Dhaka: Chief advisor to Bangladesh’s interim government Muhammad Yunus has said that the issue of attacks on minority Hindus in his country has been blown out of proportion and he also questioned the way India has presented it. In an interview with PTI at his official residence here, Yunus said that attacks on minorities in Bangladesh are more political than communal. He said that these attacks were not communal, but were the result of political turmoil, because there is a perception that most Hindus supported the ousted Awami League government.
‘Hindus means Awami League supporters’
The Nobel laureate told PTI, “I have also told (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi that this thing is being blown out of proportion. This issue has many dimensions. When the country was in turmoil after the atrocities of Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League, people who stood with them also faced attacks.” He said, “Now, while beating up Awami League workers, they have also beaten up Hindus, because there is a perception that Hindus in Bangladesh mean Awami League supporters. I am not saying that what happened is right, but some people are using it as an excuse to seize property. Therefore, there is no clear distinction between Awami League supporters and Hindus.”
Yunus had said this
In his first direct contact with New Delhi last month, soon after becoming the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, Yunus told Prime Minister Modi that Dhaka would prioritize the safety of Hindus and all other minority groups. During the talks, Modi reaffirmed India’s support for a democratic, stable, peaceful and progressive Bangladesh and stressed the importance of ensuring the safety of Hindus and other minority communities in the violence-hit country.
‘India publicising incidents on a large scale’
Hindus, who comprised 22 per cent of Bangladesh’s population during the 1971 Liberation War, have now come down to about 8 per cent of the 17 crore population and mainly support the Awami League, known for its secular stance. Describing the attacks as more political than communal, Yunus questioned the way India was “publicising” them. “These attacks are not communal but political in nature. And India is publicising these incidents on a large scale. We did not say we cannot do anything; we said we are doing everything,” the chief adviser said.
‘Bangladesh will become another Afghanistan’
Discussing the future of India-Bangladesh relations, Yunus expressed his desire for good relations with India but stressed that New Delhi should abandon the notion that Bangladesh without Sheikh Hasina will become another Afghanistan. “The way forward for India is to come out of this narrative,” he said. The narrative is that everyone is Islamist, the BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) is Islamist, and everyone else is Islamist and will turn this country into Afghanistan, and Bangladesh is in safe hands only under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina.” “India is affected by this narrative. India needs to come out of it. Bangladesh, like any other country, is just a neighbour,” he said. “The attempt to portray the situation of minorities in such a big way is just an excuse,” Yunus said.
Attacks in 278 places in 48 districts
The chief adviser to the interim government said that when he met leaders of the minority community, he urged them to protest not just as Hindus but as citizens of the country with equal rights. Earlier in August, the Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance said the minority Hindu community had faced attacks and threats at 278 places in 48 districts since the fall of the Hasina-led government and termed it an “attack on Hinduism”. A prominent Hindu minority group in Bangladesh, Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC), also reported attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government on August 5.
