Washington: A leading global advocacy organisation, Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA), has expressed deep concern over the silence of international media and communities regarding the violence against Hindu minorities in Bangladesh.
The statement followed the mob lynching of a Hindu man, Dipu Chandra Das, on Thursday night in Bhaluka Upazila of Mymensingh district over blasphemy allegations of insulting Islam.
The organisation condemned the brutal incident, in which an Islamist mob lynched and killed Das, and then hung his body from a tree and set it on fire, warning that Bangladesh is “descending into a state of savagery,” with Hindus facing the brunt.
It also criticised the attack on diplomats and vandalism of the offices of media outlets, including The Daily Star and Prothom Alo, which have tried to “continue reporting on the expanding reign of Islamist terror”.
“Unsurprisingly, global institutions are stepping in to suppress and sanitise the religious bigotry driving this violence,” CoHNA stated.
The organisation criticised the international media for failing to report on Das despite numerous disturbing images and videos of the brutality.
It also noted that the United Nations Human Rights Commission and international human rights bodies have not addressed the killing of the Hindu youth, who was deprived of his basic human right to life.
“The UN Human Rights Commission issued a press release condemning the murder of an Islamist leader, but it too made no mention of Das or the persistent violence against minorities. Das lost his most basic human right — the right to life. But because he was Hindu, the UN and human rights groups will not even pretend to care about Das,” CoHNA stated.
The organisation further noted that the US Embassy in Dhaka has posted on X to condemn the death of the Islamist leader, but did not mention Das.
The CoHNA further said that in the weeks and months ahead, the commentators are likely to accuse those calling for justice for Das of being “Hindu Nationalists”, “Right-wing”, “Hindutva” or “agents of the Indian state”.
“Elite academics will deny Hinduphobia exists; mock us for asking for recognition of anti-Hindu hate; and accuse us of spreading divisiveness and misinformation. They will do this with confidence and credibility because of the deliberate omission of Das’ name and murder by the organisations supposed to be global custodians of public records,” the group said.
“In a few days, Dipu Chandra Das, murdered by Islamist radicals, will be forgotten by the world, mourned only by his destitute family. Our work in Bangladesh has repeatedly highlighted this pattern,” it added.
(IANS)
