To What Extent is Bangladesh’s Hindu Population Under Attack?

Large numbers of Bangladeshi Hindus protested for recognition and protection amid escalating violence in Bangladesh in July 2024.

By IPS Correspondent
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 11 2024 (IPS)

Bangladesh has been in the midst of a deepening political crisis and a significant social divide since August 5 when the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country following a mass uprising led by students. Diplomatic relations between India and Bangladesh have since soured and given way to a considerable amount of disinformation, especially surrounding the persecution of the Hindu population.

Hindus make up approximately 8 percent of Bangladesh’s population of 170 million people. The Bangladeshi Hindu community is known to have largely sided with Sheikh Hasina’s deposed Awami League political party, which has generated anger and violence in several parts of the country.

During Sheikh Hasina’s regime, India had been a strong ally of Bangladesh. Following the fall of her government, India has not shown support for Bangladesh’s new interim government. This, coupled with India continuing to host Sheikh Hasina in their country, has led to the deterioration of good relations between India and Bangladesh.

“The angst (between India and Bangladesh) is not restricted to the corridors of power but will and has found its way to the streets. Therefore, the targeting of Hindus may be rooted in religious discrimination but one cannot unlink the common man’s anger at India’s ‘protecting Hasina at all costs’ policy even at the cost of souring the bi-lateral relationship,” says Kumkum Chada, an Indian author and political journalist with Hindustan Times, an Indian-English language daily newspaper based in Delhi.

In the transition from Sheikh Hasina’s FALL to the establishment of the interim government, the ongoing violent student-led protests saw an increase in intensity. This resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties and thousands of arrests. On November 17, Muhammad Yunus, Chief-Advisor of Bangladesh’s interim government, informed reporters that roughly 1500 civilians were killed during the protests.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) released a report that detailed the various human rights concerns that arose in the period of heightened social insecurity. According to the analysis, there were reports of arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, assault, and sexual violence directed toward female protestors.

Additionally, on August 5 and 6, several Hindu houses, temples, and businesses experienced attacks, vandalizations, and lootings in 27 districts of Bangladesh. Internet services and communication channels faced significant disruptions, which has made it difficult for officials to determine the exact number of Hindu casualties. However, officials have stated that Hindu deaths only make up a small portion of the total number of casualties.

Although there has been much disinformation in the media surrounding the frequency of the attacks on Hindus, it should be noted that they still do occur. An IPS correspondent reached out to a member of the Hindu community, the sister of a Hindu attorney in Bangladesh who had been critically injured in a hate crime.

“On November 25, my older brother was attacked by a group of Islamic extremists. He’s currently in a coma at Dhaka Medical Hospital. We feel unsafe and we don’t have the expenses to keep up his treatment. We are afraid of the possibility of hospital neglect. The administration urged that we stay quiet. Extremists are threatening attorneys and the police are destroying CCTV footage,” said the sister, who did not want to be identified by name out of fear of reprisals.

A brother of another Hindu victim also spoke to our correspondent and offered some insight into the social climate of Bangladesh. “The attacks haven’t stopped since August. Although they are not as frequent as the media claims, they definitely still occur. There’s a lot of fear within our communities. We feel afraid to go outside and have received threats of violence. The government and police are not supporting us,” he said.

OHCHR Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani stated that OHCHR does not have a monitoring mandate in Bangladesh beyond August 15. However, the office is currently in discussions with the Bangladeshi government to conduct an independent human rights study. “This would be helpful in providing an objective picture and countering misinformation and incitement,” Shamdasani said.

The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council claimed that the attacks were motivated by a communal hatred for religious minorities. However, the Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance, a coalition of 23 Hindu organizations, conducted a fact-finding mission and found that the attacks were motivated by mob violence and political retribution.

“There may be an element of minorities, particularly Hindus, being targeted due to their faith. But many Hindus had links to the Awami League, because historically it has been the party that protected minorities, so they may have been targeted for their political affiliations,” said Thomas Kean, a senior consultant on Bangladesh and Myanmar at the Crisis Group.

