Hindu leaders have asked the government for action against the repression of the minority communities, compensation, and legal protection to keep extremism at bay.

Speaking at a mass rally in Chittagong’s Laldighi ground on October 25, Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari said: “If anyone wants to evict us from this country and live in peace, it will become Afghanistan or Syria. There will be no democratic force. Bangladesh will become a sanctuary of communalism.”

Chinmoy is the spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sanatan Jagoron Moncho and the principal of Pundarik Dham.

The platform has been staging protests for over two months demanding justice for the attacks that have taken place after the fall of the Awami League government on August 5 on Hindu temples, houses, and business establishments and the forced resignation of teachers, among eight demands.

Several rights groups and newspapers have reported that over 1,000-2,000 attacks took place till September, with less than 600 incidents having no political rivalry. Moreover, the police said around 35 incidents took place in October, centring the Durga Puja.

Principal Chinmoy said: “The more we are tortured, the more united we become. This unity is the unity of the culture of Bengal since the independence of Bangladesh. This unity cannot be broken in any way. A coordinating committee of 19 members has already been formed for the purpose of realizing the eight-point demand.”

He announced that the Hindus would hold mass rallies in every division and gatherings in every district. After that, there will be a long march towards Dhaka.

He also criticized the government for the exemption of 93 Hindus from police service and questioned why the allocation of non-Muslims is only Tk200 crore out of a total of Tk15,000 crore for the Religious Affairs Ministry.

Demanding that seats in Parliament be arranged for Hindus on a proportional basis, the leader said: “If necessary, we will boycott the vote. We don’t want farce in the name of democracy.”

Other speakers said the Hindus have always been neglected since independence. Every government tries to hide the suffering of the Hindus, injustices, and tortures.

They deplored that the minorities had not gotten justice for the killings, torture, land grabbing, and harassment for decades. The culture of impunity has encouraged criminals to repeat such incidents.

Their other demands include the establishment of speedy trial tribunals for the trial of atrocities on minorities, the formation of the Minority Protection Act and a separate ministry for the minorities without delay, the elevation of the minority welfare trusts to foundations, the recovery of vested property, the construction of places of worship for minorities in every educational institution and the allotment of prayer rooms in every hostel, the modernization of Sanskrit and Pali education boards, and a five-day holiday for Durga Puja.

Tapnanda Giri Maharaj, Ravishwarananda Puri Maharaj, Leelaraj Gaur Das Brahmachari, Mohant Sachinddan Puri Maharaj, Murari Das Babaji, Pranjalananda Puri Maharaj, along with journalists, lawyers, teachers, and people from different classes and professions, also spoke at the rally.

Promotional | KRC Foundation