Hindus in Bangladesh remain at receiving end !

Hundreds of Hindus have been attacked in Bangladesh in the post-poll violence over the last couple of days. Scores of Hindu temples have been destroyed, shops looted, houses gutted and several Hindus have been killed also. The Bangladeshi media reports paint a grim picture. Hindus continue to be at the receiving end in Bangladesh. It is ironical as India played a key role in the birth of Bangladesh and yet Islamic fundamentalists are targeting Hindus on every possible occasion.

These attacks have forced hundreds of Hindus to flee their homes . It is being reported that Hindus were targeted in a well planned manner by the opposition BNP and Jamaate-e-Islami party. Jamaat-e-Islami is the same party which had opposed the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971. Both BNP and Jamaat have an impression that Hindus generally vote for Awami League for the latter’s relatively secular credentials. That is termed to be one of the prime reasons for Hindus being at the receiving end after January 5 polls.

It is also being said that the attacks which took place in Hindu dominated villages in the northern districts of Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Bogra, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha, Rajshahi and the southern district of Chittagong and western Jessore were so macabre and ghastly that they reminded everyone the brutal repression of Hindus 43 years ago.

Ittefaq, one of the leading dailies in Bangladesh said, “The Jamaat-Shibir cadres launched despicable attacks on Hindu communities in four districts the day after the 10th parliamentary elections. Hundreds of houses of the minority community were torched and looted since Sunday night in Dinjapur, Jessore, Satkhira and Thakurgaon. A large number of Hindus took shelter in the temples, while others have fled to other villages. They are too scared to return even after assurances from local administration.”

It is not for the first time that Hindus are being targeted in Bangladesh. Let me quote from what Amensty said in March 2013,

“A wave of violent attacks against Bangladesh’s minority Hindu community shows the urgent need for authorities to provide them with better protection, Amnesty International said.

Over the past week, individuals taking part in strikes called for by Islamic parties have vandalised more than 40 Hindu temples across Bangladesh. Scores of shops and houses belonging to the Hindu community have also been burned down, leaving hundreds of people homeless.

The attacks come in the context of large scale violent protests that have been raging across Bangladesh for weeks over the country’s ongoing war crimes tribunal, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).

“The Hindu community in Bangladesh is at extreme risk, in particular at such a tense time in the country. It is shocking that they appear to be targeted simply for their religion. The authorities must ensure that they receive the protection they need.”

Several reports have pointed out in the past that the Hindu population comprised 31% of the total population in 1947 in today’s Bangladesh which was then known as Eastern Pakistan. By 1961, Hindus comprised 19% of the total population there. Even after Bangladesh attained independence, there seemed to be no respite for Hindus as their population was reduced to 9% of the total population of Bangladesh by the beginning of the present century!

It is time for all of us to wake up and on the behalf of the hapless Hindus whose houses are being burnt, temples are destroyed, women are being raped and men, women and children are being killed in broad daylight just because they are Hindus. The present day Indian government should also take a strong stand ensuring that the authorities in Bangladesh provide protection and security to Hindus there. Indians must build enough pressure on the Bangladeshi authorities to ensure that the perpetrators of violence against Hindus are brought to the book.

AAP-Congress alliance wins ‘confidence vote’ in assembly, loses trust of people

It is ironical that AAP will now rule Delhi along with Congress against whom people of Delhi had voted overwhelmingly. It is a betrayal of the trust of people. However, one is not surprised at this ‘unholy and opportunistic alliance’ as AAP and Congress are natural partners. How?

AAP and Congress: Birds of same feather, flock together

The Aam Aadmi Party is going to form a government in Delhi with Arvind Kejriwal scheduled to take oath as the Chief Minister on 28 December. However, the moot question is that hoe stable this government will be?

The irony of this whole situation seems to have been lost in the cacophony of shrill voices which have become hallmark of AAP. They shout you down if you don’t agree with them. There are several journalists who have shared their personal experiences in recent times as to how aggressive AAP politicians get when they ask them uncomfortable questions. This aggression seems to be increasing in geometrical progression ever since the AAP members sensed the smell of power. The body language of most AAP leaders, if one carefully observes, betrays their arrogance towards everyone around who doesn’t agree to them or treat them as “Gods of Right Things”. When they cannot resort to logical arguments on television debates, they shout you down, make personal attacks and hide behind a carefully camouflaged moral high ground. The kind of language used by many AAP leaders publicly cannot be permitted in civilised public discourses. If this is the kind of “new political culture’ they want to bring in, there is a need to rethink.

Anyway coming back to the “irony of the whole situation,” let us look at what Arvind Kejriwal and his colleagues are trying to do. Isn’t he indulging in “real politik” and ironically this is what he has been opposing since beginning. In the name of pragmatism, they have thrown their idealism out of window even as they got the first opportunity to be in power! Let us go back a little bit and one would remember that Kejriwal is the same man who was swearing by his children that he would have nothing to do with either Congress or the BJP.

Then he started building a bridge with both by writing letters to their leaders. In the name of ‘exposing’ his rivals for the sake of Aam Aadmi, Kejriwal was actually testing the waters! He was throwing a bait and Congress took it. Why Congress took it? Birds of same feather, flock together. 

There are clear similarities between the two- both have mastered the art of doublespeak and both have been disguising themselves as the most loyal well wishers of “Aam Aadmi”. Congress has camouflaged it under the “Garibi Hatao” since 1970s and Kejriwal has camouflaged it under ‘Corruption Hatao’. Isn’t it interesting that the first person who came with Kejriwal, as Manish Sisodia and others have admitted, was a Congress leader who later became councillor and after getting elected as MLA on AAP ticket was at the centre of hectic political lobbying for minister’s post as reported in media. It is the first warning of things to come! The camouflage is getting uncovered.

Another similarity between Congress and AAP is the double standards on the issue of secularism. That is why just like several senior Congress leaders, AAP termed Batla House encounter fake undermining sacrifice of brave Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma. This despite the HC clearly saying that it was ‘not ‘fake’. Following into the footsteps of Congress leaders, Kejriwal also went to meet a controversial Muslim cleric booked for his role in riots. All this was done in run-up to the assembly polls to garner votes! The saddest part of this saga is that there are a number of sincere and well meaning people who have supported AAP as they believed Kejriwal’s rhetoric to be genuine. But as the truth has started dawning, it is time for several heartbreaks!