Bangladesh: Islamic Colour Revolution

Align Or Exit

The bells tolled for Sheikh Hasina when she publicly stated that the US wanted to carve out a Christian country from parts of Bangladesh and Myanmar. Indian analysts believe that parts of India’s Manipur and Mizoram which have a sizeable Christian population would be included in such a scheme. Sheikh Hasina publicly accused Washington of working to remove her from power because she refused to allow a US air base on St. Martin’s Island in the Bangladeshi portion of the Bay of Bengal, to facilitate Washington’s Indo-Pacific Strategy of “containing” China. Washington also wanted Sheikh Hasina to sign two military-related pacts, viz., General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) and Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreements (ACSA).

In May 2024, days after meeting with Donald Liu, US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia and Central Asia, Hasina warned that a “country of white-skinned people” had demanded permission for an air base in the Bay of Bengal.[i] She said she was assured of a smooth re-election to Parliament if she complied, but compared the proposal to the carving out of East Timor from Indonesia. Addressing members of her 14-party alliance at Gono Bhaban (PM’s residence) in Dhaka, she rued: “I do not want to come to power by leasing out parts of the country or handing it over to someone else.”

The US strategy is to pressure China and India. With Myanmar in turmoil, extending the violence to Bangladesh further destabilizes the region and could block China’s access to the Indian Ocean via the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (Yunnan-Rakhine) and China-77Pakistan Economic Corridor (Xinjiang-Baluchistan). Washington supports the Rakhine insurgents and during several high-level visits to Dhaka in 2023, hinted that if the Arakan Army rebels won in Rakhine, they could facilitate the repatriation of one million Rohingya refugees in Dhaka camps. This would be possible only if the Myanmar Air Force is denied mastery of the skies above Rakhine State so that the Arakan Army can control the region.

Beijing fears that a US-backed independent Rakhine could jeopardise the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor and give Washington control of the China-funded Kyaukphyu deep sea port, triggering secessionist movements in the western Myanmar provinces of Chin and Kachin. New Delhi also disapproves of US-backed statelets on its borders with Myanmar.

Washington could pressure India about its relationship with Russia and buying and selling Russian oil (which the US has sanctioned), but New Delhi is unlikely to concede in these areas. However, India could see a return of instability in her north-east from Bangladesh and Myanmar. There could be fresh problems in Assam, with non-cooperation from Dhaka in extraditing leaders of groups like ULFA to India.[ii] In fact, on Dec 18, 2024, the Bangladesh High Court reduced the death sentence of Paresh Barua, ULFA commander, to life imprisonment and commuted the death sentence of six other convicts to 10 years in prison.[iii] The court also acquitted former state minister for home affairs Lutfozzaman Babar and five 7other death row inmates in the ten-truck arms smuggling case in Chittagong, in 2004. Former National Security Intelligence chief Abdur Rahim was exempted from the case.

Indian officials believe that the current unrest in Manipur is part of a plot to carve out a new Christian nation from parts of Bangladesh, Myanmar and India’s north-east, and that the flourishing opium poppy harvests in the hills are intended to fund this enterprise (an old Western colonial toolkit). Manipur destroyed 19,135 acres of poppy plantations between 2017 and 2024, as part of its “war on drugs,” according to the Manipur Remote Sensing Applications Centre.[iv] The opium cultivation is being monitored by agencies using GIS and remote sensing technologies, besides the Narcotics, Border and Forest Departments.

In these circumstances, a meticulously planned and funded Colour Revolution brought Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus to power on August 8, 2024. Wielding enormous powers under the misleadingly modest title of Chief Adviser of the Interim Government of Bangladesh, and tasked with restoring democracy, Yunus is keen to prolong his stay in office on the pretext of important “reforms”, even as Islamist mobs unleash terror on the minorities, especially Hindus, and the economy hurtles towards the abyss.

The new rulers seem keen to punish dissidents, and as many as 150 journalists are in jail for doing their jobs. The most prominent among those arrested are Hashen Reza, editor of Amar Shongbad, and Shahriar Kabir, who was documenting attacks on Hindus by Jamaat-e-Islami and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party cadre. At least 25 top journalists viewed as close to the deposed Prime Minister and her party face murder charges.

The Information Ministry is cancelling the press accreditations cards of journalists;[v] so far 50 journalists, including senior reporters and top executives of TV news, have lost their accreditations, on account of their alleged political leanings. The country’s Editors Guild laments the continuing attacks on the press and media, especially the threats to besiege the offices of Prothomalo and The Daily Star.

As recently as Dec 17, 2024, Hasnat Abdullah, convener of the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement, led nearly 20 students to the offices of City Group, investors in Somoy Television, accused it of propaganda in favour of the Awami League, and got five journalists dismissed.[vi] Mohammad Yunus’ press secretary Shafiqul Alam tried to distance the government from the episode, saying that if someone “takes any action, the responsibility lies with them”.