Since August, news coverage of violence against Hindus by Indian mass media has generated significant debate, with Bangladesh claiming disinformation and the use of anti-Islamic sentiments to propel false and sensationalized narratives that illustrate a wide-scale Hindu genocide occurring in Bangladesh.

Disinformation on the persecution of Hindus not only harms the majority of Bangladeshi civilians but also has a detrimental impact on the Hindu minority as well. “We are concerned about the politicization of minorities, particularly Hindus, through misinformation and disinformation that has been spreading, as this exposes them to risks and undermines genuine concerns,” Shamdasani told an IPS correspondent.

According to an investigation conducted by Rumor Scanner, a Bangladeshi fact-checking organization that has been verified by the International Fact Checking Network (IFCN), 49 Indian media outlets have issued at least 13 false reports between August 12 to December 5.

Despite few new reports of violence against Hindus coming from verifiable investigations, Indian mass media continues to report on alleged abuses as if they are still occurring on a large scale in Bangladesh.

On August 7, The Wire, a Indian non-profit news outlet that is independent from India’s government, released an interview with Rashna Imam, an advocate for the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. Imam described the recent reports from the Indian press as “completely unwarranted and baseless”, adding that the lootings and vandalisms occurred “to an extent” for around one month. Imam adds that based on the statistics available, the current social situation is “under control.” Dr. Yunus also described the reports from the Indian press as “exaggerated.”

The investigation from Rumor Scanner debunked a host of reports, images, and videos that have circulated in the press since July. One viral video was broadcasted by multiple Indian media outlets, claiming that a Hindu man was protesting for his son who went missing in the wake of hostilities. Rumor Scanner identified the protestor as Babul Howlader, who is actually a Muslim. Furthermore, his son had not gone missing during the protests, he had been missing since 2013.

Another viral video on X (formerly known as Twitter) claimed to show a violent temple attack in Bangladesh. Rumor Scanner confirmed that this video was actually taken in India during idol immersion.

Additionally, several reports from Indian news agencies referenced an alleged arson attack on a Hindu temple. However, Prothom Alo, the leading Bengali-language daily newspaper in Bangladesh, found that the attack took place at an Awami League office near the temple.

Many Indian and Bangladeshi Hindu news websites have reported the estimated death toll as the number of Hindus attacked or killed in the protests. The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council reported that in the days following Sheikh Hasina’s resignation, there were at least 2,010 incidents of violence against Hindus, such as attacks on Hindu temples, houses, and businesses. These statistics have yet to be corroborated.

Hundreds of India-based X accounts circulated posts using hashtags such as #AllEyesOnBangladeshiHindus and #SaveBangladeshiHindus. Many of these posts included inflammatory language, hate speech directed toward Bangladeshi Muslims, misleading photos and videos, as well as false statistics.

Bangladesh has had a difficult time refuting disinformation spread by Indian mass media due to the sheer strength of India’s press sector. India currently has over 500 million satellite channels and 70,000 newspapers, making it the biggest newspaper market in the world. Bangladesh has a comparatively weaker press sector, having around 3,000 printed media outlets.

This is also partially fueled by the stronger presence of social media in the lives of the Indians than for Bangladeshis. India has the highest number of Facebook, X, and Instagram users in the world. All of these platforms are known for being hubs for misinformation. According to a study conducted by the World Population Review , as of 2024, India boasts approximately 467 million social media users. Bangladesh has roughly 53 million social media users.

Additionally, language barriers have hindered the visibility and reach of Bangladesh’s media. India has many newspapers and magazines printed in both Hindi and English while Bangladesh has far fewer newspapers printed in both Bangla and English.

According to a study by the WPR, India also has around 265 million English-speaking citizens while Bangladesh only has 29 million. This indicates that there are far more English-speaking journalists for India’s press sector. It is for these reasons that Western audiences are far more likely to be impacted by Indian news.

IPS UN Bureau Report