Hindus in Muslim-majority Bangladesh rally to demand protection from attacks

Thousands of minority Hindus in Bangladesh demand protection from attacks and harassment, sparking protests and international concern.

Tens of thousands of minority Hindus rallied on Friday (November 1, 2024) to demand that the interim government in Muslim-majority Bangladesh protect them from a wave of attacks and harassment and drop sedition cases against Hindu community leaders.

About 30,000 Hindus demonstrated at a major intersection in the southeastern city of Chattogram chanting slogans demanding their rights while police and soldiers guarded the area. Other protests were reported elsewhere in the country.

Hindu groups say thousands of attacks against Hindus have happened since early August when the secular government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was overthrown and Ms. Hasina fled the country following a student-led uprising. Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel peace laureate named to lead an interim government after Ms. Hasina's downfall, says those figures have been exaggerated.

Hindus make up about 8% of the country's nearly 170 million people, while Muslims are about 91%.

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The country’s influential minority group Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council has said that there have been more than 2,000 attacks on Hindus since Aug. 4, as the interim government has struggled to restore order.

U.N. Human Rights officials and other rights groups have expressed concern over human rights in the country under Mr. Yunus.