Amid reports of violence against minorities in Bangladesh during the ongoing student uprising against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, several political and student leaders have asked their supporters to guard the properties and temples of Hindus in the country.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami president Dr. Shafiqur Rahman in a press conference directed his supporters to "play the role of guardians in protecting the properties of the people of all religions."
"No one is majority or minority in our country. All those who are born in this country, regardless of caste, religion and caste, are citizens of this country and all have equal rights. So, the question of majority or minority is invalid," he said while condemning the attack on government buildings and houses and properties of supporters of Hasina's Awami League party.
The main opposition party in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) also urged people "not to harass any particluar community, create division, or seek vengeance."
"Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, believers, atheists — no one will be left behind or be prejudiced on our democratic path; together, we are all proudly Bangladeshis," Tarique Rahman, the BNP’s acting chairman, wrote on X.
Several government buildings including the parliament and official residence of prime minister were attacked and looted, national monuments and properties belonging to supporters of the government were vandalised by the protesters on Tuesday, hours after Sheikh Hasina resigned from her post and fled the country. Hasina has taken refuge in India and might have to extend her stay as the United Kingdom has reportedly rejected her appeal for asylum.
The violent outburst and absolute chaos followed weeks of protests which were met with deadly violence from the part of the government claiming the lives of more than 400 people, mostly students.
Amid the violent outburst of protests, Indian media was filled with mostly misinformed and unverified reports about attacks on Hindus.
However, visuals and reports coming in from Bangladesh tell another story.
The student group that is leading the protests in Bangladesh has directed its supporters to safeguard the lives and religious places of Hindus. Several students and local Muslims were seen guarding temples in visuals shared widely on social media.
According to media reports, announcements were made through microphones from mosques asking people to refrain from any vandalism.
According to locals, some properties of Hindus who were active in Hasina's Awami League were attacked, but it was not due to their religious identity.
"This vandalism can not frame any religion, race, or caste. Their identity is that they are miscreants, opportunists, and looters. We did not just see that temples were attacked; businesses owned by Muslims and public properties were also vandalized. We have to be aware and resist them," said Ranjan Kumar Das who lives near the Dhakeshwari National Temple in Old Dhaka, according to Dhaka Tribune.
He also thanked the Muslims for standing guard infront of the temple in the night.
"Our Muslim brothers who have stood beside us are setting an example for everyone. If everyone can ensure safety like this, such incidents would not happen,” he said.
Dr. Gobinda Chandra Pramanik, Secretary General, Bangladesh Jatio Hindu Mohajote (Bangladesh National Grand Alliance) said that "no incident of violence against Hindus" have been reported from the country.
"After Sheikh Hasina's resignation last afternoon, the Hindu community of this country thought they would be attacked in a massive way and there'd be incidents of arson. But leaders of BNP and Jamaat instructed their functionaries to ensure that Hindu homes were not attacked and temples were protected. And we have seen that temples are being protected," Pramanik said in a post on X.
"There has been no incident of attack on temples and Hindus. Houses of some Hindu leaders of the Awami League who were very active as well as those of some Muslim leaders were attacked. Some opportunistic people attacked a few local temples, but no big incident," he said.