Violent attacks in Bangladesh. Picture: Supplied
The South African Hindu Maha Sabha has condemned the attacks on religious and ethnic minorities that has led to fear among Hindus in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and left the country on Monday amid massive anti-quota protests that had claimed several lives.
According to international media reports there has long been a perception that the Hindu minority supported Hasina. While thousands of protesters celebrated her ouster, there were reports of retaliation against Hasina’s party, the Awami League, and against those seen as her allies, including the Hindu minority.
On Thursday Nobel laureate and microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus was sworn in as the head of the interim government in Bangladesh as the country battles its biggest political crisis since gaining independence in 1971.
Ashwin Trikamjee, president of the South African Hindu Maha Sabha, condemned the brutality and atrocities being committed against Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh.
In a statement Trikamjee said Hindus and other religious minorities are being murdered, and driven out of their homes by extremist elements and disrupted the lives of people of all backgrounds of Bangladesh, including many peace-loving Muslims.
"Despite the government having made concerted efforts to contain the situation in Bangladesh over the years, the last decade has seen the glaring rise of extremism there to the extent that Hindus and other religious minorities have had their temples and other places of worship vandalised and destroyed without any provocation or reason.
"We call upon all peace-loving people across the globe to loudly raise their voices against such unprovoked and atrocious acts of brutality and a blatant violation of human rights," said Trikamjee.
In a report in IANS written by an international criminal lawyer and Director of Research at New Delhi-based think-tank Centre for Integrated and Holistic Studies (CIHS), it said that while the country was engulfed in violence, the Hindu minority bore the brunt of what is rapidly becoming a Hindu genocide.
It further stated that as the world watched Bangladesh in horror, a systematic campaign of terror, fuelled by Islamist extremists, targeted Hindu homes, temples, and lives. The unrest that began in June over a government job quota system has spiralled out of control.
The violence has been widespread and systematic: In Moulvibazar, the Notun Kali Temple was desecrated and Hindu homes were set ablaze, displacing entire families.
In Chittagong's Hazari Goli, the Sri Krishna Temple was attacked and mobs attempted to break into Hindu homes, specifically targeting families with young girls.
The writer further stated that the systematic attacks on religious sites, including the Iskcon and Kali temples, and the destruction of Hindu homes and businesses point to an organised campaign with genocidal intent. This is not random violence but the sheer number of incidents foretell the gravity of these as a deliberate and coordinated effort to eradicate Hindus from Bangladesh.
Nahid Islam, a student movement leader who was sworn in as an advisor to the interim government, acknowledged the attacks in a statement.
"Temples are being attacked, vandalised and looted," he said, blaming those who wanted to destroy the student movement.
According to Rana Dasgupta, a leader of the minorities organisation Hindu-Bouddha-Christian Oikya Parishad, about 100 Hindus have been injured and two killed.
Anti-Hindu violence took place at 97 places on Monday and Tuesday, and at least 10 temples were attacked, according to him.
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