DHAKA (Reuters) – Hundreds of people protested in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Friday against violence targeting the country’s minority Hindus since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina quit and fled the country earlier this week.
A school teacher was killed and at least 45 people injured as homes, businesses, and temples of Hindus in Muslim-majority Bangladesh were targeted following Hasina’s resignation on Monday.
Protesters – some of them carrying posters demanding Bangladeshi minorities be “saved” – chanted slogans of “who are we, Bengali Bengali” and appealed for peace as they blocked an intersection in the capital on Friday.
Hindus, who make up about 8% of Bangladesh’s population of 170 million, have traditionally supported Hasina’s Awami League party, which sparked people’s anger after violent clashes between anti-quota protesters and security forces last month.
Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council estimates at least 52 of the country’s 64 districts have been impacted by communal violence since Aug. 5 and has sought the help of Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize winning economist who took charge as head of a caretaker administration on Thursday.
“There is deep apprehension, anxiety and uncertainty among minorities across the country,” the council said in an open letter on Friday.
The office of the United Nations Secretary General has said the violence in Bangladesh should be “tamped down”, adding it stands against any “racially based attacks” or “racially based incitement to violence”.
Thousands of Bangladeshi Hindus have been trying to flee to neighbouring India to escape the violence.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also appealed for the “safety and protection” of Hindus and Bangladesh’s other minorities in a message on X on Thursday.
In a televised address after he took the oath of office, Yunus said his government’s goal would be to ensure “democracy, justice, human rights, and full freedom of fearless expression” for all.
(Reporting by Ruma Paul and Ponir Hossain in Dhaka, Additional reporting by Tanvi Mehta in New Delhi; Writing by Sakshi Dayal; Editing by YP Rajesh and Gareth Jones)