Transparency International Bangladesh has expressed “serious concerns” over the state of press freedom under the Yunus-led Interim Government.[vii] In a statement, it observed, “Arbitrary threats, attacks, sieges, and, in certain instances, trivial lawsuits designed to resolve personal disputes or the complete revocation of accreditation cards are unmistakable indicators of an anti-people authoritarian regime.”

The Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan resigned as protesters called for all judges to step down; the Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder also stepped down.[viii] Several senior police officers were sent on forced retirement,[ix] for alleged proximity to the previous regime. Hindu school and college teachers, and vice chancellors, are being forced to resign.[x]

The economy has been gutted, hundreds of factories have been torched or shut down, and the revenue-earning garment industry is beached. Inflation is soaring, while crime and extortions rule the roost. Terrorists are being released, while Hindus are beaten and jailed with impunity (more later). The special powers given to the military to carry out policing duties, including arrests and search warrants, are causing dismay. India’s Minister of State for External Affairs, Kirti Vardhan Singh, informed Parliament on Dec 20, 2024, that there have been 2200 attacks against Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh, so far.

Awami League leaders and workers are especially singled out for persecution. Dr Baharul Alam, Inspector General of Bangladesh Police, who took over on Nov 21, 2024, lamented before the media (Dec 27, 2024) that the country was witnessing unprecedented incidents since Aug 5, 2024 (when Sheikh Hasina was ousted), wherein “Perhaps 10 individuals committed a crime, but here they have implicated 1,300 people. They include the name of the deceased’s father or relatives to inflate the case.”[xi]

Meanwhile, in the name of “democratic reforms,” Yunus and his advisers plan to rebuild key state institutions from scratch, from the police to the judiciary, banks and the electoral system.[xii] This indicates a desire to stay in power for five to six years, and it remains to be seen how long the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its leader, Tarique Rahman, will tolerate this state of affairs.

Muhammad Yunus

Muhammad Yunus’ first priority on being anointed as Chief Adviser with prime ministerial powers (Aug 11, 2024) was to have his name cleared in the graft case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission for misappropriation of funds from the Grameen Telecom Workers and Employees Welfare Fund.[xiii] He faced life imprisonment if found guilty in the case; but he and 13 others were acquitted by a special court in Dhaka on August 12, 2024.[xiv] On August 10, he was acquitted in a labour violation case in which he had been sentenced to six months in jail.

Tarique Rahman, acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is the other significant beneficiary of the country’s political upheaval; he and 48 others were acquitted (Dec 01, 2024) of involvement in a grenade attack on a political rally in Dhaka on August 21, 2004.[xv] Zia was then the Prime Minister; opposition leader Sheikh Hasina was injured in the attack, 24 persons were killed and hundreds injured. The accused were found guilty by a lower court in 2018, but the High Court said “proper legal procedure” was not followed. Rahman and 59 others were also acquitted (Dec 2, 2024) of an arson attack on a passenger bus in Joydebpur, Gazipur, in February 2015.[xvi]

Rahman, in self-exile in London since 2008, is expected to return on January 10, 2025, the day Sheikh Mujibur Rahman returned to independent Bangladesh in 1972.[xvii] He pledged to uphold the spirit of democracy that thrives in the diversity of faiths, beliefs and ideologies and said he stood for the rule of law, human rights and freedom of expression, and safeguarding the rights and liberties of every citizen and building an inclusive, tolerant, and rules-based society.

Political analysts say that Tarique Rahman is an astute politician who doesn’t want the Awami League banned, and wants good relations with India. His return could trigger a churn in the country and eclipse the appeal of Muhammad Yunus. Rahman has called for early national elections. Bangladeshi journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury warns that Tarique Rahman cannot be trusted and has called for “kicking out 26 lakh Indians from Bangladesh”.[xviii]

Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, 79, was released from prison on August 6, 2024, after the regime changed. The BNP Chairperson and two others were acquitted in a corruption case involving the Zia Charitable Trust in 2018; Zia was sentenced to seven years in jail and fined Taka 1 million, by a lower court.[xix]

The decision of the United States and United Kingdom to revoke Sheikh Hasina’s visa to their countries has exposed their hand in the contemporary events in Dhaka. At the time of writing, she was in a safe place in New Delhi.

The Yunus government was quick to lift the 2016 ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami. The Jamaat had opposed independence from Pakistan and had joined the Pakistan army in the mass rape of around two million women and the killing of over four million Hindus in 1971.[xx] The regime also released Jashimuddin Rahmani, chief of the Ansarullah Bangla Team, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist outfit that masterminded the killing of a number of atheist and secular bloggers. Imtiaz Selim, leader of the Hizbut Tahrir Bangladesh, has urged the interim government to withdraw the ban imposed on the party in 2009.[xxi]

Observers warn of Yunus’ proximity to the extremist and anti-India Hefazat-e-Islam, whose leaders were freed after he took office. Hefazat is famous for copy-pasting a 13-point demand from the Taliban.[xxii] The list includes capital punishment for maligning Allah, Islam and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and smear campaigns against Muslims; declaring Ahmediyas as non-Muslims; and curbing activities by Christian missionaries in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and elsewhere.

