Author: Farid Hossain
Publication: The Telegraph
Date: October 22, 2001
Growing violence against the minority
community has forced thousands of families to flee their homes in Bangladesh,
according to human rights groups and newspaper reports today.
In spite of Prime Minister Begum
Khaleda Zia's assurance of security, there have been more reports of vandalising
and looting of Hindu homes and smashing of idols of the goddess Durga.
Newspapers published photos of young
Hindu women who have been molested during attacks on their homes reportedly
by supporters of Begum Zia's new coalition.
Denying the charges, Khaleda Zia's
government has said reports of anti-Hindu violence have been "baseless,
exaggerated and politically motivated".
Home minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury
said in a speech yesterday that he has been scouring the country for incidents
of anti-Hindu attacks.
But the rights groups said many
persecuted families have fled to India. In many cases, men have stayed
back, sending women out to either far off villages or towns or to India.
"The minority Hindus have suffered
harrowing torture, including rape of teenage girls, by gangs of supporters
of the new government," Rokeya Kabir, head of Nari Pragati Sangha, a leading
women's rights group, said.
Volunteers of Kabir's group visited
dozens of predominantly Hindu villages in seven districts in the past two
weeks. "Our volunteers have met families whose women were raped. Many of
them would not speak out for fear of more attacks," Kabir said. She told
the tale of torture on Shefali Rani, a village council member at Agailjhara
in Barisal district.
"Terrorists attacked and ransacked
Shefali's home on October 2. They beat her up and then gang-raped her,"
Kabir said. Rani has since fled to Ramshil village in Gopalganj district,
the home region of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Several thousand
Hindu families have taken shelter in this region.
Anil Kumar Shil, a farmer, told
another news conference that his teenage daughter was raped by a gang of
Zia's supporters in a recent attack. The family has travelled to Dhaka
from the northern district of Sirajganj.
The Hindus have been targeted on
the charge of supporting Sheikh Hasina's Awami League party in the October
1 parliamentary elections. The polls were swept by Zia's four-party alliance
that includes two Islamic fundamentalist parties, Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami
Unity Council.
Hindus, Buddhists and Christians
account for nearly 10 million of the country's 75 million registered voters.
Hindus, the largest minority group, have traditionally supported Hasina's
party for its secular policies and close relations with India.
"Bangladesh is a country of religious
harmony free from communalism," Begum Zia said in a televised speech on
Friday, her first since winning the elections.
Promising security to Hindus, Zia
warned the nation against "those who want to create division in this country
of excellent religious harmony".
Local newspapers have reported incidents
of more violence. On Sunday, Matribhumi reported that Hindus have sent
their young women out of their villages after attacks by supporters of
Zahiruddin Swapan, a lawmaker from Zia's party, charges he has denied.
