Bangladesh, the country that witnessed chaos on various fronts in the recent months, has got another pressing issue to deal with as the demand to create a separate country for Hindus is gaining momentum.
Banga Sena, also known as Bengal Army, has demanded that six districts – Khulna, Faridpur, Jessore, Kushtia, Barisal and Patuakhali – should be given to Hindus for they want to have a country of their own out of Bangladesh for secured life.
The call to have ‘Hindudesh’ has got strengthened amid the on-going atrocities against the minority community in the recent past. According to reports, hundreds of Hindus have suffered attacks as their homes and business establishments were attacked and looted soon after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country following students’ protest.
However, Muhammad Yunus, the Chief Adviser to Bangladesh interim government, said the incidents related to the community were being “exaggerated”, saying that the attacks on minorities in Bangladesh were more of political in nature than communal.
At the time of India’s partition, around 30 percent Hindus lived in the region, which used to be known as East Pakistan. By the time it became an independent nation – Bangladesh – in 1971, the percentage of Hindu population had come down to 13.50. According to the latest data, the community forms 7.95 percent of the total population of the country.
The Hindus declined in numbers as they were suppressed, and they were either killed, forcibly converted to Islam or made to flee the country.