22 December 2024
On 20 December 2024, the caretaker of the Kashimpur Central Hindu Crematorium Temple in Baraharishpur, Natore – Tarun Chandra Das was murdered inside the temple premises. His corpse (pictured above), with arms and legs tied up, was found the next morning. The temple’s donation box was emptied and other valuables looted.
https://x.com/RadharamnDas/status/1870419090046607687
Hindu temples continue to be vandalised
Between 19 and 20 December 2024, eight idols in three temples (Polashkanda Kali Temple and Bonderpara Temples) in Haluaghat, Mymensingh and Jharbari Shashan Kali Temple at Birganj, Dinajpur were vandalised.
A local Muslim – Alal Uddin confessed to the Polashkanda Kali Temple vandalisation. No other arrests have been made to date.
Mani Karmakar knifed
Recently, Mani Karmakar, former chairman of the National Women’s Organisation of Purbadhala Upazila branch of Netrokona district of Bangladesh and vice chairman of the same upazila, was attacked at her home and her mother’s finger was cut off, she said.
Two independent sources have confirmed this story to AHM.
Pogrom against Hindus since installation of Younis government
On 5 August 2024 Bangladesh’s democratically elected Prime Minister Sheik Hasina was forced to flee the country. On 6 August 2024 Bangladeshi President Mohammed Shahabuddin dissolved Parliament. On 8 August 2014, he appointed 84 year old US – based economist Muhammad Yunus as Chief Advisor of an Interim Government.
Since then, Hindus and other minorities have been subjected to an orchestrated campaign of violence, sexual crimes, looting, false imprisonment and intimidation. Hindu places of worship, Hindu priests and celebration of Hindu festivals have been systematically targeted.
Australian Hindus mount pressure on Federal politicians
Meanwhile, Australian Hindus are mounting pressure on Federal politicians to take concrete action against Bangladesh. In correspondence to a cross-section of Federal MPs, the Australian Hindu Association, with the support of several dozen Hindu organisations, urged the following:
- That federal MPs raise in Parliament the plight of Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh.
- That until such time as the pogrom against and discrimination against Hindus and other minorities ceases; and the rule of law is restored:
- The granting of Australian visas to Bangladeshi government officials, bureaucrats and personnel of security agencies be suspended;
- Non-essential aid to Bangladesh be suspended; and
- Selective trade sanctions be imposed on Bangladesh.
- That a quota for Hindu refugees be set under Australia’s humanitarian visa category.
Hindu monk Chinmoy Das remains in custody
On 25 November 2024, Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari (pictured below) – a Hindu monk and a leading spokesperson for Hindus in Bangladesh, was arrested and refused bail (https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/crime-justice/news/ex-iskcon-leader-arrested-hsia-3761491). He had been charged with ‘sedition’ on 31 October 2024 for allegedly placing a saffron coloured Hindu flag atop a Bangladeshi flag some time back (https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/crime-justice/news/iskcon-official-18-others-sued-over-disrespecting-national-flag-3741326).
On 3 December 2024, Das’s matter was listed for bail at Chattragram Court. No lawyer appeared to represent him. His case was adjourned to 2 January 2025. Multiple reports confirm that Hindu lawyers appearing such cases have been joined as accused and/or have been subjected to violence, intimidation and threats. (https://x.com/HinduVoice_in/status/1863822823757693191).
On 9 December 2024, Das (and 163 others) were charged with attempted murder relating protests at court premises on 26 November 2024. At the time, Das was in police custody (https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/crime-justice/news/chinmoy-163-others-sued-murder-attempt-3771121).
Ramendra Roy on life support
Bangladeshi Hindu Supreme Court Advocate Ramendra Nath Roy is fighting for his life, after being brutally attacked on 25 November 2024 by an Islamist mob led by radicals Jamat Shibir and Hizbut Tahir. Roy had been part of a peaceful protest against the arrest of Hindu monk –Chinmoy Krishna Das. He has been on life support at Dhaka Lebed Hospital since the attack. (https://x.com/austhindu/status/1862050966033584236;https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/hc-lawyer-ramen-roy-fighting-his-life-icu-3768406;
Attack on Reagan Acharya
Hindu Advocate Reagan Acharya was attacked and seriously injured in the court premises in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Extremists also vandalised advocate Reagan Acharya’s chambers. Acharya was reportedly a legal representative of Chinmoy Prabhu. https://x.com/AdityaRajKaul/status/1863879808767177075
Both eyes of Utsob Mondal gouged in vicious attack
On the evening on 4 September 2024, Bangladeshi army, police and navy personnel stood as mute spectators while a 17 year old Hindu youth – Utsob Mondal (pictured below) was viciously attacked by a mob of Islamists at Sonadanga, Khulna. Both his eyes were gouged.
