A Bleak Future for Bangladesh Hindu's

February 2000
SOCIAL CHANGE

A Bleak Future for Bangladesh Hindu's

In the last fifty years, more than ten million of the country's Hindu's have fled to India in the face of sustained persecution and periodic riots

With its poverty and frequent cyclones, Bangladesh is major news each year. But the unfolding fate of Hindus in the country rarely makes headlines. The numbers tell the story. In 1872, 53% of the people in what is now Bangladesh were Hindus. In 1900, it was 32.7%, and by 1947, 22%. Today it has dropped to 10%. Conceivably, by 2050 Bangladesh will have achieved the status of Pakistan: no significant Hindu population. Ishani Chowdhury, a New York university student, was commissioned by Hinduism Today to report on one of the most heartless persecutions and forced migrations of modern times. Be advised, this is a gut-wrenching story of a people systematically hounded out of their ancestral land because of their religion, a story largely ignored by the world.

My mother saw with her own eyes trainloads of Hindus crossing over to Bihar, the state in which she lived. They were part of the ten million that fled to India from Bangladesh during the 1971 revolt. Their arms were slashed so they would not be able to work, their eyes were gouged out, breasts of women were severed, on their chests the words "Pakistan Zindabad" ("Long Live Pakistan") were branded with a hot iron rod. People went insane from all the horrors they had seen and experienced.

One day a Hindu refugee had managed to come to my mother's house in hopes of finding shelter. She had not eaten in days, was dirty, her simple cotton sari ripped, her hair disheveled, her shoeless feet bleeding from the long journey. There was a look of hopelessness and fear in her eyes, like something was haunting her or about to attack her. All she could say was, "Save me! Save me! They are going to come after me! Save me!"

Days later, when she regained her senses, Laxmi Rani told her tale. Her father and her husband were respected doctors in their community. One day her husband went to the local pond but never returned. They found his dead body floating in the water. A while later, when she was feeding her small child, local Muslims stormed into the house and snatched her child from her arms. She pleaded with them as she followed them outside. The child was taken to a bonfire and tossed in. It was not an isolated incident, she said. Across the country, Hindu men were being indiscriminately butchered and the women grabbed and taken away by force. Little children were made to eat beef and forcibly converted to Islam. Somehow, Laxmi Rani managed to escape and boarded a train headed for India. Our family sheltered her and later took her to the refugee camp at the local temple. My mother related many such heart-wrenching stories.

The first great outflow of Hindus from Bangladesh occurred at Independence in 1947 with the creation of West Pakistan and East Pakistan (as Bangladesh was then known) on opposite sides of the Indian subcontinent. Among those fleeing were most of the Hindus in the British administrative services. Their posts were filled by West Pakistanis with little respect for the local Bengali people of East Pakistan, who did not speak the Urdu language used in the West. It was the beginning of a hostile relationship that would culminate in the 1971 revolt in which Bangladesh, with India's help, broke with West Pakistan and became an independent nation. West Pakistan sent troops to quell the rebellious territory, believing the unrest to be the result of "a few intellectuals." West Pakistan President Khan predicted, "A few thousand dead in Dhaka, and East Pakistan will be quiet soon."

For nine months the West Pakistan army tried to secure the area by the most brutal means. Possibly three million people, mostly Hindus, died; and ten million Hindus and many Muslims fled to India. Finally, in December, 1971, India, unable to ignore the flood of refugees across her borders, intervened and defeated the West Pakistan army in a matter of days. Bangladesh, shattered by war and with much of its educated class dead, became the world's 139th country.

Two incidents from 1971 will help to convey the war's terror. According to the Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Unity Council, an organization which monitors the condition of minorities in Bangladesh, on June 13, 1971, 400 Hindus were loaded into a train that they believed would take them to India. Instead, they were taken to Syedpur where all were murdered by Pakistan army personnel. In the second incident, the Pakistan army attacked the Dhaka University, raping girls and killing at least 500 students, as well as many faculty. Similar killings and rapes took place across the country. Time magazine reported on August 2, 1971, "The Hindus, who account for three-fourths of the refugees and a majority of the dead, have borne the brunt of the Muslim military hatred."

