West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday urged for the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping force in Bangladesh and called for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s direct intervention to ensure the safety of religious minorities in the violence-stricken neighbouring country.
In the wake of the civil unrest that has rocked Bangladesh since August, when a student-led uprising forced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to step down and the Army took control, Banerjee’s demands link with reports that at least three Hindu priests from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) have been arrested.
She said, “We have families, properties and loved ones in Bangladesh. We accept whatever stance the Government of India takes on this, but we condemn atrocities on religious grounds anywhere in the world and appeal to the union government and the Prime Minister, to intervene.”
Speaking in the Bengal Assembly, Banerjee emphasised, “We cannot tolerate it if Indians are attacked in Bangladesh.” She also stated she had spoken with the head of ISKCON’s Kolkata unit to offer her support and sympathy.
“We can bring back our people. The Government of India can take this matter up with the United Nations, so a peacekeeping force can be sent,” she said.
Additionally, she stated that she had no intention of meddling in another nation’s domestic issues, but she did point out that her government had “rescued them and treated them (well)” when Bangladeshi fishermen had unintentionally entered Indian waters or when a Bangladeshi trawler had capsized.
PM Met Jaishankar
After discussing this matter with Modi last week, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar urged Bangladesh’s interim administration to safeguard religious minorities.
The Indian government has voiced grave concerns about the rise in extremist expression and the rise in attacks on Hindu temples and other acts of violence against Hindus in that nation.
Jaishankar also informed Parliament following his meeting with the prime minister, stating that the Indian government has taken the violence against minorities in Bangladesh gravely.
He stated that the Indian High Commission in Dhaka is keeping a “close eye” on the situation pertaining to minorities in the country. “The Government of Bangladesh bears primary responsibility for the protection of life and liberty of all citizens of Bangladesh, including minorities,” he added.
Bangladesh’s Response
The Yunus administration has reiterated “in the strongest terms” that all Bangladeshis, irrespective of their faith, are entitled to the “right to establish, maintain or perform respective religious rituals and practices or express views without hindrance.”
Radharamn Das, the spokesperson for the religious group’s Kolkata unit, said that Bangladesh had arrested two ISKCON priests on Saturday. This, he claimed, was in addition to the arrest of two devotees and a third, the secretary of one of the arrested priests, going missing.
Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari’s arrest last week marked the beginning of the ISKCON issue.
Das was a former member who was arrested on sedition charges at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, denied bail and imprisoned. Dhaka claims that the interim government of Bangladesh, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohd Yunus, has “misconstrued” his imprisonment.
Protests broke out in Dhaka and Chattogram, a port city in Bangladesh, after Das and another Hindu priest, the leader of the Sammilita Sanatani Jote, were arrested. A ministry devoted to minority affairs and more robust legal protection have been among the demands of the demonstrators.
During the 1971 Liberation War, roughly 22 per cent of Bangladesh’s population was Hindu. However, the number of Hindus has significantly decreased in recent decades and they currently make up just around eight per cent of the population.
Also Read: Hunter Biden Moves to Dismiss Charges After President’s Pardon
