Bangladesh's Hindus 'should not flee', says RSS leader Hosabale

Mathura: RSS leader Dattatreya Hosabale on Saturday said Bangladesh’s Hindu community “should stay there and not flee” and called on the United Nations to ensure their security.

Nearly 650 people were killed in Bangladesh between July 16 and August 11, the UN Human Rights Office has said in a preliminary report.

Speaking to reporters at the concluding day of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) two-day national meet in Mathura, the organisation’s ‘sarkaryawah (general secretary)’ said, “The government of India has said that it would protect all the minorities (in Bangladesh), including Hindus. The Sangh also issued a statement that the Hindu community there will stay there. The Hindu community of Bangladesh should not flee, they should stay there.” “It is their motherland. India played an important role in that (Bangaldesh’s 1971 independence from Pakistan). We say there is a ‘shaktipeeth’ there. That part has contributed a lot in the history of our independence. That is why we want the Hindu community not to flee from there. For this, they should be protected,” Hosabale said.

He added that the United Nations (UN) and other organisations would have to make arrangements for their security to give everyone a chance to live with respect in a democracy.

According to the 10-page report by the UN Human Rights Office, nearly 400 deaths were reported between July 16 and August 4 while around 250 people were reportedly killed following the new wave of protests between August 5 and 6, leading to the ouster of Sheikh Hasina as prime minister.

The Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance said the minority community faced attacks and threats in 278 locations across 48 districts since the Hasina government fell, terming it as an “assault on the Hindu religion”.

According to a report in The Dhaka Tribune, quoting Inspector General of Police Md Moinul Islam, 17 persons were arrested and about a dozen cases registered after Bangladesh witnessed nearly 35 untoward incidents related to Durga Puja.

The minority Hindus, constituting about 8 per cent of the population in Bangaldesh, have faced regular vandalism of their businesses, and properties and destruction of temples during and since the student-led violence erupted that led to Hasina’s ouster.