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HVK Archives: Minorities in Bangladesh

Minorities in Bangladesh - The Organiser

Raman Bando ()
16 February 1997

Title : Minorities in Bangladesh
Author : Raman Bando
Publication : The Organiser
Date : February 16, 1997

I am mentioning just one case out of an unending list of continuing
atrocities. persecution and victimisation of religious minorities
in Islamic Bangladesh under successive governments and the
fundamentalist non-government organisations.

Lalit Kumar Ghose fiat the owner of property comprising a land area
of 15/16 bighas with a two-storey building, a Durga temple two
pucca tanks for pisciculture and fruit orchard. He had also
inherited an agricultural land area of 84 bighas in Sholakura,
Sujanagar.

The Hindu families in the area were continually being persecuted by
the Muslims under the leadership of one Kazi Shamsur Rahman and
most of the families were forced to abandon their ancestral homes
for safety and security of their lives and properties. In many
cases, the Hindus were forced to dispose of their properties at a
give away price. Shri Ghose was also under continuous persecution
and pressure as such to dispose of his property. Since the attempt
to dispossess his ancestral home had failed, his two minor daughter
were kidnapped by the Muslims. The girls we re later rescued
following the arrest' of four persons.

When the case of kidnapping came before the Upazilla Magistrate
court at Sujanagar for hearing on 16 June 1994, a big crowd, the
Muslim leaders, including Moqbul Hussain (brother-in-law of the
then Bangladeshi President H.M. Ershad). threatened Lalit Ghose to
face dire consequences if he did not withdraw the case. The
accused were released on bail and Shri Ghose was instantly
challenged to withdraw the case and leave Bangladesh at once with
his family. as otherwise the whole family will be killed. Thus the
family was forced to flee from their ancestral home under the cover
of darkness and took shelter in a hotel at Pabna town. The Deputy
Commissioner or the Police could not provide any security for the
unfortunate Hindu family.

Curiously, the world power and the high profile human rights
organisations are dubiously silent when any atrocities are
perpetrated by the Muslims towards the Hindus and other minorities
in Bangladesh. At the most, they will offer you only lip-service.

The Government of India, instead of any drastic action to abate the
atrocities and save the section of the compatriots, who were thrown
to the wolves in 1947, are only indulging Pakistan and Bangladesh
to continue gross violation of human rights, through misdeed and
appeasement of Muslims. We have recently witnessed the team led by
the Indian Foreign Secretary, I.K. Gujral miserably, failing in
their recent visit in Bangladesh by not including two most relevant
issues, e.g, gross violation of human rights and continuing
emigration in mass scale from Bangladesh to India.

Since Lalit Kumar Ghose was running from one authority to another
for help and redress the Pabna Deputy Commissioner office staff.
Yasin Ali and other Muslim leaders started harrassing him and
pressurising him to give away his property for an insignificant sum
of Rupees 1,65.000 only (less than 1 per cent of the normal price).

Lalit Kumar Ghose is a dedicated nationalist, a Mukti Yoddha (a
freedom fighter in 1971). He is a diploma Engineer. He was a
Bangladesh Government servant. Now that Bangladesh is an Islamic
country he has now forfeited his right to stay in his own ancestral
home as a Hindu under Islamic subjugation. He has lost his
ancestral home, lost his big property, lost his government job, he
has lost his very identity as a Bangladeshi; what a great reward
for a Hindu Mukti-yoddha in Bangladesh!



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