Hindus leaving the country for lack of security: Gayeshwar

BNP standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy on Friday alleged that the Hindus, the largest religious minority in Bangladesh, are gradually leaving the country for lack of security.

 “People of all classes and professions, regardless of religion and caste, came together in 1971 to fight for the independence of the country holding a spirit that persecution, exploitation and discrimination against caste and religion by Pakistanis are not conducive to a healthy political state,” he said.

He, however, regretted that the members of the Hindus have gradually been leaving Bangladesh after independence.   

The BNP leader made the remarks while speaking at a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club arranged by the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Kalyan Front.

Gayeshwar, the chief advisor of the platform, said the Hindus are not now leaving the country by marching together in groups like in the 1964 riots. “But they‍‍`re leaving every day and we may not guess it. If we look at the statistics, we see that the number of Hindus is gradually decreasing.”

He said around 37% population of the territory of Bangladesh were Hindus in the 60s, but it has now come down to less than 10%. “That means the number of Hindus is decreasing gradually."

About the reasons for the exodus of the minority community, the BNP leader said Hindus lack social security and are being deprived of their civil rights enshrined in the constitution.

Besides, he also said the administration does not give much importance to the complaints of religious minorities.

"The administration does not monitor the rights and security issues of the minorities. The sad fact is that the people of the minority communities in Bangladesh are neglected everywhere, including the court and administration,” the BNP leader said.

Gayeshwar said many Hindus of the country choose India as their second home as they fear they may not be able to stay in their birthplace.  “They (Hindus) hold this mentality due to the failure of the administration and the state machinery. The state has failed to gain the trust of all communities that Bangladesh is for all of its citizens.”

In a written speech, Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Kalyan Front Chairman Bijon Kanti Sarker said the scenario of persecution of religious minorities presented in the letter of six US Congressmen to US President Joe Biden is actually even direr in reality.

"The issue of insecurity of minorities during the last 15 years is much more grievous than what has been depicted in the letter. Though it appears that a partial scenario was portrayed in the letter of the Congressmen, we think it is the expression of truth. That‍‍`s why we appreciate this initiative of the six US Congressmen."