The consequence of the continuous marginalization of Hindus results in the forced migration of the Hindu community from their land.
Hindus in Bangladesh have historically been singled out and subjected to acts of violence as a sign of hostility towards the secular Bengali spirit. Since the Hindu community tends to support the Awami League for its commitment to secular values, they are also targeted as an attack against the Awami League.
The political goal to drive the Hindus of Bangladesh from their motherland began in 1947 in the then East Pakistan, was violently executed in 1971 by the Pakistani military and its allies, and is now being pursued by fundamentalist and anti-Awami League groups in independent Bangladesh. Despite sincere efforts to protect Hindus by the Awami League-led government—especially by the current Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina—the persecution of Hindus continues by the anti-Awami League and anti-secularist forces.
The consequence of the continuous marginalization of Hindus results in the forced migration of the Hindu community from their land and subtle hesitance to speak for the Hindus in the public civic space. Several years ago, Abul Barkat, a renowned academic from Dhaka University presented the most startling prediction regarding the Hindu population in Bangladesh—no Hindus will be left after 30 years in Bangladesh if the exodus of Hindu people persists. Why are Hindu people disappearing from their country?
The recently published groundbreaking book “Being Hindu in Bangladesh: An Untold Story” by Deep Halder and Avishek Biswas gives a reply to this heartbreaking query.
Deep Halder, a widely acclaimed journalist and prolific writer from India along with his co-author Avishek Biswas revealed the structural marginality of Hindus in Bangladesh which is rooted in the country’s long political history. The book is divided into three parts: fissure, fusion, and forecast, weaving together the violence against Hindus in 1947, 1971 and independent Bangladesh. It integrates the suffering and misery of Hindus during the time of partition in 1947, the selective genocide against Hindus during the 1971 war, and attacks against Hindus in Bangladesh.
Creating a space where the narratives of Hindus in Bangladesh from the past and present merge helps readers understand the inherent nature of the vulnerability of Hindus in Bangladesh since 1947. Their vulnerability started to be greater than their belongingness in Bangladesh after the death of Bangabandhu when the entire secular political landscape of Bangladesh was changed. The book tells the unspoken sacrifice of Hindus for East Pakistan in 1947 and independent Bangladesh in 1971, something we hardly acknowledge.
How many of us are aware that just like the Muslims, Dalit Hindus from East Bengal had a similar desire to create East Pakistan with the hope of experiencing less oppression there? The book also demonstrates the dismay at discovering that their marginalization had taken an aggressive turn in the then East Pakistan. One of the book’s most important revelations is the scenario of the selective genocide against Hindus in 1971.
The book reveals the intersectionality of one of the most horrific genocides of the world that occurred in Bangladesh in 1971. Although both Muslim and Hindus were the targets by the Pakistan army, Hindus were particularly targeted by killing and merciless rape by the Pakistan army for their non-Muslim identity and unquestionable loyalty to Awami League and secularism. While pointing towards how the Pakistan army gave certain selective areas priorities for waging a massacre, the books ask a legitimate question (p.131), “why Jagannath Hall, a resident hall for minority students, mostly Hindus?
Why Ramna Kali mandir in Dhaka, a place where Hindu devotees congregated? Why Shakhari Patti, the area where shells and bangles were made for Hindu women? The answer is simple. Because these were Hindu areas.”
This truth became again clear in the US Consul General’s statement in 1971 (p.131 to 132): “We were also harboring, all of us were harboring, Bengalis, mostly Hindu Bengalis, who were trying to flee mostly by taking refuge with our own servants… We could not turn these people away. They were not political refugees. They were just poor, very lowclass people, mostly Hindus who were much afraid that they would be killed solely because they were Hindus.”
Reading about the attacks on Hindus in 2021 and 2022 in the book brought back my painful memories of those times. In those dark days, I found myself extremely helpless while witnessing the execution of the agenda for the extinction of Hindus out of extreme hatred against secular Bangladesh and Sheikha Hasina’s government. During the same time, one of my junior academics encountered online backlash on a youth platform on Facebook just for her thoughtful endorsement of Abul Barkat’s prediction on the departures of Hindus from Bangladesh. The aggression against Hindus and their minimum rights for survival in their land become manifested either in the form of indifference or silence from the civil society or online attacks against anyone who would speak for them. The disappointing scenario of the gradual erasure of Hindus from Bangladesh often haunts me with a nightmare: will there be no Hindus left in Bangladesh in the next 20 or 30 years?
In this regard, the book offers hope instead of despair. One will find stories of Muslim people’s sincere endeavour to preserve the old temples and help the Hindu community, invoking a vision for secular Bangladesh where Hindus could claim their full citizenship and identity without any fear. The book demonstrates how the current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina remains the only hope for the Hindu people.
One example of her strong commitment to protecting the Hindu community came out in helping a 12-year-old Hindu girl Purnima Rani who was raped in 2001 post-poll violence. In the book, Purnima narrates about Sheikh Hasina, “I call her Mamoni (Sheikh Hasina). She did for me what relatives did not. She cared for me as if I was her own. She is who she but she helped a village girl like me.”
The ultimate message of the book lies in the fact that the hope for the Hindu people’s survival in Bangladesh is largely associated with the strength of secular values. We find this high expectation is reflected in one of the legendary freedom fighters, Lieutenant Colonel Qauzi Sazzad Ali Zahir’s words towards Sheikh Hasina. In response to the Prime Minister’s question about how she might assist him, he replied in a humble note: “I said I don’t need anything, I asked her to make Bangladesh the beautiful country that her father has envisioned” (p.129). As the daughter of a freedom fighter, I know Sazzad Ali Zahir’s wise words echoed the expectations of thousands of freedom fighters nationwide who are spending the last phase of their lives in their beloved independent Bangladesh. Deep Halder has penned down that expectation in the chapter “Á Father’s Dream, A Daughter’s Challenge”.
In this chapter, we are reminded about Bangabandhu’s vision to make Bangladesh a secular country for all and Sheikh Hasina’s biggest challenge to make the country safe for Hindus cutting across complex local political pressure. The book is a must-read for academics and activists who are interested in minority rights and secularism in Bangladesh. However, the significance of this book is bigger than its academic importance. The book serves as a reminder of our responsibility to ensure a secular Bangladesh where Hindus will never think of leaving the country for fear of persecution.
Dr Sharin Shajahan Naomi is a Bangladeshi academic. Currently, she is pursuing her postdoctoral fellowship at KREA University in India.