New Delhi: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has said Hindus in Bangladesh are feeling “extremely unsafe”, citing many “distress calls” since Monday when the country’s prime minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country following weeks of unrest that saw nearly 300 dead.
The right-wing organisation has appealed to the Narendra Modi government to take “every possible step for the safety of minorities in Bangladesh”.
Speaking to ThePrint, VHP president Alok Kumar raised concerns over the possible infiltration of Bangladeshis into India in a bid to “change demographics”.
“It is possible that taking advantage of this situation, a big attempt may be made to orchestrate infiltration into Bharatiya territory through the 4,096-km Indo-Bangladesh border. We have to be extremely cautious about this. Therefore, it is necessary for our security forces to keep a strict 24×7 vigil at the border,” he said.
Addressing a press conference, he further remarked: “Our neighbour is trapped in a strange uncertainty, violence and anarchy. After the resignation of the Sheikh Hasina government and her leaving the country, the process of formation of an interim government is going on. In this hour of crisis, Bharat stands firmly with the entire society of Bangladesh as a friend.”
Kumar said that in the recent past, religious places, business establishments and houses of Hindus, Sikhs and other minorities had been attacked in Bangladesh. “Till last night, 22 houses in Panchagarh district alone, 20 in Jhenaidah and 22 shops in Jessore became targets of fundamentalists and in many districts even crematoriums were vandalised. Temples and gurudwaras have also been attacked.”
He said it was a matter of concern that minorities were feeling “extremely” unsafe in the country. “There is hardly any district left in Bangladesh which has not become a target of violence and terror. It is appropriate to point out that Hindus, who were once 32 percent of the population, are now less than 8 percent… and they are victims of continuous Jihadi persecution.”
Kumar told ThePrint that VHP had received “distress calls” from minorities in Bangladesh and the international community needed to take effective action for the safety and protection of human rights in the country.
“In Bangladesh, houses, shops, offices, business establishments of Hindus… women, children and even centres of their belief, faith and worship such as temples and gurdwaras are not safe. The condition of oppressed minorities is going from bad to worse,” he added.
Calling the situation “worrying”, Kumar said: “Bharat cannot turn a blind eye to this. Bharat has traditionally helped oppressed communities across the world.”
Kumar said the VHP hoped that democracy and a secular government would soon be established in Bangladesh, where the army is now in the process of propping up a caretaker government, drawing members from opposition parties and not Hasina’s Awami League.
The VHP chief also said India would continue to support Bangladesh to prevent any hindrance to its economic growth.
He said the change in government should not affect the equation between the two countries… “particularly in the interest of maintaining peace and development”.
“I hope that the new government in Bangladesh is alive to this reality and our friendship can be strengthened,” he added.
Asked whether the VHP would appeal to the government to extend the cutoff date for the Citizen Amendment Act, Kumar said: “It would be for the government to decide on this at an appropriate stage. At this juncture, I would emphasise that the first effort should be to give minorities protection in their homes and to ensure their welfare.”
Kumar also hinted that the Pakistani spy body ISI had had a role to play in the turmoil that unfolded in Bangladeshi over the last weeks.
Hasina fled the country Monday, hours after thousands of student activists marched to Dhaka defying a nationwide curfew. The deadly protests against the job quota had escalated into a movement to oust the 76-year-old Awami League leader.
In a televised address to the nation after she left, Bangladeshi army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman appealed for calm, promising to thoroughly investigate every death that had taken place in the weeks-long protests.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
Also read: Scattered reports emerge of attacks against Hindus in Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina’s resignation