DHAKA: Hindu neighborhood leaders in Bangladesh are advocating the formation of a devoted political social gathering, reflecting a name for political illustration to guard their rights and guarantee their security. Hindu leaders from the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCOP) and different teams are actually discussing the opportunity of establishing a separate political social gathering or demanding reserved parliamentary seats.
“There are at the moment three opinions which might be being mentioned intimately: first, going again to the separate citizens system from 1954; second, establishing a separate political social gathering for Hindus; and third, reserving seats in Parliament for minorities,” BHBCOP presidium member Kajal Debnath advised PTI.
The discussions got here after the violence in opposition to the Hindu neighborhood following the resignation of the Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina as prime minister on August 5 following a pupil motion.
Debnath mentioned the info collected by the BHBCOP factors to 2,010 incidents of assaults on the Hindu neighborhood, starting from homicide and bodily assaults to sexual assaults, assaults on temples, and destruction of property.
There aren’t any official figures from the Bangladesh authorities on the variety of assaults.
“The discussions and exchanges of opinions relating to forming a political social gathering are on the high of our precedence. Though nothing has been finalised, let’s examine the way it pans out,” mentioned Ranjan Karmakar, a frontrunner from the Hindu neighborhood.
“The proposed political social gathering might function a crucial automobile for change, making certain their issues are represented and addressed,” he identified.
Traditionally, Hindus made up about 22 per cent of Bangladesh’s inhabitants through the 1971 Liberation Conflict, however immediately they symbolize solely roughly 8 per cent.
The neighborhood members attributed this lower within the Hindu inhabitants to socio-political marginalisation and sporadic violence, intensifying the urgency for political mobilisation.
Nevertheless, Debnath mentioned that forming a celebration for Hindus could not work in favour of minorities, as it’d divide the secular votes and never end in victory.
“The Hindu inhabitants is scattered throughout Bangladesh. In some areas, it includes 35 per cent of the voters, whereas in most locations it’s 6-8 per cent of the voters. These Hindu leaders from the Awami League who gained within the final election garnered each Hindu votes and votes from Awami League supporters of different communities.”
“But when the identical particular person contests as a candidate of a Hindu social gathering, she or he could not have the ability to garner votes from different communities. So, the purpose of sending representatives to Parliament will not be served,” he mentioned.
There are totally different opinions throughout the neighborhood on whether or not to type a separate political social gathering or to collaborate with current secular events.
“We should give attention to our widespread objectives. Solely by standing united can we make a big influence. That is our second to rise and reclaim our place within the political panorama. However as a big part of Hindus are recognized with the Awami League, we too are dealing with assaults,” mentioned Gobinda Chandra Pramanik, additionally normal secretary of the Bangladesh Jatiya Hindu Mohajote.
Debnath mentioned that reserving parliamentary seats just like how it’s achieved for ladies could possibly be an answer.
The demand for reservations shouldn’t be new, as the federal government has beforehand allotted seats for ladies in each nationwide and native politics, and Hindu neighborhood leaders argue that related reservations for Hindus would give them a platform to affect insurance policies that instantly influence their security and rights.
“If now we have representatives in Parliament, they will actively advocate for our security, safety, and cultural preservation. With out illustration, we threat being forgotten in political discussions, left to navigate a hostile surroundings alone,” he mentioned.
One other BHBCOP presidium member, who didn’t want to be named, mentioned that the political events – whether or not the Awami League, the Bangladesh Nationalist Celebration (BNP), or the Jatiya Celebration – have failed the Hindu minorities within the nation since its start following the Liberation Conflict of 1971.
“Since 1971, minorities have did not characteristic within the political discourse of the nation. That is primarily as a result of minorities have trusted mainstream political events, who’ve again and again failed us, besides when reaching out to us throughout elections,” he mentioned.
Traditionally, the Awami League, recognised for its secular stance, obtained substantial assist from Hindus, however the sudden energy vacuum after Hasina’s ouster resulted in a wave of violence during which companies of the minority neighborhood have been vandalised, properties destroyed and temples desecrated, leaving many locally feeling weak and disenfranchised.
Muhammad Yunus, the interim authorities’s Chief Adviser, downplayed the severity of the violence in opposition to Hindus, characterising it as politically motivated slightly than communal and suggesting that the assaults stemmed from political upheaval because of the notion that almost all Hindus supported the now-deposed Awami League regime.
“This difficulty has a number of dimensions. When the nation went via an upheaval following the atrocities by (Sheikh) Hasina and the Awami League, those that have been with them additionally confronted assaults,” the Nobel laureate advised PTI throughout an interview earlier this month.
Yunus had described the assaults as “political in nature and never communal.”
Leaders of BHBCOP had met Yunus after he took cost on August 8 and submitted a memorandum requesting him to make sure the stopping of assaults on Hindus.
Political analyst Zillur Rehman expressed doubts in regards to the variety of assaults on Hindus given by the BHBCOP however asserted that the proposal of reservation of seats in parliament might be mentioned.
“Proper now a course of is on to relook at our Structure so this concept of allocation of parliamentary seats for the minorities might be mentioned and debated. However the thought of forming a brand new political social gathering will not be possible within the binary of BNP and Awami League,” he mentioned.
