New Delhi: Bangladesh Chief Advisor’s Office Friday labelled India’s figure of 2,200 incidents of violence against Hindus and minorities in the neighbouring country in 2024 as “misleading” and “exaggerated”, while offering a very different figure.
“The figure is misleading and highly exaggerated. According to the independent human rights organisation Ain O Salish Kendra, the number of violent incidents against religious minorities in Bangladesh between January and November 2024 is 138, in which 368 houses were attacked and 82 people were injured,’ Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus’ press wing said in a post on the social media platform Facebook.
“The Interim Government of Bangladesh is investigating every reported incident and is committed to taking the perpetrators to book. At least 97 cases have been filed between August 4 and December 10, and 75 people were arrested for alleged attacks on religious minorities since August, according to police headquarters,” it added.
On Friday, Indian Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh had informed the Lok Sabha that, according to data collected from human rights organisations, a total of 2,200 cases of violence against Hindus and other minorities had been reported in Bangladesh between January 2024 and 8 December.
Singh added that there were 47 such incidents in 2022 and 302 such incidents in 2023.
Dhaka, on the other hand, claims only 138 incidents of violence against Hindus and other minorities were reported in Bangladesh this year, adding that most incidents occurred between 5 August and 8 August this year, when the country had no government in place.
The Chief Advisor’s press wing also said attacks against minorities were “political in nature” and not communal, a position which Yunus has publicly stated a few times.
The interim government in Bangladesh has consistently blamed India for engaging in propaganda over the number of attacks witnessed by religious minorities in the country since August, when long-time prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted from office.
For India, the safety and welfare of Hindus and other minorities of Bangladesh has been an important issue, which New Delhi has also raised with Dhaka. On 9 December, foreign secretary Vikram Misri spoke about the same with Yunus as well as his counterpart during the foreign office consultations held in Dhaka. Misri underlined that India is keen to build mutually beneficial ties with the new regime in the neighbouring country.
On 5 August, Hasina was ousted from office and fled to India, where she remains.
source : theprint