While the 1971 war impacted all Bangladeshis, pogroms against Hindus have occurred time and again in the country's history. For example, 50,000 Hindus in and around Dhaka were killed in 1964 when a holy relic was stolen from a mosque in Kashmir--compare this to a few thousand deaths in East Timor or Bosnia. After the 1975 assassination of President Sheik Mujibar Rahman by military coup, the constitution was, in phases, amended to make Islam the state religion of Bangladesh. In celebration, Muslim radicals attacked Hindus. India noticed, once again, an exodus of refugees at her borders. Following the destruction of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in 1992 by Hindu militants, dozens of Hindus were killed in riots across Bangladesh and approximately 3,000 temples were damaged or destroyed. Who can imagine 3,000 American churches destroyed within days? "There were riots in East Pakistan almost every year, and severe killings in 1944, 1947, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1960 and 1963," states SK Bhattacharyya in Genocide in East Pakistan/Bangladesh.

Added to the long list of mass attacks is the daily harassment of Hindus. The Dhaka newspaper Sangabad reported on September 24, 1989, the story of Mrs. Birajabala Debnath of Nidarabad. She became a widow after her husband was murdered because he refused to give up his land to his Muslim neighbor. Then she and her five children were abducted in the middle of the night and murdered.

At New York's Bangladeshi Hindu Mandir (www.hindumandir.nu), nearly everyone has a somber tale to tell. This simple building has provided a safe haven of peace and prayer to the Hindus who managed to escape the ravages of Bangladesh. The weekly temple program I visited draws hundreds and is enlivened with the sounds of kirtan, Gita classes and tabla lessons. However, a sudden silence befalls the crowd when the topic turns to their native land. "We are all refugees. We cannot be Hindus there. They kill us whenever they get the chance. And the police do not do anything. Remember Dhaka University's Jagannath Hall?"

Mr. Shankar Das goes on to detail Amnesty International's 1996 report (www. amnesty.org/ailib/aipub/1996/ASA/31300496.htm) which stated nearly 700 law enforcement personnel raided the University's only Hindu hall in 1996, firing teargas, stealing valuables and raping and beating students. The raid, which lasted three hours, saw many deaths and injuries. "What can you do when even the law is against you?" As he fights back his tears, these once joyous temple devotees hang their heads in hopelessness. "We are lucky we are here where we can pray in peace. That is not possible in Bangladesh. The historic Ramna Kali Bari Temple in Dhaka, hundreds of years old, was destroyed. President Sheik Rahman further leveled the area. If you go there now, all you will see is a park".

Ratan Dasgupta told me, "Harassment of womenfolk is all too common in Bangladesh. We are persecuted. That is why we have come here. Living there is impossible. Nearly ten years ago my cousin's sister was abducted from our house by a group of 25 neighborhood boys. They came with sticks and started breaking everything in the house. We were too afraid to do anything. Then they demanded my cousin. My uncle was hit when he tried to stop them. They grabbed her and took her away. God only knows what happened to her. Since she was very pretty, they either forced her to marry some Muslim boy or sold her to a brothel."

"Violence is random and without cause," a man from Montreal told me. "A Hindu woman will be taunted in public, her sari tugged at, her hand grabbed, all this in her husband's presence. And what will the police do when a complaint is received? Either dismiss it or join in the action." "If there is a fight between two Muslims, somehow they will resolve it," he went on, "but to vent the anger, they will go to a Hindu home and just start throwing rocks at the window."

In the midst of this crowd sits a small elderly woman in a simple white sari, her tear-filled eyes beckoning me. In a trembling voice she says, "I am an old woman. I have seen many things in my lifetime. In my village, we cannot hold Durga puja [see page 24]. Every year they come and destroy the deity. The temple was smeared with cow's blood and urinated upon. The pujari was beaten and his house set on fire. We were told to stop doing puja. Everywhere around us people were screaming and crying. I lost my husband there. Even though my son has managed to bring us here, I worry about home. No one is safe there."

