Yunus reaches out to Bangladeshi Hindus, assures action

Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday reached out to the distressed Hindu community as he visited a centuries-old temple, where he urged them to "exercise patience" and assured them that his government would punish those who attacked the minority members.

The 84-year-old economist, who took charge as the Chief Advisor of the interim government on August 8 amid ongoing violence and vandalism, visited the Dhakeshwari temple - one of the prominent Shakti peethas - in Dhaka and said each one's rights should be ensured and blamed "institutional decay" for the predicament that his country has fallen into.

His visit comes on a day when the Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance said that the minority community faced attacks and threats in 278 locations across 48 districts since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government on August 5 and termed it as an "assault on the Hindu religion."

"Rights are equal for everyone. We are all one people with one right. Do not make any distinctions among us. Please, assist us. Exercise patience, and later judge -- what we were able to do and not. If we fail, then criticise us,” Yunus was quoted as saying by The Daily Star newspaper.

"In our democratic aspirations, we should not be seen as Muslims, Hindus, or Buddhists, but as human beings. Our rights should be ensured. The root of all problems lies in the decay of institutional arrangements. That is why such issues arise. Institutional arrangements need to be fixed," said Yunus, who was accompanied by Law Adviser Asif Nazrul and Religious Affairs Adviser AFM Khalid Hossain.

On Monday, Hossain's ministry set up a hotline asking people to provide information about attacks on temples, churches or any other religious institutions.

"If a temple, church, pagoda or any other religious institution is attacked or attacked by miscreants, it is requested to report its information by calling this mobile number 01766-843809 or by sending a small message," Bengali language daily Prothom Alo reported, citing a notification issued by the ministry on Monday.

Meanwhile, deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and six others, including two senior ministers of her cabinet and the sacked police chief, would face trial on murder charges, court officials said on Tuesday.

The murder case filed against 76-year-old Hasina is the first so far against her since she resigned.

"In line with a case filed by a resident of (Dhaka's) Mohammadpur area, Metropolitan Magistrate Rajesh Chowdhury has asked police to register it as an FIR," a court official said.

He said that six others who were named in the case about the death of a grocery shop owner during last month's violent clashes are: Awami League general secretary and former road transport minister Obaidul Quader, home minister Asaduzzaman Khan and sacked inspector general of police (IGP) Abdullah Al Mamun, Dhaka's police commissioner Habibur Rahman, Additional IGP Harun-or-Rashid and additional joint commissioner Biplab Kumar.

While Hasina fled to India, the two ministers are believed to have secretly left the country hours before her resignation on August 5 while the whereabouts of the police officers remained unknown to the media.

Home Affairs Adviser Brigadier General (retd.) Sakhawat Hossain speculated that 500 or more protestors and policemen were killed during the three weeks of violence which originated from a movement by Students Against Discrimination.

Thousands of Hindus staged massive protest rallies in Dhaka and the north-eastern port city of Chattagram on Friday and Saturday demanding protection, special tribunals to expedite trials of those who persecute the minorities, allocation of 10 per cent parliamentary seats for the minorities, and enactment of a minority protection law among others.

On Saturday, Yunus had condemned attacks on the minority communities in the violence-hit nation, terming them as “heinous” and had urged the youth to protect all Hindu, Christian, and Buddhists.

Palash Kanti Dey, the Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance's spokesperson and executive secretary, on Tuesday, said: “The incidents of vandalism, looting, arson, land grabbing, and threats to leave the country have been repeatedly inflicted on the Hindu community due to the shifting political landscape.”

“This is not just an attack on individuals but an assault on the Hindu religion,” Dey alleged during a press conference in Dhaka.

"As of Monday, there have been attacks and threats against the Hindu community in 278 locations across 48 districts. We have conveyed our concerns to Home Affairs Advisor Brigadier General (Retd) M Sakhawat Hussain, who has assured us that these issues will be raised at the next cabinet meeting,” he was quoted as saying by The Dhaka Tribune newspaper.

Dey also emphasised that the alliance had long expressed its demands to various political parties over the past 24 years, but they had remained unmet.

“We now hope that the interim government will address our longstanding demands. Additionally, we support the nationwide movement led by our students,” he added.

Alliance's President Prabhas Chandra Roy lamented the recurring violence against the Hindu community during times of political change and said, “Whenever there is a change in government, Hindus are the first to be attacked.”

In a press release on Tuesday, the Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) announced the resumption of limited operations in its Dhaka centre.

"IVAC (JFP) Dhaka has resumed limited operations. Messages will be sent to individual applicants regarding (the) collection of passports," the press release said.

It requested applicants to arrive at the centre only after receiving a text message to collect their passports. "Because of limited operations, the process may take longer. We request your understanding," it said.

Last week, the IVAC announced the closure of all visa centres in the country until further notice due to the unstable situation after the fall of the Hasina-led Awami League government, Somoy TV news channel reported.

From Monday, police officers returned to different police stations and traffic police personnel also went back to work.

The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education also instructed primary schools to resume classes after a month of closure, the bdnews24.com news portal reported.