BBC News Asia
9 March 2013 Last updated at 02:52 GMT
Bangladesh minorities 'terrorised' after mob violence
By Anbarasan Ethirajan BBC News, Noakhali district, southern Bangladesh
Saraswati Rani Das ran for her life with her two young children when a Muslim
mob rampaged through her village in the southern Noakhali district of
Bangladesh.
Mrs Das broke down repeatedly as she tried to explain how their tiny tin-roof
house was destroyed and set on fire.
The attack started hours after a senior hardline Islamist leader was sentenced
to death by a special tribunal in late February.
Jamaat-e-Islami party Vice President Delwar Hossain Sayedee was given a death
sentence for crimes committed during the war of independence from Pakistan in
1971.
The sentencing triggered a wave of angry protests from the Islamist party's
supporters. In many districts, buildings and vehicles were damaged. More than
60 people were killed in clashes with the security forces.
Living in fear
Minority Hindu and Buddhist communities bore the brunt of the attacks as their
houses and temples were vandalised and burnt down.
"We heard the mob was coming towards our house. So, we just ran away. Our house
was completely burnt. They looted all our belongings, including our savings. We
have lost everything," Mrs Das says.
The village of Aladin Nagar, about 120km (75 miles) south of the capital Dhaka,
was strewn with torn tin sheets, broken glass, food grain, damaged books and
burnt bicycles.
Its residents have been living in fear since the attack and are afraid that
they may be targeted again.
Hindu community leaders allege that the attacks were co-ordinated and
widespread. So far, they say, more than 50 temples have been damaged and more
than 1,500 houses destroyed in the attacks, which took place in nearly 20
districts over the last few weeks.
In some villages near the southern city of Chittagong, statues of Buddha were
damaged and Buddhist temples were vandalised.
But the authorities say that such crimes will not go unpunished.
"We are fully committed to protecting the minorities. We have taken enough
measures so that these people are not attacked in the future. We have also
provided sufficient relief," Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir told the BBC.
'Targeted again'
Hindus make up nearly 10% of the population of about 153 million in this
Muslim-majority nation. The two communities live side by side in villages
across Bangladesh.
Muslim community leaders have condemned the attacks.
"This should not have happened. We feel sorry about it. It is not in the Holy
Koran," Noakhali district cleric Mohammad Nurul Alam Bhuiyan said.
While people like Mrs Das witnessed communal violence for the first time, Hindu
businessmen like Subash Chandra Ghosh in southern Satkhira district say it was
similar to what happened to them in 1971, when Bangladesh fought a bloody
nine-month war against Pakistan to gain independence.
"In 1971, our house was damaged and our neighbour's house was set on fire by
anti-liberation forces. We are being targeted again. What should we do?"
laments Mr Ghosh, who fought for independence.
Some say the minorities are attacked because they mostly support the governing
Awami League party and are a soft target.
Bangladesh has long prided itself on its secular values - but that image has
taken a knock following the recent violence.
Buddhist villages in Cox's Bazar district also came under attack by Muslim mobs
last year, when an image allegedly insulting the Koran was posted on Facebook
by a Buddhist youth. Many Buddhist temples were vandalised in the subsequent
violence.
War crimes
Investigations by the local media later revealed the youth had nothing to do
with the incident.
The independence war came to an end after India sent in troops on behalf of the
Bengalis. More than 90,000 Pakistani soldiers and officers surrendered to the
Indian army and were taken as prisoners of war.
Official estimates say more than three million were killed and tens of
thousands of women raped during the war. The minority Hindu community suffered
disproportionately because some Pakistanis blamed them for Bangladesh's
secession.
A special tribunal in Bangladesh is prosecuting those accused of collaborating
with Pakistani forces and carrying out atrocities more than 40 years ago.
The recent violence is mainly blamed on the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami party,
whose leaders are facing war crimes at the tribunal. But the party - which
opposed Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan - denies the charges.
"The Jamaat-e-Islami is a peaceful political party and they do not encourage
any violent activities. People who took part in the attack on minorities belong
to other political parties," asserts Mohammad Tajul Islam, a Jamaat leader in
Noakhali district.
Hindu community leaders say the attacks are systematic and have been going on
for years. They say they are not only carried out by hardline Islamists but
also by supporters of other mainstream political parties, including the Awami
League and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
The aim of the violence, Hindu leaders allege, is to grab land and other
property. As a result, they say, many Hindus are fleeing to India to escape
harassment, intimidation and violence.
"In 1947, Hindus constituted around 30% of the population," says Subroto
Chowdhury, a Hindu community leader in Dhaka.
"Now it is less than 10%. Hindus are being warned to leave so that locals can
take over their land and houses.
"Our community is being persecuted."
But Mr Alamgir, the home minister, says historically there have been movement
of Hindus to India and Muslims to Bangladesh - because of various incidents.
"These are aberrations. The governments of the two countries are determined to
make sure that they stay in full peace and security."
And people like Mr Ghosh say they will resist attempts to drive them away from
Bangladesh.
"This is our motherland and we have been living here for 25 generations. We
cannot imagine of leaving this land. This is our country."
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