Hello all! Welcome to my blog once again. The sentimental war that has been happening in Bangladesh between the Hindu Bangladeshi and the Muslim community may not be known by some of you reading this.

Ever since the Indian prime minister Mr. Narendra Modi’s visit, the life of Bangladeshi Hindus is miserable out there. Read further to know why.

HINDUISM IN BANGLADESH AFTER PARTITION

Hinduism is the second-largest religion that Bangladesh follows. Approximately out of 149.77 million people population 12.73 million are Hindus which makes Bangladesh the third largest country to have a vast population of Hindus, just after India and Nepal.

In nature, Bangladeshi Hindus reflect the Hindu norms and culture of the west Bengali Hindus, an Indian neighboring state of Bangladesh. West Bengal and Bangladesh were unite until the partition of India in 1947.

HINDUISM IN BANGLADESH:

In Bangladesh, common Hindu beliefs such as ritual bathing, taking vows, pilgrimage or journey to sacred mountains, rivers, and shrines are standard practices.

People celebrate festivals like Durga- puja with much passion in Bangladesh. It is one of the most important festivals for Bangladeshi Hindus. To mark the celebration of this festival, people setup pandals and mandaps in every town or city.

The principle of “ahimsa”, which means not eating beef, is prevalent among the Bangladeshi Hindus just like other Hindus of different countries in South Asia. However, eating fish, chicken or mutton is not a bad omen or against the “Hindu dharma”.

The brahmans among the Bangladeshi Hindus also eat fish, chicken and mutton just like the Hindus of West Bengal, resembling the alikeness of both nations.

EVENT OF INDIAN PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI VISIT

Indian prime minister Mr. Narendra Modi visits Bangladesh to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence, for two days. It was his first foreign visit since the pandemic. The Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Nepal leaders were all guests of honor.

Accompanied by the Bangladeshi military personnel and his security guard Mr. Modi planted a sapling during his visit to the national martyr’s memorial. Mr. Modi also visited the national parade. He then awarded Gandhi peace prize 2020 to Bangladesh’s father of the nation, Late Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Sheikh’s daughters received the award. PM Modi also recalls his struggles during the Bangladeshi independence. He said he was just 20-22 years old during the liberation and how he and his colleagues did satyagraha for Bangladesh’s freedom. He then referred to the people of Bangladesh as brothers and sisters of the Indian army.

WHY THE INDIAN PRIME MINISTER VISITED BANGLADESH TWO WEEK BACK

On the occasion of the completion of the 50 years of Bangladesh and Indian relationship, PM Modi invited 50 entrepreneurs of Bangladesh to India and announced the Swarna Jayanti scholarship for youths of Bangladesh.

Later, that day Mr. prime minister also wrote in the visitor’s diary. He wrote, “I pay my heartfelt tribute to the patriotic martyrs of Bang whose glorious sacrifices enabled the birth of this great nation.

Their courage will continue to inspire future generations to fight injustice and defend the cause of righteousness. On behalf of the people of India, I pray that the eternal flame at Saver remains a lasting reminder of the noble victory of truth and courage over deceit and oppression”.

Later that day, PM Modi also mentioned proudly how Indian COVID-19 vaccines are helping the people of Bangladesh and how he is so gratified with the “make in India” campaign.

CONSIQUENCES OF THE VISIT?

Bangladesh hoped that inviting the Indian prime minister would be memorable in a positive way, but it was not acceptable to the anti-Modi protesters.

Critics of India and other parts of Asia have accused PM Modi’s nationalist party (Bhartiya Janta Party) to be politically and socially polarized towards Hindus and discriminating against the minorities, especially Muslims.

The majority of Bangladesh Muslims are against Mr Modi’s visit and are criticizing Ms Hasina, the current president of Bangladesh, for inviting him.

A group of Muslim protesters started protesting against Modi on the 26th march after the evening prayers. These protests then spread to other parts of the country.

ACTION TAKEN BY THE AUTHORITY OF BANGLADESH

Soon, the police came into action and started calming down the protesters. But the protesters were in no condition to stop. Therefore, to control the situation, police began using batons, tear gas and rubber bullets. The state was getting worse and worse, which lead to the death of 12 protesters.

After this, an Islamist group in Bangladesh known as Hefazt-e-Islam called for a nationwide shut down on March 28th. The shutdown was demanded to protest against the attacks on those who held the rallies against Mr Modi’s visit. The measures taken by the police were of no use.

The protesters then started to destroy trains, buses and government buildings. Not only this, the protesters began damaging Hindu properties. They started sabotaging the Hindu homes, Hindu properties and their business. Hindu temples are being vandalized, and cows are being slaughtered to hurt the sentiments of Hindus.

WHY WERE THEY PROTESTING?


The protesters were mainly student Islamists. These students of religious schools are madrassas. The protesters also included left-wing groups.

They all together opposed the visit of Mr. Narendra Modi to Bangladesh. They protested against him with the accusation of pursuing anti-Muslim policies.

They protested against the security forces and the police for mercilessly attacking the protesters. A group of renowned citizens and activists demanded justice for the dead protesters.

Despite the good relations between India and Bangladesh, there has always been an “anti-India” sentiment among the people of Bangladesh. By this, they don’t mean that they hate India or the people of India, but the prime minister of India.

Ever since BJP came into power in 2014, the “anti-India” sentiments turned into more of an “anti-Modi” one. This sentiment is established because the Bangladeshi Muslims sees Modi as a controversial and discriminatory person.

It is believed that Mr. Modi is always against the Muslim minorities. In addition to this, every policy he announces is always targeted towards the Muslim community.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, we can say the “anti-Modi” sentiments led to the protests against Modi, which turned out to be a disaster as the security forces were compelled to take significant steps. These essential steps resulted in the death of at least 12 protesters and several other causalities.

This further led to protests demanding justice for the dead, and, later, this turned out to be a catastrophe for the Hindu Bangladeshis who are still suffering from the vast riots.

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