Violence against ethnic and religious minorities continues in Bangladesh. The latest incident saw Radhapada Roy, a well-known octogenarian Hindu poet, sent to the hospital. Members of Bangladesh’s cultural community took to the streets to demand justice, uniting Christians, Hindus, and Muslims.
Dhaka (AsiaNews) – Yesterday, around a hundred people took to Shahbagh Generation Square in Dhaka to condemn a recent attack on a well-known Hindu poet.
On 30 September, Radhapada Roy was assaulted by two Muslim men in Madhaikhal, the rural village where he lives in northern Bangladesh.
This is the latest in a series of acts of violence against members of the country’s ethnic and religious minorities, mostly Christian and Hindu, that often go unpunished.
Several attacks have been reported recently against people in the world of culture, especially poets who sing their works, like Roy.
Radhapada Roy, 80, was fishing near his home when, suddenly, Rafiqul Islam and his brother Kadur Rahman cruelly hit him in the head, neck and back.
The poet was seriously injured and is still recovering at the Nageshwari Health Complex.
His son, Jugal Roy, told police that about six months ago there was an argument between his father and Rafiqul Islam, who lives in a nearby village.
“For an argument over money a few months ago, Rafiqul threatened my father with revenge. The other day he brutally beat him even though my father is very old. It's really awful," said Jugal who filed a complaint against the attackers.
Some witnesses report that while Rofiqul was beating the old man with a bamboo stick, he said: "Nothing will happen if I beat a Hindu poet."
The attack shook Bangladesh’s artistic community, with many artists getting together to organise yesterday's rally to condemn violence against poet Radhapada Roy.
Amit Ranjan Dey, a Hindu and secretary-general of the Udichi Central Parliament (UCP), strongly condemned the attack on the poet, who is also very popular.
"Repeated attacks on minority groups, including Hindus, go unpunished for years. This gives the attackers the courage to beat even an elderly poet,” said Ranjan Dey, who called for exemplary punishment for those involved.
Badiur Rahman, a Muslim and president of the Udichi Central Parliament, said the entire country condemned the brutal attack on an elderly poet.
Several Christian writers and poets also spoke out against the attack on Radhapada Roy, including Vincent Khokon Corraya, a writer, poet and president of the Bangladesh Christian Writers' Forum.
"He writes poetry, composes songs and sings those poems and songs to the people of the village,” Corraya told AsiaNews, shocked and saddened by the attack on Roy.
Roy “is a good person, and has suffered barbaric violence. This is not a good sign. I strongly protest this incident and demand exemplary punishment for the culprits," he added.