsible for the murder of the lawyer in Chittagong. Asaduzzaman had, two weeks ago, demanded annulment of past constitutional amendments which made Bangladesh a secular nation. 

“Given the toxic climate in Bangladesh with the interim administration (headed by Mohammad Yunus), the police, army, the entire government machinery and the courts all aligning themselves against Hindus, we fear that Hindus will come under vicious attacks all over the country. It started in Chittagong yesterday (November 26) and is spreading to other parts of the country,” Gautam Paul, a Hindu rights activist and businessman based in Dhaka told Swarajya. 

He added that Muslims in Bangladesh are outraged by the protests being staged in the country over the attacks on them (the Hindus) by Muslims. 

“A large section of Muslims, including civil society, are angry that the Hindus of the country have mustered the courage to hold rallies and protest the attacks the community has been subjected to since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in early August. They are saying that Hindus are defaming Bangladesh. The false cases lodged against Chinmay Krishna Das and others is a manifestation of this anger, and a message to Hindus to accept their fate and continue to be subjugated by Muslims,” said Paul. 

“But having been persecuted for so many decades, we are now with our backs to the wall. It is now or never for us and that’s why we have got ourselves together to demand our rights as equal citizens. It is a fight to the finish for us. Either we win and achieve our demands, or we die to leave the country,” he said.

What India should do

India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a statement Tuesday evening expressing “deep concern” over the arrest and denial of bail to the ISKCON monk and “multiple attacks on Hindus and other communities by extremist elements in Bangladesh”. 

India has urged Bangladesh to “ensure the safety and security of Hindus and all minorities, including their right of freedom of peaceful assembly and expression”. 

Bangladesh, expectedly, rejected India’s concern and said that the arrest and incarceration of the ISKCON monk is an “internal affair” of that country. 

Bangladesh’s foreign ministry said “such unfounded statements not only misrepresent facts but also stand contrary to the spirit of friendship and understanding between the two neighbouring countries”.  

Mohammad Yunus and others in his administration have been denying that Hindus and other religious minorities have come under attacks in Bangladesh. They have rejected reports of such attacks as fake and insisted that Hindus are safe in that country. 

Yunus has given a free rein to Islamists and allowed them to gain a lot of influence in Bangladesh. One of his first acts after becoming the chief advisor of the interim government was to free Islamist terrorists from prison and lift the bans of proscribed Islamist terror outfits. 

It is, then, only natural that Yunus and others in Bangladesh, where Islamists now rule the roost, deny attacks on Hindus while, at the same time, encourage attacks on the beleaguered minorities of the country. 

This is why India should not rest content with issuing statements. Such statements will serve no purpose and will not motivate Yunus to reverse his sanction on persecution of Hindus and other religious minorities. 

Here are a few ways of doing so.

One, Influence the incoming Trump administration to lean hard on Yunus.

India has to leverage its good ties with the incoming Trump administration and get Trump and senior figures in the administration to lean hard on Yunus. 

Trump’s earlier statement condemning the “barbaric attacks” on Hindus in Bangladesh shook the Yunus administration. 

Bangladesh is highly susceptible to pressure from the US, and will be wary of a rap on its knuckles by Washington. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has to leverage his personal ties with the US President-elect to deliver another rap on Yunus’ knuckles. In fact, Trump has to be requested to deliver an ultimatum to Yunus to protect Hindus and stop state persecution of Hindus and Hindu religious leaders and also implement safeguards for Hindus. 

Two, build global opinion against persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh.

New Delhi has to work with other powers, especially the West, to highlight persecution of religious minorities in Bangladesh.

Opinion should be built up against such persecution and also the rise of Islamist radicals in Bangladesh.

The world has to be made aware of how Mohammad Yunus has encouraged Islamists and allowed them a free rein in Bangladesh. 

Other countries have to be made aware that the rise of Islamists, and Islamist terror groups, in Bangladesh poses a grave threat to world peace and stability and this should be nipped in the bud. 

Western countries have to be influenced not only to issue statements criticising Bangladesh, but also issue warnings of sanctions against the Muslim-majority nation. 

Bangladesh will be susceptible to such pressure because it depends on the goodwill of many western powers to keep the country running and for precious foreign exchange. 

Three, hold out the threat of punitive action.

India has to now bare its fangs and hold out the threat--not publicly as of now, but through diplomatic channels--of punitive action against Bangladesh. 

Bangladesh relies on India for essential commodities like medicines and onions. India can use this dependence as leverage to warn Yunus that any further escalation of the situation will have serious consequences for his administration.

While India would refrain from imposing an embargo on essential medicines, even a temporary halt in the export of cotton to Bangladesh could deliver a powerful message by crippling the country's readymade garment sector, a key source of foreign exchange for Bangladesh, which is already facing a mounting financial crisis.

Four, warn Dhaka against any misadventure.

New Delhi also has to forewarn Dhaka against any misadventure like allowing Pakistan to use Bangladesh to foment trouble in Northeast India as had happened in the past. 

A repeat of that will trigger strong action by India which has the capacity now to take punitive action against anti-India elements sheltered even deep inside Bangladesh. 

Five, hold out the prospects of rewards for protecting Hindus.

India also has to dangle the carrot before Mohammad Yunus. The rewards for cracking down on Islamists, protecting Hindus and other religious minorities and instituting safeguards, including Constitutional safeguards, for religious minorities should be spelt out. 

And the rewards should be substantial and must be spelt out.

Merely issuing statements and expecting Yunus to act on them would be naive on the part of India. It is high time that New Delhi takes off its gloves and forces Yunus to act. 

Also read: Arrest Of ISKCON Monk In Dhaka Yet Another Proof Of Yunus Administration Caving In To Bangladeshi Islamists' Wishes