Muslims who protest the situation around them do so at great peril. Taslima Nasrin, spurred by the horror of atrocities against Hindus from 1990-92, wrote a novel, Lajja ("Shame"). Her act brought her a fatwa (death sentence, the same as meted out to Salman Rushdie) by Islamic extremists and has forced her to go into hiding in Europe.

There have been legal assaults against the Hindus as well, most especially the Vested Property Act, formerly called the "Enemy Property Act." It allows for the lands of a person who has fled the country to be seized and redistributed. The US State Department said in its 1997 Human Rights report, "Many Hindus lost landholdings because of anti-Hindu discrimination in the application of the law." Millions of acres have been so confiscated.

Resident Hindus who try to sell their homes will often get no more than 50 percent of the market price, according to the man from Montreal. "Sometimes a fake deed will be used to claim his land," he said. "And most of the time, the Hindus lose the case in court despite all the evidence."

"In front of your eyes, you will see madrasas (Islamic schools) being built," I was told, "while the remaining Hindu centers are closing down. There is no pujari (priest) to teach, and whoever is there is afraid for their life. The remnants of our past are being lost, our new generation will not know anything about our religion or history."

Five decades of harassment in Bangladesh is exacerbated by the world's capacity to ignore the situation. As massive and horrific as the happenings are, you never see this on CNN or in Newsweek. The three-page 1999 US State Department report on International Religious Freedom in Bangladesh does detail discrimination against Hindus, but in only one sentence: "Intercommunal violence reportedly has caused some members of religious minorities to depart the country, primarily Hindus emigrating to India where many have relatives." In such casual terms is written off one of the greatest forced human migrations of the 20th century, involving more than ten million people. Other reports regard the expulsion of Bangladeshi Hindus as a "done deed," and don't even list them as refugees any more, but as "resettled."

State Department reports on religious freedom have been criticized for being concerned only with Christians, who are few in Bangladesh (hence its three-page report). India, on the other hand, got a ten-page report, with five pages devoted to alleged discrimination against Christians (resulting in three deaths); just three paragraphs deal with Muslim attacks against Hindus in Kashmir (resulting in 139 deaths). The word Kashmir occurs nine times, Christian 90 times; and there is nothing on the millions of Bangladesh Hindus now living in India.

Bangladesh Prime Minister, Sheik Hasina, said in New York recently that Bangladesh Hindus "have one foot in India, and the other in Bangladesh" and asked, given this divided loyalty, what they should expect and how much the local Muslims will listen to her government. And she is considered "pro-Indian" in Bangladesh.

Despite the discounting of atrocities, Bangladeshi Hindus in America cannot easily forget. While the second generation of Bangladeshi Hindus in America may take for granted the simple act of performing anjali (flower offering), parents are quick to remind them of the privilege of being able to worship in peace. "It's not just prayer. It's at every level. In Bangladesh, if you are not a Muslim, then you cannot get a job. They will not let you get admission to good colleges. Our children must know this. It's their homeland. What we have not been able to do, they must carry out," remarks Mrs. Dey.

As the evening program draws to a close in New York, Mrs. Sen's tear-choked words darken the once joyous atmosphere. "Everyone is against us. Other Hindus don't help us. We cannot do anything. If we speak out, our family members back home will be tortured if word spreads. But we have to take a chance, this cannot go on forever. How much longer do we have to hide?".

Contacts: Hindu, Boudhwa and Christian Oikya Parisad: Dr. Nim Chandra Bhoumick, Secretary, c/o Department of Physics, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh

35 comments:

  1. You motherfucker hindu.

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    1. Have u forget that your past generation was Hindu.

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    2. i do not understand these british people has fooled us by creating a barrier in the name of religion amongst bengalis...we hindus and muslims were living together before 1947....

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  2. Those Hindus who stayed behind in Bangladesh, and did not flee, like Mrs Dey, have done well. There are many big industrialists, high ranking army personnel, famous lawyers and doctors and politicians who are Hindus, not to mention many famous TV personalities, filmstars and singers. Mrs Dey's claim that Hindus are not allowed to practice their religion and get into good schools is not correct. Hindus celebrate Durga puja and other festivals quite openly and also get media coverage. And during 1971, among the three million who were killed, the vast majority were Muslims.

