Nari Shakti Forum members take part in a protest over violence against minorities in Bangladesh, from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on August 16, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Vice Chancellor Santishree D. Pandit on Friday (August 16) participated in a march organised under the banner of Nari Shakti forum, a Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS)-backed organisation, in Delhi to protest the violence against Hindus in Bangladesh following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government.
Speaking at the event, Ms. Swaraj said that the situation in Bangladesh, a result of political instability, was extremely worrisome and the biggest victim of this instability was the Hindu community.
“Women are being raped and men are being tortured. Our religious places are also being vandalised. Through today’s protest march, we want to tell the Bangladeshi Hindus and other minorities that we stand with them and they are not alone in this,” she said.
Hundreds of women, who participated in the protest march, walked from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar with banners and placards and demanded that violence against minorities in Bangladesh be stopped. Some protesters covered their mouths with black bands.
The protest drew a huge crowd that police had to place traffic restrictions and diversions to manage the march.
Bangladesh is witnessing political instability following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government over anti-quota protests. There have been reports of targeted attacks on the Hindu community, a minority in Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance, a non-political Hindu religious organisation, has claimed that the minority community has faced attacks and threats in 278 locations across 48 districts since August 5.
Concerned with the attack on Hindus, the Sangh Parivar and its affiliates have approached the Central government, asking them to take appropriate steps to help the Bangladeshi Hindus.
