Nobel laureate and Chief adviser of Bangladesh’s new interim government Muhammad Yunus. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Citizens of Bangladesh will not be discriminated against on the basis of their religion or political beliefs, Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of the Interim Government of Bangladesh, said on Sunday (August 25, 2024). Delivering a televised address to the nation ahead of the national holiday on the occasion of Sri Krishna Janmashtami, Prof. Yunus assured that his government would deliver on the promises made to the students and the common people who overthrew the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and pledged to hold elections after a nationwide “political consultation”.

“We will not discriminate against anyone for following a different religion or for having a different political opinion. We want to include all members of the country into one family,” Prof. Yunus said speaking in Bangla and added, “Religious minorities, tribes and other marginalised communities are equal citizens of the ‘new’ Bangladesh and they will have equal rights.”

The speech telecast at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday (August 25, 2024) is symbolically significant in the backdrop of recent reports of attacks against places of worship and property belonging to the minority religious groups in Bangladesh. Sri Krishna Janmashtami along with Bijoya Dashami, Christmas, Good Friday, and Buddha Purnima are some of the religious events of minority groups that Bangladesh marks as national holidays.

Preparation for Janmashtami is underway in Hindu temples and institutions in Dhaka and other cities of Bangladesh. Programmes are also scheduled to be held by Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad and Mahanagar Sarbajanin Puja Committee at the Dhakeshwari National Temple which is the most important Hindu religious institution in Dhaka. This is expected to be followed by a special Janmashtami procession in the city.

Bangladesh’s communal harmony had become the focus after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5. After Ms. Hasina fled the country in a military aircraft, there were reports of attacks on minority religious groups that drew attention from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who mentioned the matter in his August 15 speech from the Red Fort in Delhi. Protection of minority rights was discussed between Prof. Yunus and Mr. Modi on August 16.

Prof. Yunus also addressed directly for the first time the question of the tenure of the caretaker government and said that the caretaker dispensation will be in charge as long as the people of Bangladesh want them to implement the agenda of the student agitators who have laid out a plan for corruption-free governance. “We are not the people from the governing class. We came here responding to the plea of the student protesters. The date of the election will be decided through a political consultation. We will leave when people want us to leave,” Prof. Yunus said indicating that the interim government will be around till a transparent election is held in the country.

Ever since taking over on August 7, the Yunus-led interim administration has been unable to contain the demonstrations and protests that have erupted across Dhaka making daily activities difficult for lakhs of people. He appealed to the agitators to roll back their protests and go home saying, “We have noticed that you are holding protests near our offices that are creating hurdles in implementing our tasks. Please let us perform our duties without hurdles.”

A team from the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights is currently visiting Bangladesh to discuss the violence that took place during and after the uprising that led to the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina. The team is being led by Rory Mungoven, Chief of the Asia-Pacific region at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Along with the Hasina government’s excess use of state power to crush the uprising, the visiting team is also expected to look into the allegations of communal violence.

A demonstrator displays a placard during a protest against what they say as violence against Hindu communities during the ongoing unrest, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on August 9, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Members of minority communities in Bangladesh faced at least 205 incidents of attacks in 52 districts since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government on August 5, according to two Hindu organisations in the violence-hit nation.

The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad on Friday (August 9, 2024) presented the data in an open letter to 84-year-old Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who was sworn in as the head of an interim government, The Daily Star newspaper reported.

According to the data, at least 205 attacks on members of minority communities in 52 districts have been recorded since Monday, when Sheikh Hasina (76) resigned and fled to India following widespread protests against her government over a controversial quota system in jobs.

“We seek protection because our lives are in a disastrous state. We are staying up at night, guarding our homes and temples. I have never seen anything like this in my life. We demand that the government restore communal harmony in the country,” Nirmal Rosario, one of the three presidents of the unity council, said.

Asserting that the situation was deteriorating, Mr. Rosario urged Mr. Yunus to resolve the crisis by giving it top priority and putting an end to the violence.

The letter, signed by Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council General Secretary Rana Dasgupta and Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad President Basudev Dhar, welcomed Mr. Yunus as the leader of a new era born from the unprecedented student-and public-led mass uprising aimed at establishing an equitable society and reform.

“When people’s victory is advancing towards its destination, we, with sorrow and heavy hearts, observe that a vested quarter is hatching a conspiracy to tarnish this achievement by carrying out unprecedented violence against minority communities,” the letter said.

It said that the ongoing communal violence has caused widespread fear, anxiety, and uncertainty among minorities in Bangladesh and has also resulted in international condemnation. “We demand an immediate end to this situation,” the report said, citing the letter.

Kajal Devnath, a praesidium member of the unity council, said, “Those involved in attacking minorities must be brought to justice. If a minority individual is attacked for political reasons, it is still unacceptable. Anyone who commits a crime should be judged, but burning homes and looting will not lead to justice.”

Asserting that many Hindu community members are now taking refuge in others’ homes, he said, “I, too, am forced to stay at a friend’s house.” On Friday, Mr. Yunus announced the portfolios of his 16-member council of advisors after he was sworn in a day earlier as the chief advisor – a position equivalent to the Prime Minister.

Mr. Yunus’ first task was to bring stability in Bangladesh after he responded to a call by student protesters for him to temporarily lead the country following weeks of deadly anti-government demonstrations against the government led by Ms. Hasina.

Foreign Affairs advisor Hossain said that restoring law and order is the key priority of the interim government at the moment, and others will be back on track once the first goal is achieved.

On Thursday, Farhan Haq, Deputy spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said that he stands against any racially based attacks amid violence against the minority Hindu community in Bangladesh.

“What we’ve made clear is we want to make sure that the violence that has been occurring in Bangladesh in recent weeks is tamped down. Certainly, we stand against any racially based attacks or racially based incitement to violence,” Mr. Haq said.

More than 230 people were killed in Bangladesh in the incidents of violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina government on Monday (August 5, 2024), taking the death toll to 560 since the anti-quota protests first started in mid-July.

A number of Hindu temples, households and businesses were vandalised, women assaulted and at least two Hindu leaders affiliated with the Awami League party headed by Ms. Hasina were killed in the violence in Bangladesh after she fled the country, according to two community leaders in Dhaka.