Washington: Raising concern over what he described as a worsening situation for religious minorities in Bangladesh, Indian American Congressman Suhas Subramanyam said that Hindus and other minority communities are facing targeted violence and that the government in Dhaka has not done enough to protect them.
“From an American perspective, we wanna make sure that people who visit Bangladesh aren’t going to face any form of violence or backlash any sort of way because of their ethnicity or background or religion,” Subramanyam told IANS in an interview. “In this case, we’ve seen now multiple incidents of Hindus specifically being attacked in Bangladesh,” he said.
The Virginia Democrat said the attacks go beyond isolated incidents and reflect a broader pattern since the current government came to power. “We are concerned that the government is not doing enough to protect minorities in Bangladesh,” he said, adding that Washington would need to assess how Dhaka intends to respond.
Subramanyam said the violence has included attacks on religious sites, businesses, and individuals. “We’ve seen Hindu and other religious monuments and sites attacked and defaced. We’ve seen businesses attacked and defaced that belong to Hindus and other religious minorities,” he said. “And now we’re seeing people attacked and killed in several instances.”
Acknowledging that political transitions can be volatile, Subramanyam said the scale and persistence of the violence were troubling. “We understand that sometimes there are changes in governments and regimes, and that there’s often a lot of violence that follows that when it’s not a democratic process,” he said. “But in this case, this has been happening since the government took over.”
He said members of the Bangladeshi American community in the United States are increasingly alarmed. “I have a lot of Bangladeshi American constituents who are both Hindu and Muslim and other religions, and they are concerned about what’s going on in Bangladesh,” Subramanyam said. “They have family there, and they want us to try to figure out how we can protect minorities there moving forward.”
The congressman said the United States should continue to call out violence and hate crimes, even as it considers possible diplomatic steps. “We’re gonna keep weighing some of our options in the US as to what we can do to make sure people are protected there, regardless of their background or religion or race,” he said. “But certainly in the meantime, we have to call out acts of hate and acts of violence.”
Asked whether Washington could pressure Dhaka on the issue, Subramanyam said such efforts would require bipartisan cooperation. “It could. We’ll see what happens, though,” he said. “We’ll have to work in a bipartisan way on something like this.”
He added that the Trump administration currently holds significant diplomatic leverage. “Certainly the Trump administration has most of the sort of diplomatic power right now to put pressure on Bangladesh,” he said. “We’ll see what they do as well.”
With Bangladesh headed toward elections, Subramanyam expressed concern about whether minorities would be able to participate freely. “We would want to see a free and fair election where the voice of every citizen is taken into account,” he said. “We’re concerned about the election process, given all that’s happened over the past couple of years.”
He said Washington ultimately wants to work with any legitimately elected government. “From an American perspective, we wanna be able to work with any government that is successful in that election,” he said. “But we wanna make sure that that government represents the will of the people.”
Subramanyam also warned that rising anti-American sentiment and violence could damage bilateral ties. “It’s concerning, especially the anti-American sentiment and the violence,” he said, adding that such actions could “really hurt the relationship with the United States.”
Bangladesh has historically projected itself as a secular democracy with constitutional protections for minorities, even as human rights groups have periodically flagged concerns over political violence and religious intolerance. The country is a key US partner in South Asia, particularly on regional stability and counterterrorism.
Washington has previously used diplomatic engagement, public statements, and congressional scrutiny to raise concerns about human rights in Bangladesh, especially during election cycles, when minority safety and political freedoms tend to come under sharper focus.
(IANS)
