Oppression of Hindus increased in Bangladesh in 2019 in comparison with that of 2018, a Bangladesh Jatiya Hindu Mahajote report said on Thursday 02/01.
Hindu Mahajote made the report public at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity in the capital where its general secretary Gobinda Chandra Dev said that Hindus faced a total of 683 attacks across the country in which 31,505 people of the religious minority group were affected.
He said that a total of 108 Hindus were killed and 484 injured in 2019 but the number of deaths and injuries were 88 and 347 respectively in 2018.
The report was prepared on the basis of reports published on different newspapers and news received from different units of the organisation as well as its self-investigation after getting information through social media, he said.
He said that 79 business establishments of Hindu community were attacked, 434 families were evicted, 641 families were threatened to leave the country and 2,261 families suffered for lack of security in 2019 and the number was 35, 271, 223 and 1,510 respectively in 2018.
Gobinda said that a total of 9,507.00 acres of lands belonging to the Hindu community were grabbed in 2019, almost triple than 2734.81 acres in 2018.
The country witnessed a total of 153 incidents of attacks, vandalism and setting fire to Hindu temples in 2019. The number was 131 in 2018.
The attacks on and setting fire to Hindu houses were increased four times in 2019 than that of 2018. 448 houses were attacked and torched in 2019 and the number was 108 in 2018, the report said.
It said that 36 Hindu freedom fighters were labelled with ‘Razakars’ and they would have to suffer for long for the reason.
Gobinda demanded that the date for two Dhaka city elations should be changed from January 30 as Saraswati puja will be observed on the day.
The Mahajote leaders demanded separate elections in 50 reserved seats in parliament and formation of minority ministry and a cabinet minister from Hindu community.
Leaders of the Mahajote, BB Goshwami, Pradip Kumar Paul, Bijoy Krishna Bhattachrya and others attended the press conference.
Source: New Age Bangladesh