Colour Revolution

Leaked documents show that in 2018, a National Endowment for Democracy agency launched a mission to “destabilize Bangladesh’s politics.”[xxiii] The foot soldiers were rappers, ethnic minority leaders, and LGBT activists hosting “transgender dance performances”.

Addressing the Clinton Global Initiative on the side-lines of the UN General Assembly in September 2024, Yunus boasted that the protests that catapulted him to power were “meticulously designed”, and introduced student leader Mahfuz Alam as the mastermind.[xxiv] He said three persons presided over the ‘Monsoon Revolution,’ which toppled the Awami League government. Alam, a law student at Dhaka University and allegedly a member of the banned Hizbut Tahrir, is now special assistant to Yunus. Nahid Islam, who studied sociology, is an adviser in the information and telecommunications ministry.

The protests were triggered by the reinstatement of a job quota system for former Mukti Bahini families that was widely resented as it mainly benefitted Awami League loyalists. It was abolished by Sheikh Hasina in 2018 but restored by the Supreme Court in July 2024. The government crackdown on protestors resulted in around 450 deaths and sealed the fate of the regime.

The US-backed putsch will impact South and Southeast Asia, and create instability along the peripheries of China and India, besides affecting Russia which is close to both China and India. In 2023, the Voice of America admitted that Peter Haas, US ambassador to Bangladesh, was backing critics of the Awami League regime. The BBC in July 2023 indirectly admitted that the BNP and the banned Jamaat-e-Islami were behind the student violence.

Political analyst Brian Berletic notes that students from Dhaka University’s political science department including Nahid Islam and Nusrat Tabassum (profiles on the Open Society-funded Front Line Defenders database) played a key role in the Colour Revolution.[xxv] The department of political science is manned by professors working in US government-funded programs, including the “Confronting Misinformation in Bangladesh (CMIB) project”. Professors Saima Ahmed and Kajalei Islam headed the project along with US NED grantees and US State Department Fulbright scholars.

It is thus unsurprising that after Sheikh Hasina’s forced exit, Muhammad Yunus emerged as the students’ choice to head the interim government. Yunus is a US State Department Fulbright scholar and recipient of the US Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009, and US Congressional Medal in 2013. In 2006, he was given the Nobel Prize for pioneering a system of “micro-lending” to help marginalised families to build sustainable livelihoods.

In reality, this was a form of legalized loansharking that impoverished thousands. Sheikh Hasina put it down with a heavy hand. But during Hillary Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State, Yunus was shielded from prosecution in Bangladesh for corrupt business dealings, and showered with millions in US government contracts. Clinton reportedly threatened Hasina’s US-based son with an IRS audit if Dhaka did not drop an official probe into Yunus’ Grameen Bank.

Islamic country

On August 8 and 9, 2024, the West Bengal daily newspaper Bartaman published two articles on the future plans of the Jamaat-e-Islami that took de facto control of Bangladesh after the Colour Revolution. The newspaper published a map of “Islamic Banglasthan” released by the Jamaat-e-Islami, that covers the whole of West Bengal, parts of Jharkhand, North Bihar (Kishanganj, Katihar), parts of Andamans, North East States (Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Manipur), parts of Nepal (Jhanpa), and parts of Myanmar (Rakhine and Arakan). Its official language will be Arabic and Urdu.[xxvi]

For a nation born out of love for the Bengali language and deep resentment against the imposition of Urdu by Governor General M.A. Jinnah, this is an astonishing development. The Jamaat-e-Islami did not resent the denial of power to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman after he won the 1970 election; now it is working for Pakistan’s old agenda to dismember India. The ISI’s supported the rise of radical Islamists in Bangladesh, as witnessed by the brutal killings of secular bloggers, Holey Bakery massacre, etc.

Agitated over the attacks on the Hindu minority, the West Bengal-based Banga Sena is demanding a new Independent Hindu country, Bangabhumi (land of Vanga), with six districts, namely, Khulna, Faridpur, Jessore, Kusthia, Barisal and Potuakhali.[xxvii] Led by Kalidas Baidya, the movement was founded in 1973 in India to support Hindu refugees from Bangladesh in 1971.

Chinmoy Krishna Das

Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das, arrested in Dhaka on charges of sedition on Nov. 25, 2024, has become the face of the violent persecution of the minority community in Bangladesh since the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.[xxviii] Formerly associated with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), Chinmoy Krishna Das, spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was accused of disrespecting the Bangladesh flag during a protest rally in Chittagong in October.

The case against Das and 18 others was filed by Firoz Khan, general secretary of the Chattogram unit of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Firoz Khan alleged that Das had disrespected the national flag which students had hoisted at the Swadhinata Stambha, New Market intersection. However, the BNP stripped him of his post on Nov. 1, 2024, on grounds of acting against the party’s ideology and principles.[xxix] But the sedition case against Das and his followers continued, and has assumed menacing proportions.

