Homes destroyed, dreams shattered in Bangladesh

As per the received information, on 19th of June 2024, Islamists Muhammad Khokan and Muhammad Emdadul and their gangs attacked Hindu locality of Ward no. 7 of the village in the Madaripur district of Bangladesh. They vandalized homes of the Hindu minority and a temple. After the vandalism, they also set ablaze the homes and the temple. As the Islamists were armed, the Hindu minority was unable to resist them. 

A Hindu family’s home was set ablaze in Farabari Mandirpara village, Thakurgaon Sadar upazila, northwest Bangladesh, on August 13th, 2024 evening. The arson occurred hours after Yunus Muhammad, the Chief Advisor to the interim government, assured the minority community of justice for recent attacks. According to Subrata Kumar Barman, chairman of Akcha Union Parishad, unidentified individuals targeted the house of Kaleshwar Barman, who has no political affiliations, around 7:30 pm. This incident is part of a series of attacks on minority communities following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government.

(The incident in Farabari Mandirpara village in Akcha union under Thakurgaon Sadar upazila took place on Tuesday evening. Representative image. Credit: Reuters File Photo)

Amid violent protests, popular Bangladeshi folk singer Rahul Ananda’s 140-year-old residence in Dhaka, which was also a cultural hub and housed over 3,000 of his instruments, was vandalized, looted and burnt. The 135-year-old Maharaja Bir Chandra library in Comilla, too, was vandalized and several historic books and documents were burnt. Several social media handles shared pictures of the vandalized property.

(Vandalism and burning of historic Maharaja Bir Chandra Library in Bangladesh)

Between August 5–20, 2024, 1,068 attacks on minority communities were reported across 49 districts in Bangladesh, as investigated by Prothom Alo. The southwestern division of Khulna saw the most destruction, with 295 homes and businesses targeted. Other affected regions included Rangpur (219 structures damaged), Mymensingh (183), Rajshahi (155), and Dhaka (79). Two members of the Hindu community were killed, with 506 incidents linked to Awami League-affiliated individuals.

Overall, Prothom Alo verified 546 damaged properties​. According to other minority reports – between August 4–20, 2,010 incidents of communal violence were reported nationwide, directly impacting 1,705 families. Of these, 157 homes and businesses were attacked, looted, or burned, with some families losing land to illegal occupation. Nine people died during the violence.

Police recorded 47 incidents at puja mandaps from August 5–9, including vandalism of 30 idols and temples, arson, thefts, and robberies. Separately, in October, 35 Durga Puja-related incidents were noted, leading to 17 arrests and several cases being filed.[1]

A history of violence against the minorities

The persecution of minorities by islamists in Bangladesh has been an on-going cycle of violence, of which the intensity has increased since the Sheikh Hasina government fell.

Supporters of the hardline Islamist organization Hefazat-e-Islam attacked a Hindu village in Shalla Upazila, Sunamganj district, on March 17th, 2021 Wednesday[2]. The violence erupted after a Hindu man allegedly posted a social media comment criticizing Hefazat’s Joint Secretary General, Mawlana Mufti Mamunul Haque, following his opposition to a planned sculpture of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

According to the Dhaka Tribune, a large mob armed with improvised weapons gathered from Kashipur, Nachni, Chandipur, and other nearby Muslim-majority villages. By 9 a.m., thousands of Mamunul Haque’s followers stormed Noagaon village, targeting the homes of Hindu residents. Fearing for their safety, many Hindu villagers fled their homes. The mob proceeded to vandalize and loot numerous houses in the area, causing widespread damage and terror.

(Vice President of the Islamist organisation Hefazat-e-Islam (protector of Islam) Bangladesh, Muhyiddin Rabbani – Image via Bangladesh Live News/Panchjanya)

On September 29, 2012, a series of violent attacks targeted the Buddhist community in Ramu, Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh. About 25 thousand Muslims set on fire and destroyed 22 Buddhist temples and hundreds of homes in south-eastern Bangladesh. The violence was triggered by rumors that a Buddhist youth had posted an image on Facebook deemed insulting to the Quran. Investigations later revealed the image was photoshopped, and the youth’s account may have been hacked to incite the attacks.[3]

The violence spread to other areas, including Patiya in Chittagong District, where Buddhist and Hindu places of worship were also attacked. Among the places of worship destroyed, there was also the 250 year old temple of Shima Bihar.

(Damaged Buddhist artifacts at a burned-out Buddhist temple in Ramu, one of the temples destroyed by a mob on 29 September 2012. From dhakatribune.com)

Legal actions were initiated, with charges brought against over 1,000 individuals across 18 cases, but progress on these cases remains slow. Many Buddhists in the affected areas feel justice has been delayed and are still awaiting resolution over a decade later​.

There are hundreds of examples where homes, businesses, religious places of the minorities have been destroyed by islamists without much accountability. The global concern is of this cycle of violence will continue and even increase in the midst of an unstable government and country.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Bangladesh_anti-Hindu_violence#:~:text=The%20majority%20of%20the%20attacks,Chattogram%2C%20and%2025%20in%20Sylhet.

[2] https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/hardline-hefazat-e-islam-supporters-attack-hindu-village-in-bangladesh-report-101616007480061.html

[3] https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Bangladesh,-25-thousand-Muslims-set-fire-to-22-Buddhist-temples-25959.html