DHAKA: Hundreds marched in Bangladesh’s capital on Saturday to demand protections for Hindus and other minorities who say they have suffered violence and threats since the ouster of autocratic premier Sheikh Hasina.

Hasina’s toppling in an August student-led uprising saw a spate of reprisals on Hindus, who were seen as disproportionate supporters of her regime.

The caretaker government that replaced her, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has acknowledged and condemned attacks on Hindus but said in many cases they were motivated by politics rather than religion.

Regular protests in the months since claim that attacks are continuing and have demanded action from Yunus’ administration, an “advisory council” tasked with implementing democratic reforms and staging fresh elections.

“It’s deeply regrettable that the council of advisers do not acknowledge the sufferings minorities have endured,” Hindu civic leader Charu Chandra Das Brahmachari said. “I have witnessed the atrocities against them — their temples, businesses, and homes.” Protest organisers have urged the interim government to introduce a law to protect minorities and mandate a minimum share of minority representation in government, among other demands.

Tensions have been inflamed by the filing of sedition charges this week against 19 people who participated in an earlier minority rights rally in the port city of Chittagong. The group was accused of disrespecting the Bangladeshi national flag by hoisting a saffron flag — the emblematic colour of the Hindu faith — to fly above it.

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2024