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    1. Madarchod fir unko wahan sata kyon rahe ho !

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  3. Hindus are not more then bustard.

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    1. Our Hindu Religion is the first Religion among the all other Religion's,almost 5 thousand years old.That is why everyone say us Sonaton Hindu.You can check the meaning of 'Sonaton'.All Muslims of Pakistan and Bangladesh are converted from Hindu.It is historically accepted.That is why people of Saudi Arabia even not like you.
      You see whats going on with the Muslims today.
      Moreover I want to tell you again to read what Prophet Muhammad (SAW)said-to respect other Religion also.I respect Prophet Muhammad (SAW) though I am Hindu.Follow HIS ADVICE.

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  4. this is really a sad news. Its only India where everyone is welcomed (may the person be Hindu, Muslim, Christian or from any other religion) and we can clearly analyze from the fact that other countries don't treat foreigners well. The remarks I see above are also citizens of such uncultured nations.

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  5. These comments are just ridiculous. One would assume that living in the civilized society some people would learn to become civilized. That obviously is not the case.

    Bangladesh as a nation has a LONG way to go.

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  6. Thanks for the bright light you brought to our Blog on the eve of the Diwali Festivals.

    Your blog are very helpful in educating us.
    Wish you peace.
    Keep up the good job.

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  7. You motherfucker, what are you doing in bangladesh? Get out from here and go to india.

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    1. If it is happened then we'll get out all motherfucker muslim from India and send them in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
      Then you suck their cock.................

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    2. If all the Hindu leave Bangladesh then same thing will be happen in Bangladesh what now happening in Pakistan.Muslim will be fight against Muslim.Have you forget that your past generation was Hindu?If you are educated read the History book.Please also read the accurate meaning of 'Bustard'.Hindus are not Bustard because we have 5 thousand years identity with us.Our past generation was Hindu and we are also Hindu.

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  8. Looking at all these reports I think India should take a strong stand against illegal Bangladeshi muslims occupying slums in Mumbai. India has been too tolarant to all the religions in fact many times it is Hindus who have to make compromises for the minorities like Muslims and Christians.

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  9. Its horrifying seeing the codition on Hindus in Bangladesh. I beleive Hindus of India Dont really get up now, its our turn ...

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  10. This is very sad state of affairs on the part of India, who is habitual of seeing the atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh and Hindu/Sikhs in Pakistan and Afghanistan with closed eyes. in these countries the Hindu/Sikh population is reducing day-by-day due to atrocities and on the other hand the muslim population is increasing in India due to high care in India. Even the India is not taking strong steps against illegal Bangladeshi residing in India. This is so sad.

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  11. this has given me an insight of what happened during 1971 .I was from a family who fled during the night as member of my family were murdered by muslims, they forced our family out of our land . we now reside in india where there is an uprise of fanatic muslims who get their ideas and monry fom bangladesh and the middle east. i say to these people if tyou do not like india then GET OUT. Leave us in peace.

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  12. these hatred and anticommunity stands actually was fashionable in 19th century,if some state sponsor these then its way behind on globe.

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  13. I was unable to access bangladeshihindu.com;
    In fact I just wanted to say to my bangla brothers step mother never mind how rich will never be dear to you and your own mum never mind how poor she will always sacrifice her best to the betterment of their child. This new religion that has just started as a fashion without any concern for humanity will always be like your step mother. Just see after building those freshwater well did the condition of Bangladesh changed, no just see the 100% Muslim state of Pakistan and Afghanistan- look at all the disasters and status of the country men is there any peace:
    Dharmo rakshiti rakshitah-one who follows Dharmah and protects in society is always by Dharmah.
    You are leaving away the most valublabe gift that your ancestors always valued and privilleged -our culture and dharma is always there for the best of everyone.Imagine if our fore fathers would have been alive how would they have feeled seeing all these. Caste problem was a social problem not the problem of our religion.
    My great-grandfather left bangladesh and I at times feel saddened my this fact. AS we were able to save our religion but many aspects of our culture was lost. But wait what is in Bangladesh that I have to worry about now - the people out there who have all the privilage of living the real bangla way of life that our fore fathers had dont feel the value of it- you can do away with anything but not our Sanatan Dharma.
    I was enlightened by this article
    http://www.hknet.org.nz/BVKS-Bengal.html

