Dhaka (AsiaNews) - Theft of land, sectarian attacks, unpunished rapes, forced conversions: these are, according to some experts, the main causes of the "disappearance" of the Hindus of Bangladesh, who from 28% of the total population, are now less of 8.5%.
It is an exodus that concerns even politics, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asking the community to "not abandon the motherland." But the appeal, denounce human rights activists, "clashes with the reality on the ground. Hindus are leaving because they have no security in the country".
The data was presented by Sanatan Moitree Sangha, an organization for the human rights of Hindus founded in 1947, the year in which the boundaries of the current state of Bangladesh were established with the partition between Pakistan and India. It reports that the number of followers of Hinduism has plummeted and "continues to fall day after day." Once a quarter of the population, today they represent a minority, one that is less and less protected.
Speaking yesterday to mark Janmashtami (the Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Krishna), Prime Minister Hasina appealed to Hindus to remain in Bangladesh: "It is your home, you were born here, and here you have rights. We want a country free from sectarian violence and that guarantees freedom for all, but to get it we have to work together".
This appeal, denounce social activists, does not reflect reality. According to well-known blogger Aziz Rafiq "Hindus are leaving because they have no protection and this is because, when they suffer injustice, they do not get justice." Swpon Kumar Roy, a lawyer, tells AsiaNews: "The State has failed to give us the guarantees that we are entitled to. Few of us convert to Islam, but most simply move to India".
