Recent reports from Bangladesh are alarming. The ongoing political crisis and decline in state policing have created a situation ripe for targeted attacks on minority communities, particularly Hindus. Since 1947, the Hindu population has plummeted from 30% to less than 9%. The situation has worsened since the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government, which was in power since 2009. This crisis reflects a long history of both overt and covert genocide of Hindus in East Pakistan and modern Bangladesh. The current violence, including over 205 reported attacks on temples and sacred sites, is part of a larger, sustained campaign. The recent crisis, which began with the alleged students’ protests in July 2024, has deep historical roots and reflects decades of growing religious tensions.
Historical Background of Hindu Persecution
Recurring violence has long been a reality for Hindus in Bangladesh, with each crisis contributing to the gradual erosion of their identity and existence. Prior to the 1947 Partition of India, Hindus were a significant part of Bengal's population, a region then unified under British rule. Hindus were integral to Bengal's social, economic, and political life. However, the communal tensions and violence leading up to the Partition created widespread fear and uncertainty among Hindu families.
With the creation of Pakistan, East Pakistan came into being as part of Pakistan and West Bengal, which remained a part of India. The division of Bengal along religious lines led to a mass exodus of Hindus from East Bengal, as they sought safety and stability in the predominantly Hindu areas of India. A significant number of these displaced Hindu families migrated to West Bengal, particularly to the urban centres like Calcutta (now Kolkata), which became a major destination for refugees. These migrants sought to rebuild their lives in these urban pockets, contributing to the cultural and demographic landscape of West Bengal in the years following Partition.
A similar mass exodus occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, when widespread violence and persecution forced countless individuals, particularly Hindus, to flee East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and seek refuge in India. This period of upheaval echoed the earlier migrations that followed the Partition of India in 1947, as people once again sought safety from communal violence. We did see some stability with the formation of a new government with the defeat of Pakistan, and formation of a Secular constitution in 1971.
Constitutional Amendments: From Secularism to an Islamic State
In 1988, Bangladesh formally adopted Islam as the state religion through the Eighth Constitutional Amendment, reversing the secular principles enshrined in the original 1971 Constitution. The Eighth Constitutional Amendment which declared Islam as the state religion, undermined the secular foundations of the nation and paved the way for increased marginalisation of religious minorities, particularly Hindus. In reality it was just another step toward imposition of sharia (Islamic law) in Bangladesh, along the same lines as in Pakistan. These steps only emboldened Islamists, leading to direct attacks on Hindus and a continued villainization of India. The 80s and 90s saw one of the worse decades since the mass rapes and murders perprated by Pakistani army against Hindus during Operation Searchlight. Under General HM Ershad, Once again after 1988s, hundreds of Hindus lost their lives, while several hundred women were subjected to rape and forced conversions to Islam. Thousands were uprooted from their homes and properties. This period of violence and persecution, triggered yet another mass migration of Hindus to India.
The Vested Property Act: Mechanisms of Dispossession
The attacks against Hindus have been ongoing, and when not manifesting as overt violence, state machinery has been used to subtly drive Hindus into poverty. According to a report by Minority Rights Group in 2018, one of the most direct and officially endorsed methods for depriving Hindus of their properties has been the implementation of the Vested Property Act. This act has its origins in the Enemy Property Ordinance of 1965, enacted in the wake of the brief war between India and Pakistan. Under this ordinance, properties, including businesses, lands, and buildings owned by Indian nationals and those residing in India, were placed under the control of the Pakistan government. Although these properties were meant to be returned after the conflict, the official end of the state of war was never declared, continuing through Bangladesh’s independence in 1971. Despite the absence of any ongoing conflict with India, the Bangladesh government did not abolish the Enemy Property Ordinance but instead reinforced its principles through the Vested and Non-Resident Property (Administration) Act of 1974.
In April 2001, the Awami League introduced the Vested Property Return Bill, aimed at returning lands seized under the Vested Property Act to their original owners or their descendants. The legislation required the government to list the properties to be returned within a 180-day period. However, in November 2002, the BNP government revised the Vested Property Law, giving the government an indefinite period to return the properties. This amendment not only impeded the return of properties previously seized from Hindus but also enabled further confiscations under the Vested Property Act. As a result, the continued dispossession and economic marginalisation of Hindus have been facilitated through these legal measures, exacerbating their plight.
The rise to power of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami in 2001 marked the beginning of a new wave of large-scale attacks against Hindus.
