The burgeoning bonhomie between New Delhi and Dhaka has taken a hit over the past week with concerted attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh’s Brahmanbaria district. On October 30, a 3000-strong mob went on a rampage in Nasirnagar and Haripur villages in the district, vandalizing and desecrating over a dozen temples and attacking hundreds of Hindu households and businesses. The reason, a Facebook post by Rasraj Das, a local Hindu fi sherman, which they felt offended Islam.
Over 100 were injured in clashes before security forces brought the situation under control. Yet, despite extensive deployment of forces, five more homes were torched and a few temples vandalized on November 5, spreading panic among the already frightened minority community. Another attack in nearby Rishipara was repulsed by alert locals, while a stolen Goddess Lakshmi idol was recovered from a mosque. The violent attacks sparked outrage across Bangladesh, with several human rights and political outfi ts staging protests.
Road transport minister Obaidul Quader pledged the government would take “stern punitive actions against the attackers.” Quader, recently elected Awami League general secretary, urged Hindus not to consider themselves a minority, saying “the government is with you.” Yet the fact remains that three local Awami League leaders were sacked for their involvement in the attack, while the party’s minister from the district has been accused of inciting the violence. Nazrul Islam, the editor of Newsnext Bangladesh, a local newsportal, was quoted as saying that “Such incidents have been growing in the past; take the recent attack on Hindus and Buddhists in Chittagong and Sylhet.” New Delhi, while officially asserting that Dhaka had assured full protection to the Hindu community in the country, would do well to seek stronger guarantees.