    Jiv jago jiv jago gaura chandra bole-
    hope our real bangladesh just dont be in our dada dadi ki story- and that after few generation will be wiped out
    n Those who are converting to other religions do not understand the significance of their Dharma.

    n Adopting the Religion of their rulers, many followers of Sanatan Dharma embraced Islam and Christianity.

    n “Lobha” and “Bhaya” are the two main reasons of one getting lured and converted.







    Be proud as a Hindu: Swami Vivekanand
    When a man has begun to be ashamed of his ancestors, the end has come.
    Here am I, one of the least of the Hindu race, yet proud of my race, proud of my ancestors. I am proud to call myself a Hindu, I am proud that I am one of your unworthy servants. I am proud that I am a countryman of yours, you the descendants of the sages, you the descendants of the most glorious Rishis the world ever saw.

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  14. proud Bengali HinduJune 6, 2010 at 12:23 AM

    Pig Fucker Bangaldeshis should be kicked out.
    Islamic bangladeshis are scumbugs , cruel, swines.
    Eradicate Islam from Bangladesh and lets Form A Pure Vedic Bengal which Rishi Aurobindo and Swami Vivekananda Dreamt of.
    Joi Hind.

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    Replies
    1. Let an organisation come up to make it a reality.
      vande mataram.
      aroop

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  15. These Swines has forget that...Due to India they gained there Independence.....& these Bangladeshi Bastards continue making attack on the poor banladeshi hindus.
    Its our suggestion to u F*****g swines, change your attitude. Even islam is against all these, u have taken islam as ur vested property and doing homicides, genocides on these people.
    Either u change or ready to be away from the era of development. That is why all islamic nations are away from development despite of having enriched natural resorces.
    A Proud Indian - Jai Hind.

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  16. After all all the muslims in bangladesh or India or shit(pak)istan are Hindus. Are they not converts?

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  17. muslims should see how worst the conditions of hindus im pakistan and bangladesh. here these bastards are talking for equality and secularism. muslims womens are like child production machine. both mothers and daughters are producing child at the same time.

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    1. Muslim women produces childs because they are fucked by their husbands.And Hindu women can't produced children because they are mostly fucked by Westerns and now a days even dogs and horses. I have seen here in Canada even many Hindu husbands are renting their wife. Stupid Hindus have no fear in heart that God is watching them. When Hindu women will be fucked by humans instead of Dogs and horses, they will also produce children.

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    2. Muslim women are fucked by their brothers too...arent they?

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  18. what do political buffoons like Laloos and Mulayams of India say to the plight of fellow Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh ?

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  19. its high time to teach these muslim pigs a lesson. burn them all

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  20. NO,PLZZ BANGLADESH IS A SECULAR STATE .IT NEEDS HINDUS.

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    1. Bangladesh is a Islamic Country ,Former President of that country Ershad declared that.
      R u Hindu from Bangladesh?

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  21. All hindu people have to take care each others.
    We have need more secure in the world. I am trying something: http://sdc-world.blogspot.com/

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  22. keep fighting with each other u both of cockroaches because ultimately u all fuck ur sisters, mothers, daughters, and aunties. So keep hating each other, it's consistent with the rest of all ur evil, and ultimately:

    GOD IS WATCHING YOU! ENJOY UR AFTERLIVES LMAO!

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  23. all muslims are bustared,

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  24. "hindu" is not only a religion but also a culture.you can see in islamik religion they have mentioned in holly books "the muslims" but in "veda,geeta,etc it is not mention "the hindus"only darma. yee muslims you have to think about your origin...from where you came,,,can you answer ;;mohhamad was 1st muslim in earth but who make him muslim????whats about his parents,,from which religion they belongs to???

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  25. Bd is a islamic country, so all problem caused by their dirty islamic mentality. So i kick a koran everyday. I also like to kick on mohamads face. Because he is the original busterd for all suffering of civilized people.

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