Minority Persecution Continues unabated

Bicharer Vani Nirabe Nivrite Kande

Minority Persecution Continues unabated
-Ajoy Roy

I thought that I would not write any more stories under the heading, Bicharer Vani Nirabe Nivrite Kande � ..� Honestly speaking I am fed up with what is happening in Bangladesh as regards persecution on minorities in general on Hindus in particular. I started the series some time in 1973 when a Hindu widow was killed and cut to pieces and then put in drums with lime and then sealed by a local notorious man. This he did for shear greed of grabbing the widows
property.

Even under the caretaker government, backed by arm, of Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed continues unabated. The culprits, miscreants, supported by local political touts and mastans, who often exert influence on police and civil administration.

A minority village in Ps Kalikair, district Gazipur ransacked

Recently a terrible incident took place in the village named Sahebabad within the police station of Kalikair in the district of Gazipur. In this village a large number minority families mostly of Hindu community are living peacefully from generation to generation. The peace and tranquility however interrupted occasionally. As in other parts of the country this village also experienced the fall out of infamous October election 2001 in which the BNP won. The price of wining of the election by BNP and its allies had to bear the Hindus and other minority communities including indigenous people. Since then persecution on minorities is continuing unhindered? Their properties grabbed forcibly, evicted from their abodes.

In the village of Sahebabd the poor helpless Hindu families once again witnessed the terrible and shocking atrocities let loose by the local armed miscreants. On September 1, 2008 a group of armed antisocial and miscreants raided ransacking the village, forcibly evicted Hindus from their homes, and injured many in the process. The hooligans supported by the political touts not only looted the valuables of the household properties, but told the families that being Hindus they have no right to live in Moslem Bangladesh. The goondas and terrorists threatened the Hindu villagers to leave the country for India within three days. If they fail, a dire consequence awaits them.

Since then villagers are living in panic. Most of the young girls have taken refugee in unknown shelters for fear of being lifted followed by enmass raping. Many families too left the village to safer place. But is there any safe place for minorities anywhere in Bangladesh?

Till today no police arrived in the scene. They are probably searching through the maps with magnifying glass to locate `where the bloody Sahebabad village is? Ekushe TV covered the incident of September 1 as part 1 which they will serialize. After the incident came to the media, our civil administration of the locality awake from the deep sleep, when the TNO, Mr. Motahar Hosian, of Ps Kaliakair visited the affected village today (9. 09. 08). He talked to some family members of the affected victims and assured them of their security of life & property, the usual console emitted by the bureaucrats. He further told the local press that he would right now talk to the police authority of the locality for security of the villagers with the assurance that terrorists would be rounded up 'very soon'. We are very much accustomed hear such assurance of 'very soon'.

In the mean while the sufferers suffer, lament and wait for the justice that never to be found and remains as illusive as ever before the very eyes of the culprits. We too lament remembering Tagore�s immortal sayings,

" Bichrer Vani Nirabe Nivrite Kande"

This time the 'nivrita people' are the unfortunate Hindu minorities of an unknown village called Sahebabad. The big question mark is will the fleeing people ever come back to their ancestral homes. Who knows ? Who cares for them ?

09. 09. 08
Mukto-Mona.com