Sheikh Hasina's Tenure: Subtle and Overt Violence
When Sheikh Hasina assumed office in 2008, there was initial hope that violence would cease. However, while the more overt attacks subsided, sporadic violence persisted, and state machinery continued to be misused, albeit in a less overt manner. Despite this, the discontent among Islamists grew, partly due to Sheikh Hasina's perceived closeness to India. This subtle approach of suppression eventually failed, and with the protests that began in July, the violence has once again become more open and pronounced.
Current Protests and Attacks: From Student Demonstrations to Ethnic Violence
The current crisis began when student protests erupted over a controversial quota system for civil service jobs. This system reserved 56% of government posts for various groups, including 30% for descendants of freedom fighters from the 1971 War of Independence. The quota system became the root of contention. The government initially resisted withdrawing the system. However, realising the strong public opposition, they eventually decided to remove it. By that time, the situation had already deteriorated. In August, the violence escalated as clashes between protesters and security forces became more intense. The protests spread across the nation, further compounding the crisis.Over 300 people had died and more than 20000 were injured.
The government's harsh handling of the protests exacerbated public resentment and increased the level of unrest. This dissatisfaction was seized upon by the opposition, especially Jamaat-e-Islami and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), to garner additional support against the ruling party and then PM Sheikh Hasina, who was already portrayed as "too close to the other"(India and Hindus), claim already bolstered with incidence such as when in 2021 protests erupted leading to death of over 12 people in Bangladesh with PM Modis' visits of the neighbours or when in early 2021 after another brutal attack on Hindus by Islamic fundamentalist, Bangladeshs' State Minister for Information Murad Hassan had stated that Bangladesh is a secular country that would revert to the 1972 constitution proposed by the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a constitution which in 1988 was changed into a formally Islamic one, with the rapid process of Islamization that took place in the decades preceding this change. Since then, Islamic fundamentalists have played an increasingly prominent role in social and political life; it should be noted that even before this incident, according to reports by economist Abul Barkat 750 people from minority communities left Bangladesh daily, motivated by social rather than economic reasons.
Seizing on this crisis, Soon after Sheikh Hasina resigned, there was a startling increase in violence against the Hindu minority and the supporters of Awami League which soon turned into ethnic genocide. Reports from several parts of the country described horrifying incidents of looting, burning, and vandalism directed at Hindu populations. Radical Islamist organisations, such as the Pakistan-affiliated Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) Bangladesh, have taken control of the country through arson and street violence. Even the interim government under Muhammad Yunus declared by Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman and the military, now in control, has failed to protect the vulnerable. Instead of restoring order, they have allowed, if not encouraged, these heinous acts. Reports from Rangpur to Dhaka reveal a systematic campaign of terror against Hindu communities. The atrocities are not random acts of violence; they are coordinated attacks meant to instil fear and drive out a minority that has contributed richly to the nation’s cultural and social fabric, neither are these attacks a new phenomenon, these attacks remind us of the 1964 East Pakistan riots which were a massacre of the Bangladeshi Hindus, led to an outpouring of refugees into India. The gains made after the Bangladesh war of independence have been erased, but the Islamic fundamentalist hate in the name of Islamic morality has been poisoning the minds of millions, groups such as the radical Hefazat-e-Islam controls thousands of madrasas (Islamic schools) in Bangladesh, creating next generation of hate mongers, with the unrest that started in July, the Islamist groups have realised they need not be tempered in their attacks and have an unleased genocidal pogrom, whose true reach is still yet to be shown hidden in the present political crisis.
As Bangladesh's immediate neighbour, the current crisis has profound effects on India, not just in the arena of border security issues or the outpouring of refugees but also on humanitarian and sovereign grounds. Given that Islamist organisations like Jamaat-e-Islami have a history of hostility against India, the Indian government has voiced concerns about their growing influence.India has also been active in international forums, raising the issue of violence in Bangladesh and advocating for international intervention. New Delhi is concerned about the potential rise of anti-India sentiment and the possible resurgence of cross-border terrorism following Hasina's resignation. Additionally, India has humanitarian fears that the recurrence of these attacks could be another genocide like the one of the 1964 East Pakistan riots, or like the genocide of 1971, which led to a massacre of Bangladeshi Hindus and a massive influx of refugees into India. The need for a solution is a necessity, not just on a national level but for the whole region, as well as the whole of the Hindu community.
(This article was contributed by Sh.Utkarsh Dubey, CFFS, JNU to https://www.abvp.org/)