Before his arrest, Chinmoy Krishna Das (president, Pundarik Dham) addressed a rally in Rangpur (Nov 22, 2024) where he deplored the violence against the Hindu community (girls, women, young men, temples, Gods/murtis, and priests). Das declared, “We are the descendants of King Vanga, who was the grandson of King Prahlad and the son of King Bali. The land of Bengal is named after him, and we are his rightful heirs. We have the first right to this land. We, the Sanatanis, will no longer tolerate any attempts to deny our rights.”

After his arrest, Das was denied bail on Nov. 26, 2024. At the time of writing, his bail plea had been deferred to January 2, 2025, as no lawyer turned up to represent him amidst serious threats by a section of Bangladeshi lawyers. Advocate Ramen Roy was battered by miscreants on Dec 2, 2024, his house looted and chamber vandalised. On Dec. 3, advocate Regan Acharya was seriously injured in the court premises in Chittagong while attending Das’ bail hearing; his chamber was vandalised. Most recently, on Dec 15, senior advocate Rabindra Ghosh was beaten when he arrived for the bail hearing; he came to Barrackpore, North Parganas district in West Bengal, for treatment.

The Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote expressed grave concern and anger over these developments, especially the denial of legal representation to the monk. The Jote alleged that nearly 70 Hindu lawyers who tried to defend Chinmoy Krishna Das have been falsely booked to prevent them from defending Das.

Ironically, when Bangladesh was bankrupt and suffered from severe floods in 1971, it was ISKCON devotee George Harrison (of the famous Beatles quad) who raised $250,000 through the Concert for Bangladesh. The ingratitude towards the peace-loving group is staggering.

Unfazed, Dhaka’s street activists burnt down the ISKCON Namhatta center on Dec 07, 2024, along with the Shri Radha Krishna and Shri Shri Mahabhagya Lakshmi Narayan Temples.

Voices against attacks on Minorities

Sheikh Hasina broke her silence and in a statement issued by the Awami League on Nov 28, 2024, said, “A top leader of Sanatan religious community has been unjustly arrested, he must be released without delay. A temple has been burnt in Chittagong. Previously, mosques, mazars, churches, monasteries and houses of the Ahmadiyya community were attacked, vandalised, looted and burnt. Religious freedom and security of life and property of all communities must be protected.”[xxx]

The former Prime Minister boldly dubbed the attacks on the Hindu community as a genocide. In a virtual address to the Awami League on the occasion of “Bijoy Dibos” (1971 Victory Day), in New York on Dec 01, 2024, Sheikh Hasina accused Yunus of perpetrating “genocide”. She claimed that there were plans to assassinate her and her sister Sheikh Rehana just like their father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.[xxxi] Sheikh Mujib’s statues have been vandalised in many places.

Referring to the storming of her official residence in Dhaka on August 05, she said, “The armed protestors were directed towards Ganabhaban. If the security guards opened fire, many lives would have been lost. It was a matter of 25-30 minutes, and I was forced to leave. I told them [guards] not to fire no matter what happened.” She did not even get the time to resign officially. Though she has been accused of genocide, Sheikh Hasina countered that “The masterminds – the student coordinators and Yunus – are behind this genocide.” On Dec 21, 2024, she called for “resistance against the oppression and persecution faced by Awami League leaders and activists across the country” under the Yunus administration.[xxxii]

The US State Department has called for respect for human rights and religious freedom in Bangladesh. Spokesperson Vedant Patel stated, “We are clear that there needs to be the respect of fundamental freedoms; there needs to be respect of religious freedom, and basic human rights.”[xxxiii] The genocide has drawn sharp criticism from lawmakers in the UK and Australia.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has expressed “deep concern” over the arrest and denial of bail to Chinmoy Krishna Das, noting the widespread violence against Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh.[xxxiv] These attacks, including arson, looting of minority-owned properties, theft, vandalism, and desecration of temples and deities, continue with impunity and perpetrators remain at large. The MEA urged Bangladesh authorities to ensure the safety and security of Hindus and all minorities, including their right of freedom of peaceful assembly and expression.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Dhaka on Dec 09, 2024, and met with the Chief Adviser of the Interim Government Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the Foreign Affairs Adviser, Md. Touhid Hossain, and the Foreign Secretary Jashim Uddin.[xxxv] Misri conveyed India’s concerns about recent developments in Bangladesh, especially regarding the safety and welfare of minorities, and pointed to “some regrettable incidents of attacks on cultural, religious and diplomatic properties.”

The Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh, in a Facebook post, said the charges of treason against Chinmoy Krishna Das and 18 others signal a dangerous turn in the nation’s governance.[xxxvi]

The RSS condemned the atrocities being committed against Hindus and religious minorities in Bangladesh and called for the release of Das. Acharya Satyendra Das, chief priest of the Sri Rama Janmabhoomi temple, Ayodhya, UP, said, “I believe Bangladesh is also treating Hindus the way Pakistan used to treat them. The people who take a stand for Hindus are arrested like this, which is wrong. Our government should intervene in this. … Until the government intervenes Hindus will continue to be targeted in Bangladesh…”[xxxvii]

Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan condemned the monk’s detention, and in a post on X (Twitter), urged the United Nations to intervene, and urged Muhammad Yunus to safeguard Hindus in the country.[xxxviii] He recalled India’s historic sacrifices for Bangladesh’s independence: “Indian soldiers shed their blood, our resources were spent, and countless lives were lost for Bangladesh’s formation.”

Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravishankar admonished, “It is unbecoming of a Prime Minister of a neighbouring country to arrest a spiritual leader. He is not taking weapons, he is not taking guns, he is caring for his people. He is just standing up for the rights and wants the government to hear the atrocities that are happening to the minorities there.” Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also expressed concern over the arrest of the monk on sedition charges and ongoing violence against Hindu minorities.

West Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari led protest marches at different places in Kolkata.[xxxix] Protesting at the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission, Adhikari said India should stop all commerce with the country until attacks on Hindus stop. The Congress Party also led a protest march against the attack on Hindus in Bangladesh. Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee condemned the attacks, “What has happened cannot be supported, it is condemnable. It is an international issue, as a party, our stand is clear, that we support the government of India’s stand on this issue.”

Bahujan Samaj Party leader, Mayawati, expressed concerns about the ongoing spate of attacks on the Hindu community in Bangladesh (over 200 across 50 districts), and urged the government to address the issue in Parliament. She urged steps to mitigate the unrest, which has incited significant anger in India.[xl] She warned that, “…Hindus are becoming victims of crimes in large numbers in the neighbouring country Bangladesh. Most of them are Dalits and people from weaker sections…”[xli]

The Trinamool Congress joined the Bahujan Samaj Party in urging the Centre to request the United Nations to deploy peacekeeping forces in Bangladesh to address the situation of religious minorities in the country.[xlii] Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha (Dec 3, 2024), Sudip Bandyopadhyay said minorities, including Hindus, are being tortured and killed in Bangladesh, and as an immediate neighbour, West Bengal is directly affected by the happenings there.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has launched a campaign against Bangladeshi infiltrators into India. Concerns for the safety of Hindus has prompted a group of 68 retired Judge of High Court, IAS, IPS, IRS, IIS, IFS and state officers to urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the arrest of the monk.

The Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, condemned the assaults on the Hindu minority community in Bangladesh and asked the government to stop the injustices.[xliii] In a statement on Dec 3, 2024, he said the United Nations has a universal declaration regarding protection of equal rights for minorities which is binding on all members of international community and all UN member-states.

Unfazed, Bangladesh detained another prominent Hindu leader, Sant Maharaj Swarup Das Babaji, principal of Gaurangbari in Shikarpur Hatajari. Two monks, Shyam Das and Ranganath Das were arrested after visiting Chinmoy Krishna Das in jail on Nov 29, 2024, to give him prasad (consecrated food).[xliv] In a clear indication that the action against Hindu leaders was premeditated, the Bangladesh Government froze the bank accounts of Hindu leaders.

Upset at media clips of the India flag kept as doormat outside Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and several schools and other institutions in Dhaka, and being trampled upon, Kolkata gynaecologist Dr Indranil Saha stated on Facebook that he would not treat any patient from Bangladesh. Kolkata’s JN Ray Hospital in Maniktala made a similar announcement. This was followed by other hospitals in Kolkata and Agartala.[xlv]

In the early weeks of his administration, Yunus claimed that the issue of attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh was “exaggerated” and questioned the manner in which India projected it. In an interview with PTI at his official residence, Yunus said the attacks on minorities in Bangladesh are not communal, but a fallout of a political upheaval and perception that most Hindus supported the now-deposed Awami League regime.[xlvi] He added, “I have said this to (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi also that this is exaggerated. This issue has several dimensions. When the country went through an upheaval following the atrocities by (Sheikh) Hasina and the Awami League, those who were with them also faced attacks.”

He conceded that “some people are using it as an excuse to seize property.” But the crux is that there “is no clear distinction between Awami League supporters and Hindus.” He promised Prime Minister Modi that Dhaka would prioritise the protection and safety of Hindus and all other minority groups. Five months into his government, however, the attacks are not diminishing and the regime prefers silence to action in the face of growing international opprobrium.

Prime Minister Modi addressed the issue in his Independence Day address on Aug 15, 2024, expressing the hope that the situation in violence-hit Bangladesh would return to normal soon. He said 1.4 billion Indians are concerned about the safety of Hindus and minorities in the neighbouring country.

Minorities and Holy Sites

There has been a deafening silence from Dhaka over India’s request to investigate the theft of the crown gifted by Prime Minister Modi to the Jeshoreshwari Kali Temple, an important Shaktipeeth, in Satkhira in 2021. The Indian High Commission urged the Yunus government to recover the crown and take action against the culprits.[xlvii] The temple was rebuilt with Indian funding. Local residents state that during his 2021 visit, Prime Minister Modi also gifted 109 ambulances to the nation, but the Yunus government has removed the Indian flag from the ambulances.