The mob had alleged that Utsob had made disrespectful comments about Prophet Muhammad on Facebook. His fellow students accosted Utsob and took him to Khulna Police Station demanding exemplary punishment. While Utsob was being escorted out of the police station by uniformed personnel, he was attacked by a frenzied mob and tortured.
On 5 September 2024, Bangladesh Army’s Directorate of Inter-Services Public announced that Utsob was still alive: https://ispr.gov.bd/.
It advised that a case was pending against him for ‘causing injury to religious values.’ Remarkably, there is no mention of any of his attackers being charged (https://www.australianhindu.com/will-bangladesh-2024-turn-into-the-next-hindu-genocide/).
Policeman Santosh Saha beaten to death
Policeman Santosh Saha beaten to death
On 5 August 2024, a Hindu police officer ASI Santosh Saha (pictured) of Baniachong Police Station was beaten to death by an Islamic mob. His body was left lying on the road for a day and then hung upside down publicly. The body was later dumped at the front of his police station (https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/353933/death-toll-rises-to-10-in-sylhet).
APPG Report
In its report on Bangladesh dated November 2024, the Commonwealth All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) summarised its findings as follows:
Group of Intellectuals and Academicians, Bharat Report
In its report titled A Fact Finding Report On Anti Hindu Violence In Bangladesh released in late 2024, Group of Intellectuals and Academicians, Bharat made the following Key Findings:
The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (‘BHBCUC’) has documented a total of 2010 incidents of communal violence in Bangladesh between 4 and 20 August 2024:
Source: (APPG report, pp 10-11)
Further, the Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council provided evidence of another 57 incidents dated 22/8/2024 to 12/10/2024, which included reports of 2 rapes, 3 abductions, 5 killings and 47 incidents of physical harassment, vandalism, arson attacks, robberies, theft and intimidation of Hindus and Buddhists (APPG report, p 10).
As at 22 October 2024, at least 54 journalists have been charged with various offences including genocide and crimes against humanity, while at least six journalists remained in detention in Bangladesh (APPG report, p 7). A disproportionate number of those charged are Hindus.
You can read the APPG and Group of Intellectuals Report here: https://www.australianhindu.com/bangladesh/
Hundreds of Hindus have been dismissed or forced to resign from public sector, education and academic positions (https://x.com/hindu8789/status/1857477581328757204).
Protest rallies in Australia
A number of protest rallies in support of Hindus and other minorities of Bangladesh have been held in Australia.
On 14 December 2024, a protest rally took place in Melbourne (https://x.com/austhindu/status/1868063237394362763).
On 1 December 2024, protest rallies were held in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. At the Sydney rally, Australian Hindu Association President – Amendra Singh urged the Australian government to impose sanctions on Bangladesh ‘unless and until the human rights of minorities are restored.’ He described the current situation in Bangladesh under Mohammed Yunus as a ‘pogrom against minorities.’ (https://x.com/austhindu/status/1863133135816511494).
At the Bangladeshi Hindu protest rally in Brisbane on 1 September 2024, Singh had warned:
If the international community does not call the interim government of Bangladesh to account, then Bangladesh 2024 could well become the next Hindu genocide that the world will witness.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1830519084364239353
On 17 August 2024, hundreds of Hindus gathered in Sydney to protest against the atrocities being committed against minorities in Bangladesh (https://x.com/austhindu/status/1824689339009470621).
On the same day, several hundred Hindus also gathered in Melbourne to voice their protest against the atrocities being committed against minorities in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s Hindus
Hindus are an indigenous community of Bangladesh.
The current pogrom against Hindus is an acceleration of the atrocities that have been committed against them, their practices and their institutions for decades.
The table below shows the historical decline in the population of Bangladeshi Hindus:
Source: Wikipedia
The identifiable reasons for the decline are forced conversions, killings and forced migration.