SIMILARITIES IN THE PLIGHT OF TIBETANS AND HINDUS IN BANGLADESH – N.S.Venkataraman
In the last four months after toppling of Sheik Hasina government on August by a new regime in Bangladesh , attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh appear to have become the order of the day. Not a day passes without media reporting that some temples have been attacked or some Hindus have been beaten up and so on.
Hate campaign against Hindus in Bangladesh
As it appears now, the hate campaign against Hindus in Bangladesh has been allowed to go on by a government led by Mohammed Yunus , a Nobel prize winner . Recently, the Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Prabhu has been arrested on sedition charges . Later on, two more Hindu monks have been arrested .
Now, there has been demand that Iskcon , an organisation to promote the Hindu culture and philosophy operating in Bangladesh, should be banned immediately.
The above developments clearly indicate that some Islamic extremists harbouring huge animosity against Hindus are behind this “exterminate the Hindus in Bangladesh” campaign.
Dwindling population of Hindus in Bangladesh :
In the year 1947, Hindus constituted around 23% of the population in Bangladesh. Now, the Hindu population has shrunk to 8% , as many Hindus have left Bangladesh with their families to go to India and other countries. Obviously, the Islamic extremists and some misguided students in Bangladesh do not seem to be satisfied with the declining Hindu population trend and want it to decline further.
Plight of Hindus no different from Tibetans
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The ground reality in Bangladesh is that the Hindus live in fear and are frustrated and feel helpless. They really do not know as to whether they would get effective and sympathetic support from other countries and from civilized people belonging to various religions across the world.
In short, the plight of Hindus in Bangladesh today is no different from the plight of Tibetans when China entered Tibet and occupied the country around seven decades ago . While Tibetans resisted the Chinese invasion in the then Tibet that had no worthwhile army , China massacred the protesting Tibetans and China is now sitting pretty ruling Tibet with an iron curtain. Many Tibetans have left Tibet as refugees to other parts of the world including India.
The similarity in the plight of Tibetans and Hindus in Bangladesh is that the world conscience virtually remain silent and has not taken note of the plight of Tibetans and the plight of Hindus in Bangladesh.
Will India deal with Bangladesh Hindus and Tibetans in the same way ?
For Tibet, India is a neighbouring country and India is a neighouring country for Bangladesh also. When China occupied Tibet, India did not protest and just remained silent and later on went to the extent of recognizing Tibet as part of China. Certainly, this was a historic mistake on the part of India and history will not forgive India for its recalcitrant attitude towards the plight of Tibetans.
Unlike the case of Tibetans who were attacked by another country namely China, in the case of Hindus in Bangladesh, the attack seem to be carried out by Bangladesh government itself by keeping its eyes closed to the attack and vicious campaign against Hindus in Bangladesh by Islamic extremists.
However, the feeling of helplessness of Tibetans and Hindus in Bangladesh are just similar in extent and intensity.
In the case of Bangladesh Hindus too, India has expressed only lip sympathy so far, just in the case it did for the suffering Tibetans earlier. Though government of India has protested to Bangladesh government and insisted that it should protect minority Hindus there, government of India appears to be unwilling or hesitant to go beyond this verbal protest.
Difference in approach of Muslims and Hindus / Tibetans
In contrast to the reaction of the Hindus in Bangladesh and Tibetans , one should recall the protests by the Muslims all over the world when Prophet Mohammed was criticized in some European countries earlier.
This shows that Tibetans who traditionally believe in peaceful co existence and are wedded to Buddhist philosophy of non violence and Hindus in Bangladesh who too share such values like Tibetans, have become whipping boys, unlike the muslims who vigorously defended their cause.
What future now ?
The question now is will the future of Bangladesh Hindus become as uncertain as the future of Tibetans still living in Tibet and in other parts of the world .
In any case , United Nations Organisaiton, which is supposed to be a peace keeping body, is conspicuous by silence and has reduced itself to the level of mere observer ,as far as the plight of Tibetans and Bangladesh Hindus are concerned.
Ultimately, it appears that the world would always be controlled by the aggressors , extremists and violent prone groups. This is a sad scenario indeed.