The sectarian violence has not spared Christian and Ahmadiya Muslims. The Church of Bangladesh in Naogaon, Evangelica Holiness Church in Dinajpur, the collection booth of the Christian Cooperative Credit Union in Madanpur of Narayanganj, and three Christian houses in Gournadi in Barishal, one in Khulna city, one on Halwaghat in Mymensingh, and one in Parbatipur, were attacked. There have been threats against missionary schools and colleges.

Archbishop Bejoy Nicephorus D’Cruze of the Roman Catholic Church in Dhaka regretted that “the attackers are not identified and they are not punished.” Kapaeeng Foundation, a human rights organisation for the ethnic minority community, said there have been at least 10 attacks on the ethnic minority communities in Dinajpur, Rajshahi, Naogaon, Chapainawabganj and Thakurgaon, and some houses were damaged. There were two incidents where land was grabbed and fish were stolen from ponds. The statues of Sidhu Murmu and Kanhu Murmu, two historical characters of the Santal rebellion against the British, were damaged.[xlviii]

The Ahmadiyya community claimed that 137 houses and six Ahmadiyya mosques were damaged in attacks in Panchagarh, Rangpur, Rajshahi, Nilphamari, Madartek in Dhaka, Sherpur and Mymensingh. Attacks on the Shia minority have also begun.

Sufi shrines and mazaars have been attacked in various places. The famous ‘Mahati Sadhu Sangh and Lalon Fair,’ an annual celebration of the legendary Lalon Shah’s inclusive philosophy, had to be canceled in Narayanganj after fierce opposition from religious hardliners.

Buddhists were also the target of animosity and did not observe Kathin Chibar Daan, one of their major religious events, due to safety concerns after the Maitri Bouddha Bihar was desecrated and looted.

To conclude on a grim note, journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury has warned that on December 31, 2024, Islamists, jihadists and Caliphate-mongers under the leadership of Muhammad Yunus are going to bring Bangladesh under the rule of a “revolutionary” regime, which will render the country’s constitution and constitutional posts as null and void.[xlix] Should this proclamation indeed be issued, it will enable the regime to sack the current President, Mohammed Shahabuddin, and the Chief of Army Staff, Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman. This would be the final nail in the coffin of Bangladesh democracy. Bemoaning the precipice towards which the radical left has pushed the country with the active collaboration of Pakistan’s ISI, Choudhury said the country could only be saved from the “Islamist-jihadist monsters” by US President-elect Donald Trump.

Conclusion

The much anticipated ‘Declaration of July Uprising’ did not happen, mainly because of rapid changes in Dhaka, especially the BNP’s resistance to changing the Constitution of 1972, which the regime change activists wish to change under US influence. The activists tried to host a march for changing the Constitution on the night of Dec 31, 2024, but barely a few dozen persons joined. The lack of public support was palpable. Meanwhile, voices clamouring for UN peacekeeping forces are rising among the Bangladeshi diaspora.

Thus, in barely four months in power, Mohammad Yunus has lost popular support because of the regime’s focus on harassing its minority groups, especially Hindus, the failed economy, and loss of employment. The once awe-inspiring student leaders like Nahid Islam, Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan, Sarjis Alam, Hasnat Abdullah, Md. Abu Baker Mojumder, Nusrat Tabassum have lost credibility.

In a surprise move, on Jan 01, 2025, the much-coveted St Martin Island, for which Bangladesh underwent a painful regime change, was reported to have been taken over by the Myanmar’s rebel Arakan Army (believed to be passively supported by India’s R&AW). The Bangladesh Army soldiers fled as around 2,000 soldiers of the Arakan Army occupied the Island.

The Islamist regime continues to persecute Hindus by banning the community from government jobs. A new government order restricts the appointment of Hindus to the police force, from constables to higher ranks. Over 1,500 Hindu applicants for the posts have been rejected and one hundred Hindu officers have been dismissed.

Chinmoy Krishna Das, former ISKCON monk, has been admitted to a prison hospital in Chittagong, following rapid deterioration in his health.

AGNI Studies in International Strategic Issues

Vol. XXVII, No. III September 2024 – December 2024

Sandhya Jain is a journalist who writes on contemporary affairs and a studentof the myriad facets of Indian civilisation. Her published works include Ayyappa: Unique Sampradâya (Knowledge World, 2024) and Balochistan In the Crosshairs of History (KW, 2021). Jain has studied the primordial roots of Indian culture in its tribal communities and has edited a volume on the contentious fault lines in Jammu and Kashmir.

