Given the recent terrorist attacks on Bangladeshi minority churches and Shrines, the Bangladeshi interim government has promised action.
Muhammad Yunus of the advisory board to the interim government’s Ministry of Industry is to receive the delegation of the Hindu Bengali leaders on Tuesday in an attempt to calm the minority community. Khalid Hossain, the religious affairs advisor, has described the attackers as ‘thugs’ and declared that they will have to face fines for damages.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, a popular Bangladeshi news daily, Hossain said, “The ministry of religion has stood for religious minorities in the past, does so now, and will do so in the future. ”
Hossain also learned that district administrators are preparing lists of attacked worship places and setting up a helpline for such instances. He said the Ministry of Home Affairs will take action as required.
These attacks have generated great uproar among Hindu Bengalis and the Adivasi (indigenous) community in Bangladesh. In Jessore’s Abhaynagar, the Mashiahati Regional Durga Puja Celebration Committee conducted a procession to protest for the attacks on Hindu ‘others’.
‘‘It was rather painful for us to watch how Hindu houses, temples, businesses were attacked, vandalized, burnt and robbed,’’ a protester shared with Prothom Alo, arguing that ‘‘government must protect these’.
In the same vein, Adivasi groups marched to protest against the arson, looting, and torture of minorities in different places in the country. ‘Minority houses have been burnt in every state,’ one Adivasi leader echoed their worry, though they were onboard with the current protest.
This has now turned into a contentious priority as the new Interim Government of Nigeria has to address the attacks and ensure that the rights of religious minorities are protected in the country.
