As political turmoil continues, student leaders in Dhaka have taken on the role of safeguarding Hindu temples and churches.
Students from Islamic seminaries are also keeping watch over Hindu households and places of worship. Bangladesh, home to over 13 million Hindus, also has significant Buddhist and Christian populations.
The Muslim community in Bangladesh has mobilized to protect Hindu temples and churches. Muslim leaders and student groups are actively guarding these places of worship nationwide.
Anjum Ahmed, a student protester at Dhaka University, shared with Anadolu, “Miscreants are targeting various public and private institutions to discredit the students’ movement. Some have targeted houses and temples of minority Hindus, but we are vigilant to prevent that.”
Even students from Islamic seminaries (madrassas) are keeping a close eye on Hindu households and temples. Tareque Ahmed, a seminary student, organized community security groups with his friends to ensure the safety of Hindu households in the absence of police.
“We want to ensure there is no communal violence,” Tareque said.
Bangladesh, with a population of over 171 million, includes more than 13 million Hindus, along with Buddhist and Christian communities.
Concerns about minority safety have arisen amid the political and social chaos following weeks of protests, which led to the resignation of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government on Monday. Hasina fled to India, which praised the measures taken by Bangladeshi organizations to protect minorities.
Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar told parliament on Tuesday, “We are also monitoring the situation regarding the status of minorities. Various groups and organizations are taking initiatives to ensure their protection and well-being.”
The religiopolitical Jamaat-e-Islami party stated that volunteers from its student wing, Chhatra Shibir, are “guarding the temples of our Hindu brothers” to maintain communal harmony. “They also discussed safety and security with the Hindu community,” the party shared on social media platform X.
Jaishankar added, “We welcome this but will remain deeply concerned until law and order are visibly restored.”
A transitional government led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus has been appointed. Currently in France, Yunus will now assemble his team to govern the nation until future actions are determined.
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The recent violent events in Bangladesh, including the overthrow of the government and the departure of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed, seem to involve and lately indict a Western country for unwanted interference to topple the government for its political interference in the region. It’s shocking to see the people of Bangladesh resorting to violence, including the destruction of statues of the founder father of Bangladesh, Shaikh Mujibur Rahman. Moreover, suddenly, a group of radical Muslims have been attacking the Hindu minorities, and sporadic incidents are occurring with the reports of persecution of the minorities at the hands of radical Muslims. It is believed that to destabilise the country; external forces have conspired as the game plan to manipulate and incite parts of the paid people to target Hindu minorities, as religious conflicts have often been exploited for political gain in the region. While some media outlets have fueled fear and insecurity, it’s heartening to see a large number of Bangladeshis protecting Hindu places of worship in the sensitive areas of Bangladesh. However, analysts believe the chaos in Bangladesh is part of a more significant trend of unrest across several countries for the control of the region by a Western superpower known to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries to prove its supremacy, which has been shaken by the China and India in the region. It is the need of the time that Bangladeshi Muslims safeguard their Hindu compatriots until normalcy is restored and those responsible for the mischief are held accountable for their actions.