Endnotes

1] Leaked files expose covert US government plot to ‘destabilize Bangladesh’s politics’, Greyzone, Sept 30, 2024.

https://thegrayzone.com/2024/09/30/us-plot-destabilize-bangladesh/

2] Bangladesh’s Colour Revolution, Sandhya Jain August 12, 2024.

https://chintan.indiafoundation.in/articles/bangladeshs-colour-revolution/

3] High Court acquits Babar in 10-truck arms haul case, Dhaka Tribune, Dec 18, 2024.

http7s://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/court/368445/high-court-acquits-babar-in-10-truck-arms-haul

4] Manipur goes hard, destroys poppy plantations in 19,135 acres in last seven years, The New Indian Express, Dec 2, 2024.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2024/Dec/02/manipur-goes-hard-destroys-poppy-plantations-in-19135-acres-in-last-seven-years#:~:text=GUWAHATI%3A%20As%20part%20of%20the,in%20Kangpokpi%2C%20a%20hill%20district

5] Govt scraps 30 more journos’ press accreditation cards, Prothomalo, Nov 05, 2024.

https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/kcqknbw80l

6] Five journalists fired after student protesters storm Bangladesh TV station, AFP, Dec 24, 2024.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2518031/five-journalists-fired-after-student-protesters-storm-bangladesh-tv-station

7] TIB expresses concern over press freedom, The Daily Star, Nov 07, 2024.

https://thedailystar.net/news/corruption/news/tib-expresses-concern-over-press-freedom-3746471

8] Nobel Laureate Yunus Cleared in Graft Case After Becoming Bangladesh Leader, Time, Arun Devnath, August 12, 2024. https://time.com/7010115/bangladesh-muhammad-yunus-graft-acquitted-protests/

9] 7 police officials sent on forced retirement, Dhaka Tribune, Sept 22, 2024.

https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/government-affairs/359376/7-police-officials-sent-on-forced-retirement

10] https://x.com/MeghUpdates/status/1858755605831578035?t=96KpA-iF8hAHMmKMSeZEPQ&s=03

11] https://x.com/albd1971/status/1872652444225945744?t=TUt3xgijKZkiAd-4x1L3Fg&s=03

12] ‘A long way to go’: in revolution’s wake, questions linger over direction of the new Bangladesh, The Guardian, Sept 19, 2024. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/19/bangladesh-protests-sheikh-hasina-amir-chowdhury

13] Bangladesh interim govt’s chief adviser Muhammad Yunus acquitted in graft case, The Hindu, August 12, 2024.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/bangladesh-interim-govts-chief-adviser-muhammad-yunus-acquitted-in-graft-case/article68513924.ece

14] Nobel Laureate Yunus Cleared in Graft Case After Becoming Bangladesh Leader,  Bloomberg, August 12, 2024.

https://time.com/7010115/bangladesh-muhammad-yunus-graft-acquitted-protests/

15] Bangladesh court acquits key political figures in 2004 grenade attack, Anadolu Agency, Dec 02, 2024.

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/bangladesh-court-acquits-key-political-figures-in-2004-grenade-attack/3410509#

16] Tarique Rahman acquitted in another case in Gazipur, Dhaka Tribune, Dec 02 Dec 2024.

https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/court/366922/tarique-rahman-acquitted-in-another-case-in

17] What Tarique Rahman’s ‘return’ from political exile could mean for Bangladesh, India Today, Dec 02, 2024.

https://www.indiatoday.in/india-today-insight/story/what-tarique-rahmans-return-from-political-exile-could-mean-for-bangladesh-2643597-2024-12-02

18] https://x.com/salah_shoaib/status/1867792514222370867?t=M1IKvlIlisrpQOGbULvrEg&s=03

19] Bangladesh court acquits former PM Khaleda Zia in corruption case, Business Standard, Nov. 27, 2024.

https://www.business-standard.com/external-affairs-defence-security/news/bangladesh-court-acquits-former-pm-khaleda-zia-in-corruption-case-124112700602_1.html

20] Tagore a pariah? Bangladesh’s rapid descent proves Hasina was the only secular bulwark against Islamist radicalism, Sreemoy Talukdar, Sept 11, 2024

https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/tagore-a-pariah-bangladeshs-rapid-descent-proves-hasina-was-the-only-secular-bulwark-against-islamist-radicalism-13813963.html

21] Hizb ut Tahrir wants withdrawal of its ban, New Age, Sept 9, 2024.

https://www.newagebd.net/post/politics/244836/hizb-ut-tahrir-wants-withdrawal-of-its-ban

22] Hefajat Demands, The Daily Star, April 06, 2013.

https://www.thedailystar.net/news/hefajats-demands

23] Leaked files expose covert US government plot to ‘destabilize Bangladesh’s politics’, Greyzone, Sept 30, 2024.

https://thegrayzone.com/2024/09/30/us-plot-destabilize-bangladesh/

24] Bangladesh’s Muhammad Yunus reveals ‘brains’ behind Sheikh Hasina’s ouster, India Today, Sep 27, 2024.

https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/bangladesh-muhammad-yunus-brains-behind-student-movement-protests-sheikh-hasina-ouster-mahfuz-alam-2607177-2024-09-27

25] What’s behind regime change in Bangladesh, Brian Berletic, Aug 11, 2024.

https://journal-neo.su/2024/08/11/whats-behind-regime-change-in-bangladesh/

26] Jamat of Bangladesh is campaigning for the Islamic State; know why it is a threat to India, Aug. 10, 2024.

https://hinduvoice.in/jamat-of-bangladesh-is-campaigning-for-the-islamic-state-know-why-it-is-a-threat-to-india/

27] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangabhumi

28] Who Is Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, Hindu Leader Arrested In Bangladesh, NDTV, Nov. 28, 2024.

