PM Modi spoke to US Prez over atrocities on Hindus in B'desh; raises issue on int'l forum

Guwahati, Dec. 3: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken serious note of the atrocities on Hindu people in Bangladesh and India has taken up the issue with the Government of Bangladesh as well as in the international forum.

Sources in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) told The Assam Tribune that the Prime Minister is very much concerned over the situation. Modi had a telephone discussion with the President of the United States of America on the issue. Both the leaders are of the view that early restoration of normalcy in Bangladesh is important and the interim Government should ensure the safety and security of the minorities, particularly Hindus living in Bangladesh.

Sources said that as soon as the interim Government in Bangladesh took over, Modi spoke to the head of the interim Government Md Yunus and raised the issue of the safety of the minorities. Yunus had promised to take steps to ensure the safety of the minorities, but so far, he has not been able to keep his promise. Incidents of attacks on Hindus are taking place in Bangladesh regularly and the situation aggravated after the arrest of an ISKCON leader in that country.

On its part, the Ministry of External Affairs has also requested the Bangladesh Government to ensure the safety and security of the Hindus and other minority communities. The MEA also requested the Bangladesh government to ensure the protection of the places of religious worship of the people belonging to the minority communities.

It may be mentioned here that the minority communities are at the receiving end since the Sheikh Hasina regime was ousted and a caretaker Government headed by Nobel Laureate Md Yunus took over as the caretaker Government.

However, this was not the first instance of the minorities facing problems in Bangladesh and only the Awami League Government tried to give some kind of protection to the minority communities, particularly the Hindus. According to the records available, the Hindu population in Bangladesh is dwindling very fast. At the time of the partition of the country, the Hindu population in erstwhile East Pakistan was around 30 per cent and now the Hindu population in Bangladesh is only around 7.95 per cent.

- By R Dutta Choudhury