A global advocacy organization, Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA), has reached out to members of the US Congress regarding the increasing violence against Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh under the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus. The organization highlighted a significant surge in violence towards minorities since mid-December in Bangladesh, surpassing the already escalating trend from the previous year.
On December 18th, a 27-year-old Hindu garment worker named Dipu Chandra Das was brutally lynched in Mymensingh following allegations of blasphemy. His body was subjected to a horrific public display, including being hung on a tree, beaten, and set on fire, all captured in a widely circulated video. Bangladeshi authorities reportedly found no evidence to support the blasphemy accusations, with footage revealing that the police themselves handed Das over to the mob, exposing institutional bias against minorities.
In another incident the following day in Khulna, a poor Hindu rickshaw puller named Gobinda Biswas was attacked and beaten by a mob who accused him of being an Indian agent due to wearing a red thread on his wrist, a sacred symbol for Hindus. The organization emphasized how such acts of violence create a climate of fear that silences entire communities, instilling terror that hinders daily activities like work or leaving homes.
CoHNA pointed out that attacks on local media in Bangladesh have resulted in significant under-reporting of violence in the country. Since the political turmoil of August 2024 and the subsequent instability post the removal of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, human rights reports have warned about the recurring cycles of mob violence, dissemination of false information, and the failure to safeguard Hindu and other minority groups in Bangladesh.
The organization further highlighted that Bangladeshi Hindu leaders advocating for their rights face state-led targeting. It referenced the case of Chinmoy Krishna Das, a prominent Hindu leader and spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilito Sanatani Jagaran Jot, who has been in detention since November 25, 2024, on what CoHNA described as fabricated charges, and has been denied basic rights such as bail.
CoHNA has urged members of the US Congress to denounce the lynching incidents and the broader trend of violence against religious minorities in Bangladesh, encompassing Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, and Ahmadiyya communities. The organization has also called for US Department of State intervention to demand accountability and protection for minorities, and to engage with Dhaka through diplomatic channels. Additionally, CoHNA has appealed to Congressional leaders to push Yunus and his interim government to take concrete measures to prevent further mistreatment of minorities throughout Bangladesh.
