The news for Hindus has been gloomy in recent times. Be it the Muslim majority areas of Bharat or the BJP ruled states, Hindus have found no respite from intimidation, violence and the suppression of their festivals. In recent days, Bangladesh has also become a source of much pain for Hindus. The attacks in Bangladesh on Hindus started in multiple cities last week and have taken many lives till now. The attacks continue in the Chittagong/Chattogram division of Bangladesh and Noakhali is again in news.

The attacks in Feni

Today, grim news is coming from Feni about attacks on Hindu houses, businesses and temples. In a series of events mirroring the partition violence, the night attacks have terrorised Hindus.

There were multiple reports of temple attacks at Feni yesterday night. We have put a few of these below.

Hindus of Bangladesh

Hindus formed about 30% of the population of the region before the partition of 1947. Under the Pakistani rule, it came down significantly to 18% in 1961 and after the war of 1971, about 13% in 1974. This is simply due to the Hindu genocides Islamists perpetrated during the 1971 war and resulting mass migration to Bharat.

Even after 1971, the situation continues to be pathetic for Hindus of Bangladesh and the country is currently home to about 1.4 crore Hindus making up about 8% of the population. The share of Hindus coming down to about one third of the share in 1951 has never been the subject of news. In contrast Muslims of Bharat, who have increased their population from 10% in 1951 to about 15% in 2021, are regularly painted as oppressed!

The Islamist gameplan

The Islamist gameplan is simple enough if one observes the actions and ignores the noise. All over the world, Muslims are extraordinarily organised. This keeps an illiterate Muslims of a remote village in Bharat abreast with the issues of Muslims in faraway places. This organisation is also used as muscle power in the street and bargaining power in democratic politics.

The end goal of Islamism is world domination. This much has been clear since the seventh century. However, modern age has given global Islamists the tools to closely coordinate their actions. It is well understood by them that world domination can be achieved only be step by step occupation and conversion of territories exclusive Muslim lands. This is what we are witnessing in Kairana, Kashmir and in Bangladesh. Hindus are being terrorised to leave their homelands and convert the area into an exclusive Islamic land. The economic benefit of capturing Hindu owned property is the topping on the cake. What would Hindu residents of Feni and nearby areas do if this continues ? Easy enough to answer.

Hasina’s ultimatum

In the meanwhile the supreme leader of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, has given an ultimatum to the Hindus of Bharat. “We expect that nothing happens there (in India), which could influence any situation in Bangladesh affecting our Hindu community here… they (India) have to be aware that such incidents should not take place there which would have an impact on Bangladesh, and the Hindus in our country face attacks”, Hasina said in an interaction.

In effect, this is a polite way of saying that if any Muslim faces any inconvenience in Bharat, the revenge will be taken in Bangladesh. This is the hostage population theory pioneered by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and adopted by the Muslim League during partition. According to them, it would have kept Hindus safe in Pakistan and Muslims safe in Bharat. In practice, Muslims flourished in Bharat while Hindus were ethnically cleansed in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Bharat’s inaction

However, Bharat’s Hindus never raised their voice for their brethren in neighbouring countries with any consistency or organisation. In the same village where almost every Muslim would be able to explain about the situation in Palestine from a Muslim point of view, one would probably not find a single Hindu, who can explain about Hindus of Bangladesh.

This apathy reflects in the stand of the government too. Despite the continuing attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, government said, “We note that the government of Bangladesh has reacted promptly to ensure control of the situation, including the deployment of law enforcement machinery.” Contrast that with the recent statement over the attack on a Shia Mosque in Afghanistan, saying “India strongly condemns the terrorist attack on a Shia Mosque in Kunduz, Afghanistan in which more than 100 Afghans were reported to have lost lives and several others injured.” The reasons for this need to be pondered by all right thinking Hindus.

Remembering Rama’s policy

At this juncture, it is important that we remember what Bhagwan Rama did when he was faced with a hostile Samudra not letting him cross over. A pacifist by nature, he ultimately threatened the Samudra with annihilation to get his objective.

There is no doubt that Bangladesh stands nowhere in capabilities in comparison to Bharat. However, having the power and using the power are two different things. By definition, power is used in self interest, but the Bharatiya state has not yet clearly defined who the “own people” are. An attempt was made in the CAA law, which has not been made effective as of now. Building upon that, Bharat should tell Bangladesh in strict terms that if Hindus are not protected, it can invite negative consequences.

Despite the size of our country, the influence of Bharat has been quite limited even in its neighbourhood. Much of this is due to the desire to be seen as nice guys. Unfortunately, the real world forces tough choices on a nation. The leaders of Bharat should remember that truth and understand that their inaction would have catastrophic consequences for the Hindu minorities in other countries.