With the resignation of Sheikh Hasina government, news of attacks on Hindus started coming from Bangladesh. Most of the districts of the country are in the grip of violence. Along with attacks on people, their property is also being looted or set on fire. At the time of independence, the population of Hindus in Bangladesh was 22 percent, which has now come down to around 8 percent. Not only Hindus, the condition of other minorities settled here is also the same.
what is the population of which
According to Bangladesh Census, there are 15 crore Muslims in the country. Of these there will be 1.31 crore Hindus. After this, the second largest population is 10 lakh people who follow Buddhism. There are about 5 lakh Christians and 2 lakh followers of other religions here. Apart from these, there are also a small number of Sikhs, Jews and atheists.
right to change religion
This is one of those selected Muslim countries where conversion from one religion to another is allowed. Even Muslims can convert to another religion. There is exemption for this in Article 41 of the Constitution. However, this exemption was limited to literacy only. Most of the religious conversions took place from non-Muslims to Muslims.
According to Harvard International Review, before independence, the Hindu population in East Bengal of India was 30 percent, which decreased to 22 percent after becoming a part of Pakistan. But this percentage also dropped rapidly during the partition of Pakistan into Bangladesh. Hindus were hit twice by the fundamentalist Muslims of Pakistan and Bangladesh. Apart from the massacre, a large number of religious conversions were also carried out.
Hindu population is decreasing rapidly
Within three years of the formation of Bangladesh, the population dropped to around 13.5. Hindu American Foundation said in a report that between 1964 and 2013, 11.3 million Hindus left Bangladesh and fled to different countries including India. Apart from this, every year also about 2.25 lakh Hindus are leaving the country.
This is about Hindus, but there are many other minority communities in this Bengali speaking country. However, there is hardly any mention of them. So are they safer than Hindus?
What is the condition of the second largest minority?
Buddhists are the third largest minority community in this country. It is believed that during the time of Buddha, many Hindus had adopted Buddhism in Chittagong, East Bengal. Even now more than 65 percent people are settled around Chittagong and Dhaka. Rakhine, Chakma and Barua people follow this religion, while 35 percent of Bengalis are Buddhists.
When has there been violence against those who follow Buddhism?
– In the year 1962, while being a part of Pakistan, there was a massacre of Buddhists along with Hindus, which is known as Rajshahi massacre. During this period, 3 thousand non-Muslims were killed in Rajshahi district alone.
– In September 2012, 22 Buddhist temples were burnt in an attack on Buddhists and their religious places living in Cox’s Bazar.
– In the Koukhali massacre that took place in March 1980, more than 300 Chamka and Marma Buddhists were killed.
– In the Barkal massacre that took place in May 1984, around 400 Buddhists were killed.
Even those who believe in Christianity are not safe
The Christian community constitutes about .30 percent of the total population here. After the arrival of the Portuguese in the year 1510, Christianity spread here. But even during the Bangladesh Liberation War, many Hindus and even Muslims adopted Christianity because the people of this religion had supported them a lot. But even they could not escape the violence of the majority. The Persecution website talks about discrimination and violence against Christianity around the world. According to this, Christianity is facing the most discrimination in Bangladesh.
– In June 2001, 8 people were killed in a bomb attack on a Catholic church here.
– In July 2016, Islamic extremists killed 20 Christians.
– In April 2023, 8 tribal Christians were killed in Chittagong. Apart from this, there were continuous attacks and looting on churches also.
Why are attacks on Hindus most discussed?
All minorities are being attacked, but Hindus are being attacked more. The first reason for this is that they are the largest minority group. Talking about the recent times, many Hindu organizations claimed that since the fall of Hasina government, there have been 205 attacks on them. Since their population is large, extremists also target them first.
The second reason is increasing fundamentalism in Bangladesh. They separated from Pakistan on the basis of Bengali language, but soon the demand for an Islamic country started appearing. The large population of Hindus was a hindrance in this. This is the reason that during the liberation war, both Pakistan and Bangladesh were attackers on Hindus. Even now the fundamentalists of Bangladesh see Hindu-majority India as an enemy and from time to time there are reports of boycott of Indian products.
Hindu lands also continued to be captured
Discrimination was not limited to breaking religious places or assault, there were other ways too. For example, for a long time there was the Wasted Property Act, also known as the Enemy Property Act. Under this, the Government of Bangladesh had the option to take possession of the property of those Hindus who fled the country or were driven away. Under this law, the government there took possession of lakhs of acres of land. This rule changed only a few years ago. However, despite the promise, all the looted property could not be returned.