NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday slammed the violence against Hindus and minorities in Bangladesh and said the “anarchy” would continue in the country till Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s “soul remains there”.
Violence erupted in Bangladesh after the removal of Sheikh Hasina’s government following student protests in August. Reports indicate Hindu temples and businesses were damaged. Hindus are facing threats for expressing their cultural identity.
At a public event in Lucknow on Bhimrao Ambedkar’s death anniversary, the chief minister stated, “In Bangladesh, minorities are being killed, burnt and looted by the radicals. The honour of mothers and daughters is being compromised. I want to know why such a situation is prevailing in Bangladesh?”
“As long as Jinnah’s spirit remains there, this kind of anarchy will continue. The poor and the deprived are being exploited there. This is the sin of India’s partition in 1947. The ugly face of partition has come in front of us again in the guise of the Bangladesh crisis. All the Hindus and Buddhishts who are being killed in Bangladesh are Dalits,” he added.
He noted that in 1947, there was a large population of Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Till 1971, 22 per cent of the population in Bangladesh were Hindus but it has reduced to 6 to 8 per cent now, Adityanath said.Adityanath said Ambedkar had warned the public about this in 1946-47.
Without naming anyone, he said, “Today some people are deceiving society and spreading lies. These are the same people who were silent when the villages of Dalits were being burnt by the Nizam of Hyderabad and exploited.”
“At that time too Ambedkar had written an open letter that all Dalits in Hyderabad being tortured should leave the Nizam’s state and go to Maharashtra. But they should not change their religion,” he added.
“The people of the Hyderabad Nizam and the pro-Pakistan public tried to tempt Ambedkar, but he did not budge,” Adityanath said. He said that those who followed Babasaheb Ambedkar are safe in India and are getting the benefit of reservation.
“Our government respects all of them and provides them with every facility,” Adityanath said.
Widespread protests have broken out across Bangladesh, including in the capital Dhaka, over reported violence against Hindus and other religious minorities. The demonstrations are fueled by the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das, also known as Chinmoy Krishna Das Prabhu, a former leader of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon). Das was arrested on November 25 at Dhaka airport on sedition charges.
Das’s arrest has further inflamed tensions, with protesters demanding his release. He previously led protests against violence targeting Hindus in Bangladesh. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs condemned Das’s arrest and the denial of bail, urging Bangladeshi authorities to guarantee the safety of the Hindu minority population.
Das faced a legal setback on Tuesday when lawyers refused to represent him at his bail hearing. Sources say the Chattogram court postponed the hearing until January 2 after the Bar Association prevented lawyers from taking his case.