Bangladesh Hindus hold rally to demand protection against attacks and harassment; more rallies scheduled today

Tens of thousands of minority Hindus gathered to call on the interim government of Muslim-majority Bangladesh to safeguard them from ongoing attacks and harassment. They also urged the government to dismiss sedition charges against leaders within the Hindu community.

As per PTI report, about 30,000 Hindus gathered and demonstrated at a major intersection in the southeastern city of Chattogram chanting slogans demanding their rights while police and soldiers guarded the area. Other protests were reported elsewhere in the country.

Hindu organisations have claimed that there have been thousands of attacks on Hindus since early August 2024, when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's secular government was ousted following a student-led protest, prompting her to leave the country. Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize winner appointed to lead the interim government after Hasina's removal, argues that these numbers have been inflated.

In Bangladesh, Hindus make up about 8 percent of the country's nearly 170 million people, while Muslims are about 91 percent.

The country's influential minority group Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council has said that there have been more than 2,000 attacks on Hindus since August 4. 

Hindus and other minority groups have claimed that the interim government has not provided sufficient protection for them, noting that hardline Islamist factions have been gaining more power since Hasina's removal.

Friday's protest in Chattogram was hastily organised after sedition charges were filed on Wednesday against 19 Hindu leaders, including prominent priest Chandan Kumar Dhar, over an October 25 rally in that city. Police arrested two of the leaders, angering Hindus.

The charges stem from an incident when a group of rally-goers allegedly placed a saffron flag above the Bangladesh flag on a pillar, which was considered disrespecting the national flag.

Another Hindu rally has been planned for Saturday in Dhaka.

Separately, supporters of Hasina's Awami League party and its allied Jatiya Party have said they also have been targeted since Hasina's ouster. The Jatiya Party's headquarters was vandalised and set on fire late Thursday.

On Friday, Jatiya Chairman G M Quader said his supporters would continue to hold rallies to demand their rights despite risking their lives. He said they would hold a rally in Dhaka on Saturday to protest price hikes of commodities, and what they call false charges against their leaders and activists.

 (With inputs from AP)