K.V. Seetharamaiah
The unabated attack on Hindus in Bangladesh is disturbing. Merit in the involvement of Hindu students in the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government is debatable. What is strange is that when the Hindus have not gone against the move to overthrow the Hasina government and have in fact supported the move, the new dispensation has remained blindfolded at the attack on Hindus. It is alarming that the opposition parties in India who howl at the attack on minorities in India have not minced a word at the attack on minorities in the neighbouring country. The turmoil in Bangladesh has taken away the sleep of the Hindu minorities. It has been reported that a 26-year old former Dhaka University student Nilay Kumar Biswas has been allegedly facing nightmarish situation. If it is true that the Hindus joined their hands in the fall of the Hasina government, their move is terribly wrong considering that they were more safe at the hands of the erstwhile Hasina government than the present dispensation. Biswas has allegedly expressed his view that most police stations have remained unmanned and murderous mobs are going on a rampage. He bemoans that the Hindu community feels vulnerable at such times because Hindus are easy targets. Biswas recalls that Hindu students stood shoulder to shoulder with their Muslim counterparts demanding an end to quota system. Biswas has been banking on the fellow Muslims to protect the Hindus. He says some of his friends are standing guard to protect the temples. Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus, heading the interim government, has appealed to the attackers to remain calm and he has ‘threatened’ that he would resign if the attack is not stopped. This is only an attempt to placate India which has remained concerned at the continued attack. It has been observed that some people have appreciated Yunus for saying that he would resign. Those people have ‘advised’ Modi to emulate the example of Yunus. It is for this reason that a proverb has been coined which says ‘the wooden handle of the axe is the enemy of wood’. The appeal by Yunus has not cut the ice with the attackers to stop the attack on Hindus. The anti-quota stir in Bangladesh against reservation of 56 per cent of government jobs for specific groups including 30 per cent to the descendants of the Bangladesh founders took violent turn. Reservation was slashed by the Bangladesh Supreme Court substantially sensing the gravity of the situation arising out of anti-reservation agitation. There is absolutely no reason to turn the heat on Hindus when their participation in stir was only against the Hasina government, not the present government. Hindus had allegedly participated in the protests hoping it is a fight for fairness. The trouble in Bangladesh did not end at the point of ousting Hasina. It has been taken forward at forcing the Chief Justice of Bangladesh Obaidul Hassan, believed to be the loyalist of Hasina, to tender his resignation for his post along with other 5 top judges. Syed Refaat Ahmed has been appointed Chief Justice by the interim government. A situation of this kind is unheard anywhere in the world. The Hindus in Bangladesh have started raising “Jai Sri Ram” slogan. This shows that the minorities have mustered some courage to confront the interim government. Bangladesh is an Islamic country. Members of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the outlawed Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami have been exploiting the situation to engineer attack on Hindus homes, temples and businesses. The protection to the minorities in Bangladesh cannot be expected at the level seen in India since the country has been declared ‘secular’ country here. The term ‘secular’ was surreptitiously added by Indira Gandhi in the seventies. This term was not included in Dr. Ambedkar’s Constitution. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has offered to give shelter to anyone in distress who comes on knocking door. She has not mentioned that the persecuted Hindus would be given shelter. What does ‘anyone’ mean? This offer is more helpful to the Bangladeshis who want to infiltrate into India. Already there is concentration of Bangladeshis in Assam, her own state West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Kerala, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh. Shelter to persecuted Hindus is acceptable. It is for this reason the need of CAA is felt. Bengal is not the personal property of the Chief Minister. It is the central government that should take a call to give asylum to those who knock at the door of India. It has been estimated that at present there are 6.28 million Bangladeshi Muslim population having infiltrated into India, and a good chunk of them are present in West Bengal. The presence of Bangladeshis in large numbers in Bengal has been returning her to the seat of repeatedly. If all the Bangladeshis are eased out or are deported, and if election is conducted after deporting them, Mamata Banerjee cannot dream of coming to power in future. Mamata Banerjee should not bask in the fire of Bangladesh to allow the Bangladeshis to her state and strengthen her votebank in the name of giving shelter to those who are in ‘distress’. When there is cry for population control in India, the influx of foreign nationals runs counter to the contemplated action to control the population. It is ridiculous to control the Indian population on one hand and to pave way for foreign nationals on the other. It is rather disturbing that Mamata Banerjee has maintained loud silence on the on-going attack against Hindus in Bangladesh.
