by Shantanu Guha Neogi
Persecution of Hindus inward People's Republic of Bangladesh is non a novel phenomenon. Rather, it could travel genuinely said that neither Bangladesh, nor India, nor fifty-fifty the international community assist almost their plight seriously plenty to warrant a world conversation inward recent times. Yes, at that topographic point are roughly noble as well as courageous people from both countries as well as the exterior Earth working with genuine concern to push clit the attending of the international community to the fate of Bangladeshi Hindus, but the Earth at large, as well as non to forget surely vested interests, is indeed working overtime to ‘cleanse People's Republic of Bangladesh of unfaithfuls.’ On xix July 2018, when Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj declared inward Parliament that the number of Hindus inward People's Republic of Bangladesh had increased past times 1 per cent, she did so past times accepting People's Republic of Bangladesh authorities records equally axiomatic. However, those who are familiar with the plight of Bangladeshi Hindus volition empathise the import of this statement. In 1951, the starting fourth dimension census afterward partitioning recorded the number of Hindus inward People's Republic of Bangladesh at almost 22.05 per cent, which gradually went downwards to 18.50 inward 1961, 13.50 inward 1974, 12.13 inward 1981, 10.51 inward 1991, as well as 9.20 inward 2001.
And, equally per the terminal total census inward 2011, it stands at a mere 8.96 per cent, according to the People's Republic of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
However, Swaraj’s argument runs opposite to the tendency described above. Strangely, she also cited back upwards from “Bangladesh authorities sources” inward back upwards of her claim. Though I take away maintain non come upwards across whatsoever such written report from the BBS, nosotros should, however, travel cautious inward our sentence on the number because, if whatsoever such written report does exist, it volition in all probability travel based on “random sampling”, as well as non actual count, and, therefore, non really reliable. The adjacent census inward People's Republic of Bangladesh is scheduled for 2021. Swaraj’s argument has been supported past times a report published past times The Hindu without whatsoever fact-checking.
Along with this, nosotros take away maintain a detailed report from bulletin board system inward 2017. But that does non incorporate whatsoever information concerning religious demographics of Bangladesh.
Before verifying the argument of the External Affairs Minister, nosotros should summarily expect towards the “politics of Hindu demographics of Bangladesh” to fully empathise the gravity of the electrical flow situation.
India-Bangladesh Politics
The politics of Republic of Republic of India as well as People's Republic of Bangladesh depends on 3 fundamentals: Awami ambition, Indian geopolitics, as well as India’s fractious internal politics.
The electrical flow Sheikh Hasina regime is in all probability next inward the footsteps of the before Sheikh Mujib authorities correct afterward Bangladeshi independence. For this sole reason, the Awami League needs long-standing back upwards from India. Geopolitically, North East Republic of Republic of India is an Achilles heel for the Indian safety establishment, given its long as well as oft porous borders with Islamist Bangladesh. Logically, Republic of Republic of India wants somebody at the helm inward People's Republic of Bangladesh who volition non drib dead a headache for the former.
As a bulk of Bangladeshis are hostile towards Hindu-majority India, Sheikh Hasina is the solely relatively “safer choice” for Indian security, capital, as well as investment. Therefore, Indian fearfulness as well as insecurity drib dead an effective upper-case alphabetic quality for Hasina as well as her Awami League. H5N1 secure Republic of Republic of India agency less non-committal back upwards as well as to a greater extent than options for Republic of Republic of India that volition jeopardise the long-term interests of the Awami League. So, if a large chunk of Bangladeshi Muslims is fanatically hostile to India, as well as if the grassroots of People's Republic of Bangladesh drib dead wholly Islamised, it does non concern either Awami League or Hasina.
The Awami leadership is smart plenty to purpose the province of affairs equally a bargaining tool. That Republic of Republic of India needs Hasina to a greater extent than than Hasina needs Republic of Republic of India for its ain involvement is the wisdom of the Awami League high command.
And add together the Red People's Republic of China constituent to this complex web. People's Republic of Bangladesh has many guarantors of Chinese interests, but, for India, it’s solely Hasina. That’s the existent undoing of Republic of Republic of India inward Bangladesh. On the other side, nosotros let on hapless, disintegrated, economically broken, landless and, inward a higher house all, politically weak Hindus pitted against the fanatically motivated, hostile Muslims, which is dangerous, to set it mildly.
