Bangladesh A Secular Country, We Cherish Religious Harmony: Sheikh Hasina

In an interview with ANI ahead of her visit to India, Sheikh Hasina, however, contended that extremism was not limited to her country as many countries, including India, were witnessing it.

Seeking to assure the predominantly Hindu minorities in her country and the global community at large, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that her government strongly supports secularism and any attempts to disturb communal harmony are immediately dealt with. 

In an interview with ANI ahead of her visit to India, Sheikh Hasina, however, contended that extremism was not limited to her country as many countries, including India, were witnessing it. She said one of the reasons for the rising extremism was social media, which had become "very very bad nowadays". 

"As long as we are in power, we always give importance to that and I always tell them (the minority) that you are our citizens. You should own our country. But some incidents sometimes take place but immediately we take action. It is sometimes, it happened, it's very unwanted situation but you know very well it is not only Bangladesh, even India also sometimes minorities suffered," she said. 

There have been reports about attacks and hostility against the minority Hindu population in Bangladesh. Some reports have mentioned attacks on Durga Puja pandals or places of worship. Sheikh Hasina, however, said that it was important that countries show magnanimity, when asked about incidents of attacks on the Hindu minority population.