Minority groups in Bangladesh describe violence and abuse after government collapse: ‘scapegoats’

Members of minority groups in Bangladesh spoke to Fox News Digital about the violence and mistreatment they faced after the government collapsed earlier this month, all using false names for fear of reprisals.

Violence, killings and the burning of minority businesses, places of worship and homes have been a major problem since the government of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted following violent protests. Bangladesh is 90 percent Muslim, with some Christians but mostly Hindus and Buddhists.

Sathya, a Hindu from Chittagong, told Fox News Digital that Hasina’s government “was not the best” towards the Hindu minority, pointing to cases of land grabbing of Hindu homes and temples under her government, but suggested they were treated better than under other governments – “the lesser evil”, but only when “we have no options left”.

“Hindus have always been the scapegoats and blamed whenever there was an economic crisis or any other political issue over which we had no control,” Sathya said. India’s Deccan Herald newspaper reported that 278 Hindu-owned establishments have been ransacked since Hasina fled the country.

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He said that if a Hindu house was left empty, squatters would move in and start building, and the government and legal system would do little to protect Hindu land rights. Mobs would come in and take whatever they wanted, such as furniture, money and food.

Even within the Muslim community, the Ahmadiyah sect faces persecution from the Sunni majority, who label them “heretics,” Ali told Fox News Digital. “Our group is also increasingly targeted, as are Hindus and other religious minorities.”

Protesters surround a suspected supporter of ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina near the house of her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, “Bangabandhu”, the first president of independent Bangladesh, in Dhaka on August 15, 2024, to mark the anniversary of his assassination. (Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images)

A Bangladeshi citizen now living in the United States says that when he looks at his homeland, he sees “no law and order” and that “Hindus have to stay vigilant, especially at night, lest our homes be looted and ransacked.”

“The government does not seem to care about minorities,” he said, requesting anonymity. “A helpline has been provided for Hindus to call if they are targeted, but no one answers the phone number provided.”

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“Even though the region in general is now a Buddhist minority, Buddhism originated not far from here in neighboring Nepal and has a very long history here and is one of the major religions of the world. We wonder why the rest of the world is silent when we are going through such a crisis,” Rajarshi told Fox News Digital.

He said the latest violence showed that any group that is not Sunni is not safe. “What is the point of fighting for Pakistan’s independence if we are told that we no longer have a place in this country?”

In this photograph taken and released on July 25, 2024 by the Prime Minister’s Office of Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina speaks to the media at a vandalized metro station in Mirpur, following the anti-quota protests. (Bangladesh Prime Minister’s Office/AFP via Getty Images)

While Christians represent a tiny minority of the country’s population, Fox News Digital recently reported that the organization Open Doors, which tracks discrimination against Christians worldwide, ranked Bangladesh as having “very high” levels of persecution, saying that “converts to Christianity face the most severe restrictions, discrimination and attacks.”

“Religious beliefs are tied to community identity, so turning away from the local mainstream faith to follow Jesus can lead to accusations of treason,” the group wrote on its website. “Bangladeshi converts often gather in small house churches because of the risk of attack.”

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Earlier this week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on social media platform X that he had spoken to the country’s interim leader, Professor Muhammad Yunus, and that the two had “exchanged views on the current situation.”

“India reiterated its support for a democratic, stable, peaceful and progressive Bangladesh,” Modi wrote. “It ensured the protection, safety and security of Hindus and all minorities of Bangladesh.”

The Washington Post reported that Modi’s government had pressured the United States to tone down its criticism of then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and the Biden administration complied, even shelving plans for new sanctions against the Bangladeshi government.

The US State Department told Fox News Digital that “our continued commitment to democracy and human rights in Bangladesh and around the world speaks for itself,” and added that “we do not comment on our private diplomatic communications.”

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Bangladesh re-elected Hasina’s Awami League party in January, extending her rule, which began in 2008, sparking student protests at universities that eventually escalated into nationwide demonstrations against the party’s rule.

Both the party and its leader have been accused of “authoritarian” and “iron-fisted” rule, with many calling the 2014 and 2018 elections “shams” as the opposition boycotted them or was reduced to a “desperate minority,” according to the New Yorker.

Nobel laureate and chief adviser to Bangladesh’s new caretaker government Muhammad Yunus arrives to meet relatives of those who disappeared during the tenure of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka, August 13, 2024. (Indranil Mukherjee/AFP via Getty Images)

Shrinking employment and high inflation marred the Awami League’s last term, and the economic stress proved too much for many, especially a new policy that introduced a quota for civil service work – denying them coveted jobs in what protesters called a kleptocratic move.

Hasina eventually resigned and fled to India, taking many by surprise but allowing the protesters to achieve the change they wanted, including appointing Nobel Peace Prize winner and humanitarian Professor Muhammad Yunus as a senior adviser to the caretaker government ahead of new elections in November.

Student protesters plan to form a new party to contest elections and end the two-party monopoly that has gripped the country for nearly two decades, Reuters reported. Student groups at the heart of the protests want to talk to citizens across the country before deciding on their platform and will finalize their decision within a month.

“We have no other plan that could break the binary without forming a party,” Tamid Chowdhury, one of the student coordinators at the centre of the campaign to oust Hasina, told reporters.

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Another student said that “the spirit of the movement was to create a new Bangladesh, a country where no fascist or autocrat could return.”

“To achieve this, we need structural reforms, which will certainly take time,” said Nahid Islam, a protester who played a role in Yunus’s interim cabinet.

Reuters contributed to this report.