‘You will not be able to show a single instance when Mamata has uttered the word Hindu,’ says Kartik Maharaj on Mamata Banerjee’s reaction to the Bangladesh situation.
KOLKATA: In August this year, the then Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, took refuge in India following widespread students’ protests in her country. Since then, tensions have been rising between the two neighbouring countries. Minorities, especially Hindus, are being targeted across Bangladesh.
The situation has worsened since the Bangladesh administration arrested some monks including ISKCON’s Chinmoy Krishna Das who was also the spokesperson of the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote. Chinmoy Krishna Das was detained en route to a rally advocating minority rights and charged with sedition. This has led to protests being held in various parts of India.
The series of attacks on Hindus and their temples in Bangladesh has reignited debates on minority rights, communal harmony, and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in West Bengal, with both the ruling Trinamool Congress and Opposition BJP using the issue to advance their political agendas, highlighting its growing influence on the state’s political landscape. West Bengal shares a 2,217-km border with Bangladesh.
Though West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has demanded the sending of UN peacekeeping forces to Bangladesh to control the situation, her stand has been carefully calibrated so that her core vote bank is not antagonised, say observers and critics.
“Since August, when the reports of attacks on Hindus and their temples first came in, you will not be able to show a single instance when Mamata has uttered the word ‘Hindu’,” says Kartik Maharaj, also known as Swami Pradiptananda Maharaj, of Murshidabad’s Bharat Sevashram Sangha. “If she utters the word Hindu, she will have to name the Muslim community as the perpetrators. She is shying away because of her fear that her core Muslim base will get offended,” he added.
“Mamata knows that since Sheikh Hasina’s ouster in August following student’s unrest, widespread violence against Bangladesh’s Hindu minority—marked by vandalised temples, burned homes and growing fear—has left the community increasingly vulnerable, but she is silent,” says Biswanath Chakraborty, political scientist.
Observers say that West Bengal, being an immediate neighbour of Bangladesh, is directly affected by the happenings in that country. In the past too, there had been an influx of refugees which has changed the demography of the state.
Says political analyst Nirmalya Mukherjee: “Muslims, as is well known, vote strategically and there is barely any division of Muslim votes. This makes the solid 30% (or more) Muslim vote in Bengal critical to the Trinamool’s survival in power. And, thus, makes the Trinamool bend over backwards to appease Muslims, including fundamentalist Muslims who have strong links with radical and terror groups in Bangladesh.”
Kunal Ghosh, Trinamool Congress general secretary and spokesperson says that the Chief Minister, being a responsible senior politician, has avoided inflaming communal tensions within the state. “She has repeatedly said that since it is about another country, she supports whatever decision the Union Government will take. Unlike the BJP which is trying to politicise the issue, she has asked the Union Government to take strong action and has urged PM Narendra Modi to intervene in bringing back persecuted Indians from Bangladesh. While clarifying that she has no official jurisdiction over the matter, she has urged the Ministry of External Affairs to engage with Bangladesh authorities and, if necessary, with the UN. What more can she do?”
Kunal Ghosh accused the BJP of using the violence in Bangladesh as a “political weapon” to polarise voters. “While they march in protest, where is their accountability? The BJP-led Centre is silent. Where is the 56-inch chest now? This inaction exposes their hypocrisy,” Ghosh said.
The Trinamool Congress has emphasised that communal harmony must be preserved within West Bengal, underscoring the state’s tradition of secularism.
The BJP, meanwhile, has ramped up its rhetoric, accusing the Trinamool Congress of failing to protect the interests of Hindus in West Bengal and turning a blind eye to their plight in Bangladesh.
“The violence against Hindus in Bangladesh is not just a Bangladeshi issue. It is a humanitarian crisis that directly impacts Bengal. Trinamool’s silence and appeasement politics are a betrayal of the Hindu community,” BJP state president and Union minister Sukanta Majumdar told The Sunday Guardian.
The BJP has organised protests across the state, calling for a more robust response from the Indian Government to safeguard the rights of Hindus in Bangladesh. The party has also sought to connect the issue to its longstanding promise of implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which offers citizenship to persecuted minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
“The Hindus fleeing Bangladesh’s violence must be assured of their rights and dignity in India,” Majumdar added.
Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari echoed the sentiment, asserting that the unrest in Bangladesh would have a “definite impact” on West Bengal.
“Wherever Hindus are attacked, we will fight for justice. The Trinamool Congress’s opposition to the CAA shows their appeasement agenda,” Adhikari said.
He questioned the Chief Minister’s will to protect the life and livelihood of persecuted Hindus across the border. “She has her MPs who should raise the matter in Parliament as a reflection of her right political will. This is not a political issue, but an existential crisis of the Bengali-speaking Hindus, and the Chief Minister should rise above politics to stand beside them,” Adhikari said.
The BJP has organised state-wide protests against attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has also intensified its agitation, holding demonstrations in districts with large Hindu refugee populations.
The issue has also brought other Opposition parties into the fray.
The Left Front and Congress have criticized both the Trinamool Congress and BJP for “politicising” the plight of minorities in Bangladesh.
“This is a humanitarian issue, not a political football. Instead of playing blame games, both the state and Central Governments must work together to ensure the safety of minorities on both sides of the border,” said Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
“Communal violence anywhere in the region can have a cascading effect here. Political parties must act responsibly and prioritise humanitarian aid and diplomatic intervention,” said political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty. “The violence in Bangladesh has added a new dimension to West Bengal’s politics. It reflects the interconnectedness of the region’s socio-political fabric,” Chakraborty added.
Protests at the India-Bangladesh border have intensified, with monks from the Akhil Bharatiya Sant Samiti staging a demonstration at Petrapole in North 24 Parganas demanding the immediate release of Chinmoy Krishna Das and an end to attacks on Hindus.
The Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha has condemned the recent attacks, calling for a boycott of Bangladeshi Muslims visiting West Bengal and urging Indians to deny services and accommodation to Bangladeshi citizens until the country apologizes for the alleged desecration of the Indian flag.
As developments in Bangladesh continue to dominate political discourse in West Bengal, about 50 Hindutva organisations, accompanied by senior BJP leaders, held a gathering at Esplanade on Thursday and called for “Hindu unity” in the state.
Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said that unlike other states, Hindus are not united in West Bengal.
“In Uttar Pradesh Hindus have united under Yogi Adityanath ji, in Haryana Hindus have united, and now in Maharashtra, the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji, Hindus have united,” Adhikari said, addressing the rally at Kolkata’s Rani Rashmoni Road.
Observers feel the BJP sees an opportunity in the unrest across the border after its dismal performance in West Bengal in the Lok Sabha polls. The party’s seats dropped from 18 to 12, and additionally it received a drubbing in the bypolls across 10 Assembly seats.
Raising the issue of attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, Adhikari stressed that the Hindus of West Bengal should learn from atrocities in the neighbouring country. He spoke about unrest in parts of West Bengal during the recently concluded festive season and said that like the Waqf Board looks after the interests of Muslims in India, the country needs a dedicated “Sanatan Board” to safeguard the rights and interests of Hindus.
Adhikari, who is the BJP MLA from Nandigram, said that he had successfully “united Hindus” in his constituency in 2021 and defeated Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Later in 2024, he aided in the victory of former Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay in the Lok Sabha elections.
At the gathering, Adhikari bowed to Sayan Ghosh, the youth who claimed that he was attacked in Bangladesh because of his nationality and religion.
The gathering was joined by Kartik Maharaj, a monk from the Bharat Sevashram Sangh who has been actively raising the issue of the attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh. The monk called on representatives of all political parties, BJP, Trinamool Congress, and CPI(M) to unite and protect Hindus.
Lauding developments in Tripura where Bangladeshis are facing restrictions, as also goods coming through the border from Bangladesh, Kartik Maharaj said that if trade continues along the West Bengal-Bangladesh border, people will camp at the border and stop the passage of goods.
Suvendu Adhikari said that the Indian economy is not dependent on Bangladesh, but the neighbouring nation is heavily dependent on India. “Once India hits this vulnerability, the atrocities on the Hindus will stop,” maintains. Adhikari, who led protests at Petrapole on December 2. He added that he will organise similar protests at Ghojadanga border post on December 10.
Meanwhile, posters have reportedly appeared in Jalpaiguri, another district bordering Bangladesh, declaring that Bangladeshi nationals are not welcome.