Bangladesh: Hindus are Victims of a Well-Orchestrated Conspiracy

 

Bangladesh: Hindus are Victims of a 

      Well-Orchestrated Conspiracy

                                            Nidhu Bhusan Das

It is Iqbal Hossain. Obviously, he is not a Hindu. Iqbal (35) placed a copy of the Quran at Nanua Dighir Par Durga Puja pandal in Comilla district on October 13. And the large scale violence against the Hindus of Bangladesh was unleashed which drew global attention and condemnation. Is it accidental or a well- coordinated conspiracy?

Superintendent of Police, Comilla Farooq Ahmed said the person is a resident of Sujanagar of the district. The police identified the accused depending on CCTV footage. The footage showed that on relevant day, Iqbal took the Islamic holy book Quran from a mosque and placed it on the knee of a statue of the Hindu god Hanuman in the shrine. He was later seen walking away with the Hindu God’s club in his hand.

Police say Iqbal Hossain is a drifter. Iqbal's mother reportedly claimed that Iqbal was a drug addict and had some psychological issues for the last 10 years. Will Iqbal’s being a “drifter”, “drug addict” and having “some psychological issues” have bearing on the case in the relevant laws of Bangladesh? It is an intriguing question.

Police arrested another person Md Foyez Ahmed, 41, on October 13 and got him on remand to interrogate him. He posted a Facebook live from the festival venue on that day that went viral triggering the violence.

When was the video shot, was it after the holy book was retrieved by the police? If it was shot soon after the Quran was placed by the accused, a coordinated action may be presumed. If it was shot in the presence of the police who retrieved it, the innocence of the concerned police may be taken to be questionable.

The CCTV footage at least shows that the Hindus of Bangladesh have been victimized by Islamists with a well-orchestrated conspiracy during their greatest puja festival. Will the culprits be brought to justice and awarded exemplary punishment? Secular people like Bangladesh poet & columnist Sohrab Hassan is outspoken: “In the country where violence is done with impunity, the religious minority can never think they are safe.”

The large scale violence against the Hindus this time again puts to question the intention of Bangladesh dispensation regarding the nature of demography they want to have. Is it that they have the goal to have a religiously homogeneous population with Islam as state religion through ethnic cleansing? A United Nations Commission of Experts described ethnic cleansing as “… a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas.”

Ethnic cleansing, According to Britannica, is the attempt to create ethnically homogeneous geographic areas through the deportation or forcible displacement of persons belonging to particular ethnic groups. Ethnic cleansing sometimes involves the removal of all physical vestiges of the targeted group through the destruction of monuments, cemeteries, and houses of worship.

Even after the emergence of Bangladesh as a secular nation, the migration of Hindus and reduction of Hindu population continue which suggests religious persecution. The votaries of Islamic state are active in Bangladesh with dominance. The secular forces are apparently weak but when they act they do it determinedly. Here lies the hope. However, the decisive action by the government of the country in respect of the violence will indicate what is ahead. If the forces in favour of ethnic cleansing can go berserk with impunity, it may not augur well for  Amar Sonar Bangla.