One of the principal causes for this unfortunate province of affairs of Hindus is in all probability the inability of Republic of Republic of India to drib dead “Bharat”, overcoming its fractious, tribal interest-based internal politics. The axis of Indian politics has all the spell tilted towards friends as well as beneficiaries of the British Raj rather than its ain people. Like the before sultans, Mughals as well as the British, this mightiness cartel sees Hindus equally an undesirable, despised second-class grouping of people.
This special politics reinforced the identity of non-Hindus, thereby strengthening their collective interests, but promoted communally driven politics alongside Hindus past times motivating vested interests to fragment as well as weaken them further. Hindus of East Bengal particularly, who take away maintain a long tradition of opposing imperialism inward India, never e'er commanded either abide by or sympathy from the electrical flow Indian mightiness cartel. If nosotros add together the geopolitical as well as describe organisation interests to this internal situation, pictures of antipathy from Republic of Republic of India drib dead unsurprising for us.
In India, if anyone has genuine concern for Hindus of Bangladesh, it is the ordinary Hindus of India. But unfortunately, the full general Hindus don’t dominion India, despite a BJP authorities beingness inward office.
The Growth of Hindu Demographics: Reality or Propaganda?
Thirty years from today, no Hindu volition be inward Bangladesh. The charge per unit of measurement of migration out of the province for the terminal 49 years points towards this. As many equally 11,300,000 people take away maintain been forced to travel out the province from 1964 to 2013, at the charge per unit of measurement of 612 people per day, as well as 230,612 annually, due to Islamic hostility as well as discrimination. Before independence, the charge per unit of measurement of migration was 705 per day, 512 per hateful solar daytime during 1971-1981, as well as 438 per hateful solar daytime during 1981-1991. This charge per unit of measurement picked upwards 1 time to a greater extent than inward 1991-2001 with 767 people as well as peaked at an all-time high of 774 people betwixt 2001 as well as 2013. These tragic figures surfaced inward the enquiry operate of Professor Abul Barkat of Dhaka University.
According to Barkat, this scenario is the direct outcome of the province economical warfare against Hindus past times both Islamic Republic of Pakistan as well as Bangladeshi states. The “Enemy Property Act” enacted past times Islamic Republic of Pakistan inward 1965 as well as renaming it equally “Vested Property Act” past times Sheikh Mujib authorities correct afterward independence is the chief weapon to accomplish this. This literally blocked their empowerment past times systematically breaking their economical backbone. Under this Act, Hindus of People's Republic of Bangladesh take away maintain lost to a greater extent than than 2.6 1 chiliad m acres, either past times leaving the province or past times beingness displaced internally.
Barkat’s enquiry may travel summarised equally follows:
- Under “Enemy Property Act/Vested Property Act”, xl per cent of Hindus take away maintain been straight affected. More than 750,000 families lost their cultivable land. The total the world expanse lost past times Hindus amounts to 2.6 1 chiliad m acres, which is roughly 53 per cent of the total the world holdings of Hindus as well as almost 5.3 per cent of the total the world expanse of Bangladesh.
- India’s “dependable” friend Awami League is way ahead inward the race to catch Hindu properties with a 44.2 per cent tally. BNP tails Awami League’s impressive showing with 31.7 per cent. Respectively, 5.8 per cent, 4.8 per cent, as well as 13.5 per cent tally are achieved past times Jatiyo Party, Jamaat, as well as others.
So, it’s clear that whoever sits inward mightiness inward Bangladesh, the repression as well as terror against Hindus is the social club of the day. It is also ironical that it is the Awami League that enjoys the widest back upwards of Hindus, but betrays them equally is their wont (Source).
Not but that, from 2013 onwards, Awami authorities hostility as well as terrorism against Hindus has drib dead so widespread as well as fierce that, according to independent observers, the province of affairs has drib dead fifty-fifty worse than the instance inward Islamic Republic of Pakistan today. As many equally 107 people take away maintain been murdered, 25 raped, as well as to a greater extent than than 235 places of worship destroyed inward People's Republic of Bangladesh but inward 2017 (Source).
In this context, 1 is actually at a loss to empathise why Swaraj made that seemingly appease-all argument inward Parliament.
Who Benefited From This?
Forget almost the benefit; the loser inward all this is Republic of Republic of India itself. And this is because throughout our recent administrative history, a imitation construct of secularism has been thrust downwards our throats, solely to produce goodness a few figures who are covertly endorsing the cannibalisation of anything Hindu. By viewing the Awami League equally a “moderate party” that serves Indian interests, the harm such a soft approach volition produce inward the long run volition travel irreversible.
This is the translation of an original Bengali article published inward bangodesh.com. The translated re-create has been edited for grammar, style, as well as clarity.
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