GUWAHATI
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday (December 10, 2024) expressed deep concern over the ongoing persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh.
Insisting that nations founded on religious extremism could not ensure the safety of their minority communities, he expressed the hope that countries such as Pakistan would learn secularism from India.
“The ongoing atrocities in Bangladesh have deeply pained us. The ruthless persecution of the minority Hindu community in an Islamic nation has opened our eyes,” he told journalists.
The Chief Minister said Bangladesh followed Pakistan in perpetrating such atrocities.
“This proves that countries founded on religious extremism or where people take extreme steps in the name of religion cannot ensure the safety of their minority communities. Today, India has set a remarkable example of secularism. I hope countries like Pakistan learn from India,” Mr. Sarma said.
“What is happening to Hindus in Bangladesh should alert all of us. We cannot be safe in a society whose foundation is based on fundamentalism. India is the best example of secularism,” he posted on his official handle on social media platform X earlier.
Mr. Sarma called for vigilance against religious fundamentalism while underscoring India’s commitment to secularism and the protection of minority rights.
His statement followed viral videos featuring a retired Bangladesh Army officer claiming that the country’s military was capable of capturing Assam and Kolkata in four days with the support of three million Bangladeshis.
On Tuesday, an organisation called Lok Jagaran Mancha, Assam wrote to Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser to the interim government of Bangladesh, to express “strong resentment against the atrocities being committed by Islamic extremists” on Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh.
The organisation cited several international laws on human rights being violated in Bangladesh, and said the silence of the interim government indicated complicity with the Islamists in the atrocities committed against religious minorities, including the alleged expulsion of Hindus from their jobs due to their religion.
