Amid political unrest and violence leading to the ousting of Prime Minister Sheik Hasina in Bangladesh, several cases of attacks on the minority Hindu community have also been reported. This has raised concerns among Hindus in India.
Indian media, specifically major right-wing runners have broadcast their concerns. However, the number reflected by these channels does not reportedly reflect the reality on the ground, drawing criticism. Al Jazeera, an International media house headquartered in Qatar, in a report, criticised the coverage of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ousting and the violence that followed.
The reports say that Hindus, which make up 8 percent of 170 billion Bangladeshis, have traditionally supported the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League, which is generally viewed as more secular compared to the Opposition coalition, which includes an Islamist Jamaat-e-Islaami.
The report stated that Indian news media platforms and social media influencers have been pushing falsifying stories of mass murders and Bangladesh’s minorities being at the centre of attacks.
They projected properties owned by the ruling party leaders being attacked by the protestors as an attack on minorities while in reality, the attacks were politically motivated rather than communal.
After nationwide protests that spanned over a month, with over 300 people getting killed at the hands of the government and thousands remaining injured and jailed, the Awami League government led by former Prime Minister Hasina was brought down.
As of Thursday, August 9, only two Hindus were killed after Hasina was ousted from power. Among the two Hindus killed, one was identified as a police officer, and the other was an activist of Hasina’s Awami League party, the report stated.
According to the local media, since Monday, Hindu-owned houses have been attacked in 20 of the country’s 64 districts. However, the report suggested that the attacks were not motivated by religious identities but rather by political affiliations.
The Hindu households that were attacked, along with Muslim households, belonged to supporters of Sheikh Hasina who had allegedly been misusing their power over common people till the Awami League was out of power.
The houses that were attacked across the country were those of the leaders and activists of the Awami League party, which has been ruling over the country with an iron fist for the majority of Bangladesh’s independent history. The Al Jazeera report verifies that violence happens indiscriminately of religion, but over the motives of their political affiliations instead.
In contrast, Al Jazeera flags India’s coverage as seen through an “Islamophobic eye.”
The report says that Indian news media alleges Bangladesh’s protests were influenced by China and Pakistan’s spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), to promote an Islamic state with the help of the country’s main opposition parties, namely the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami, creating confusion among viewers.
Though experts say that there are widespread anti-Indian sentiments in the country due to the backing the Indian government has been giving to hugely unpopular Sheikh Hasina, this is not on the grounds of religious identity or anti-Hindu.
Bangladesh is now ruled by an interim government, headed by Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel laureate economist. Popularly known as the ‘banker of the poor’, and has been a vocal critic of the Sheikh Hasina regime. The economist-led caretaker government plans to conduct free and fair elections in three months, and bring the country to the path of economic revival; establishing peace, law and order.
