Dhaka: Bangladesh Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday visited the ancient Dhakeshwari temple and met the victim Hindu community. He urged the people of the Hindu community to remain patient and assured that his government would punish those who attacked the minority community. 84-year-old Yunus took charge as the chief advisor of the interim government on August 8 amid ongoing violence and vandalism. He visited the Dhakeshwari temple, one of the major Shaktipeeths in Dhaka, and said that the rights of every person should be ensured. Yunus blamed ‘institutional collapse’ for the plight of the country. ‘Hindus have been attacked at 278 places’

Yunus’ visit to Dhakeshwari temple came at a time when the Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance (BNHGA) has said that the minority community has faced attacks and threats at 278 places in 48 districts since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government on August 5 and termed it an ‘attack on Hinduism’. According to the ‘Daily Star’ newspaper, Yunus said, ‘Rights are equal for everyone. We are all the same people and we have the same rights. Do not discriminate between us. Please help us. Be patient and assess later, what we could do and what we could not. If we fail, criticize us.’

‘Need to fix the system’

Yunus said, ‘In our democratic aspirations, we should be seen as humans and not Muslims, Hindus or Buddhists. Our rights should be ensured. The root of all problems lies in the decay of institutional systems. That is why such issues arise. There is a need to improve the institutional system.’ Professor Yunus was accompanied by legal adviser Asif Najrul and religious affairs adviser AFM Khalid Hussain. Hussain’s ministry set up a hotline on Monday, asking people to report attacks on temples, churches or any other religious institutions.

‘You can give information by calling or SMS’
The Bengali language daily ‘Prothom Alo’, citing a notification issued by the ministry on Monday, said, ‘If any temple, church, pagoda or any other religious institution is attacked by miscreants, they are requested to report it by calling or sending an SMS to this mobile number 01766-843809.’ Thousands of members of the minority Hindu community took out massive protest rallies in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka and the northeastern port city of Chittagong on Friday and Saturday and demanded security amid the vandalism across the country.

Hindu temples and houses were attacked

During the violence, temples and houses of the Hindu community were attacked. Demanding the establishment of special tribunals to expedite the trial of cases against those who persecute minorities, allocation of 10 percent parliamentary seats for minorities, implementation of minority protection law, etc., Hindu protesters blocked traffic at Shahbagh in central Dhaka for more than 3 hours on Saturday. On Saturday itself, Yunus had condemned the attacks on minority communities in the violence-hit country, calling them ‘heinous’ and urged the youth to protect all Hindus, Christians and Buddhists.

‘This is not an attack on individuals but on Hinduism’

Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance (BNHGA) spokesperson and executive secretary Palash Kanti Dey said, ‘Due to the changing political scenario, incidents of attack on the Hindu community, looting, arson, land grabbing and threats to leave the country are happening repeatedly.’ He alleged, ‘This is not just an attack on individuals but an attack on Hinduism.’ Dey, quoting a news published in the ‘Dhaka Tribune’ newspaper, said, ‘As of Monday, there have been incidents of attack and threats against the Hindu community at 278 places in 48 districts. We have conveyed our concerns to Home Affairs Advisor Brigadier General (Retd) M Sakhawat Hussain.’

‘When the government changes, Hindus are attacked’
The spokesperson said that BNHGA had placed its demands before various political parties in the last 24 years, but they were not met. He said, ‘Now we hope that the interim government will pay attention to our old demands. Apart from this, we support the nationwide movement being led by our students.’ BNHGA President Prabhas Chandra Roy expressed grief over the repeated violence against the Hindu community during political change and said, ‘Whenever the government changes, the Hindus are the first to be attacked. Earlier such incidents were less, but recently they have increased.’