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/who-is-chinmoy-krishna-das-brahmachari-the-iskcon-priest-under-arrest-in-bangladesh-7123388

29] BNP leader files sedition case in Chattogram, party strips off his post, Prothomalo, Nov. 01, 2024.

https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/politics/vhpttans79

30] Sheikh Hasina speaks out for the first time after fall of her government, seeks release of ISKCON leader ‘without delay’, The Hindu, Nov 28, 2024.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/deposed-bangladesh-prime-minister-sheikh-hasina-demands-release-of-iskcon-leader/article68923008.ece#cxrecs_s

31] “Muhammad Yunus Involved In Genocide”: Sheikh Hasina In 1st Public Address, PTI, Dec 04, 2024.

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/muhammad-yunus-involved-in-genocide-sheikh-hasina-in-1st-public-address-7172709

32] https://x.com/albd1971/status/1870472975490965972?t=-oWSUdonG11hleIXo25bAg&s=03

33] Religious freedom, human rights must be respected, US tells Bangladesh, bdnews24.com, Dec 04, 2024.

https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/db0f18c766b9

34] Statement on the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das, November 26, 2024

https://www.mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/38592/Statement_on_the_arrest_of_Chinmoy_Krishna_Das

35] Foreign Secretary’s Visit to Bangladesh, Dec 09, 2024.

https://www.mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/38733/Foreign_Secretarys_Visit_to_Bangladesh#:~:text=Ministry%20of%20External%20Affairs%20Government%20of%20India&text=Foreign%20Secretary%20of%20India%2C%20Shri,the%20Foreign%20Affairs%20Adviser%2C%20H.E.

36] https://www.facebook.com/hrcbm2002/videos/-breaking-hrcbm-condemns-treason-charges-against-hindu-leader-chinmaya-krishna-b/1091358512339847/

37] Acharya Satyendra Das condemns arrest of Bangladesh ISKCON monk Chinmoy Krishna Das, Times of India, Nov 27, 2024.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/ram-temple-chief-priest-condemns-arrest-of-bangladesh-iskcon-monk-chinmoy-krishna-das/articleshow/115723554.cms

38] Stop atrocities on Hindus: Pawan Kalyan on monk’s arrest in Bangladesh, India Today Web Desk, Nov 27, 2024.

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/pawan-kalyan-condemns-iskon-priest-chinmoy-krishna-das-arrest-bangladesh-2640922-2024-11-27

39] BJP, Trinamool, others protest in Kolkata against attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, India Today, Nov 27, 2024.

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/bangladesh-violence-bjp-trinamool-others-protest-kolkata-against-attacks-on-hindus-2641269-2024-11-27

40] Mayawati Urges Government Action on Hindu Attacks in Bangladesh, Devdiscourse, Dec 3, 2024.

https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/politics/3179548-bjp-criticizes-aap-over-quran-desecration-conviction

41] https://x.com/ANI/status/1865268351871914319?t=qGeBMip60ombQzJ0KPegDA&s=03

42] TMC, BSP want UN, India to respond to plight of minorities in Bangladesh, National Herald Digital, Dec 3, 2024. https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/international/tmc-bsp-express-concerns-over-attacks-on-religious-minorities-in-bangladesh#google_vignette

43] Bangladesh violence: mistreatment of minorities is a reprehensible act, says Syed Ahmed Bukhari, The Hindu, Dec 03, 2024.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/bangladesh-violence-mistreatment-of-minorities-is-a-reprehensible-act-says-syed-ahmed-bukhari/article68943647.ece#cxrecs_s

44] ISKCON says two more monks arrested in Bangladesh, ‘had gone to give medicines to Chinmoy Das’, Indian Express, Dec 1, 2024. https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/iskcon-monks-bangladesh-chinmoy-das-9699182/

45] 2 hospitals in Tripura, Kolkata say will not treat Bangladesh patients, Indian Express, Dec 1, 2024.

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/2-hospitals-in-tripura-kolkata-say-will-not-treat-bangladesh-patients-9699546/

46] Attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh not communal, issue ‘exaggerated’: Muhammad Yunus, The Hindu, Sept 05, 2024.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/attacks-on-hindus-in-bangladesh-not-communal-issue-exaggerated-muhammad-yunus/article68608994.ece/amp/

47] India urges Bangladesh to recover Kali crown gifted by Modi, Dhaka Tribune, Oct 11, 2024.

https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/foreign-affairs/361547/india-urges-bangladesh-to-recover-kali-crown

48] See also: Christians, other religious minorities under attack in Bangladesh, International La Croix, Au7gust 14th, 2024.

https://international.la-croix.com/world/christians-other-religious-minorities-under-attack-in-bangladesh

49 https://x.com/salah_shoaib/status/1873196131259433205?t=VPBG6qnI9U1JziEkMGXaGw&s=03

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