Two Test cricket matches have been scheduled between India and Bangladesh. The first match is set to take place in Chennai on September 19th, 2024, and the second match in Kanpur on September 27th, 2024. This has caused deep outrage and concern. Playing cricket in this context feels akin to ‘Nero fiddling while Rome burned.’ The atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh continue unabated, with the lives of countless Hindus lost, and their places of worship desecrated. Even as the pyres of these innocent lives still burn, organizing such matches feels like a grave injustice, as though salt is being rubbed into the wounds of Hindus both in Bangladesh and elsewhere.
The situation of Hindus in Bangladesh remains alarming and continues to deteriorate. Amid political instability, the Hindu community faces frequent and violent attacks. Recently, a shocking and brutal incident occurred where a young Hindu man named Utsav Mandal was viciously assaulted by a Muslim mob inside a police station, allegedly for blasphemy. In this horrifying attack, both of his eyes were gouged out and crushed. Such acts of extreme violence, targeting Hindus, are happening openly in Bangladesh, demonstrating a growing climate of fear and persecution. The international community’s attention and action are urgently needed to address this ongoing crisis.
On September 10th, 2024, the Ministry of Home Affairs in Bangladesh issued a controversial fatwa targeting the minority Hindu population. It decreed that during the upcoming Durga Puja celebrations, the use of loudspeakers for prayers and rituals must be halted five minutes prior to the Muslim call to prayer (Azan) and the performance of Namaz in mosques. This directive has heightened concerns within the Hindu community, especially given the growing animosity towards Hindus under the interim government led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus. The judiciary, reportedly controlled by the radical Muslim group ‘Jamaat-e-Islami,’ offers no protection for Hindus, leaving them vulnerable and without recourse. The recent brutal attack on Utsav Mandal underscores the severity of the situation, with claims that police and military forces are complicit in the violence against Hindus.
The violent protests in Bangladesh in August 2024, originally sparked by opposition to reservation policies, quickly devolved into a brutal campaign of targeted violence against the Hindu community. Thousands of Hindu homes and hundreds of temples were ransacked, looted, and destroyed. The violence, which has tragically claimed the lives of around 230 people, spread across 52 of Bangladesh’s 64 districts, leaving the Hindu population in a state of fear and despair. The attacks intensified following the resignation of the Sheikh Hasina government, particularly in rural areas where Hindus have been left vulnerable and unprotected. This wave of violence is not an isolated incident; it echoes the ongoing history of religious persecution faced by Hindus in Bangladesh, further deepening the community’s insecurity, and highlighting the urgent need for international intervention.
We would like to bring the following critical issues to your attention
1. Vested Property Act (Enemy Property Act): From 1965 to 2006, nearly 2.6 million acres of Hindu-owned land were confiscated under this act, affecting approximately 1.2 million Hindu families. This policy specifically targeted the Hindu population, leaving many without homes or livelihoods.
2. Rise of Anti-Hindu extremism in the 1980s and 1990s: During this period, extremist movements against Hindus intensified. After the Babri structure demolition in Ayodhya in 1992, violent reactions in Bangladesh led to the burning of several Hindu temples, particularly in Chittagong and Dhaka.
3. Hindus targeted during the Bangladesh Liberation War: Hindus were specifically targeted by Pakistanis who blamed them for the secession of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). In 1951, Hindus made up 22% of the population in East Pakistan. By 1991, this had dropped to 15%, and by the 2011 census, it had further reduced to 8.5%. As of 2022, the Hindu population has fallen below 8%, while the Muslim population has grown from 76% in 1951 to over 91% in 2022.
4. Mass exodus due to persecution: According to the Hindu American Foundation, more than 11 million Hindus fled Bangladesh between 1964 and 2013 because of religious persecution. The 2011 census also highlighted the alarming disappearance of 1 million Hindus from Bangladesh’s population between 2000 and 2010.
5. Violence in 2016: From January to June 2016, widespread violence against Hindus resulted in the burning of 66 houses, injuries to 24 individuals, and the destruction of at least 49 temples.
Our Key Demands
1. Immediate cancellation of cricket matches and cultural programs: Until the safety of Hindus in Bangladesh is fully ensured, we demand the immediate cancellation of all scheduled cricket matches and cultural programs involving Bangladeshi artists. Continuing such events while atrocities against Hindus persist is deeply inappropriate and insensitive.
2. India’s strong response for Hindu protection: Just as Muslim-majority nations unite to protest, protect and defend their communities when Islam or Muslims face attacks anywhere in the world, India must adopt a similarly firm and united stance in protecting Hindus globally. The government should voice strong condemnation of the ongoing persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh.
3. Diplomatic pressure on Bangladesh: The Indian government must issue a stern warning to the Bangladeshi government, demanding an immediate halt to the violence, looting of homes, destruction of temples, desecration of idols, and atrocities against women. A failure to protect the Hindu community in Bangladesh should lead to further diplomatic consequences.
4. Security and compensation for affected Hindus: In response to the continuous violence, immediate efforts should be made to relocate affected Hindus to safer areas and ensure their security. The Government of India should demand financial compensation from the Bangladeshi authorities for the losses and damages suffered by the Hindu community due to these attacks.
5. Expulsion of illegal infiltrators: The presence of approximately 5 crore Bangladeshi infiltrators in India poses a significant security threat. The government must take urgent steps to identify and expel these illegal infiltrators to ensure the nation’s safety and stability.
A situation where jihadists in Bangladesh are openly committing atrocities against Hindus—killing them, burning their homes, desecrating their temples, seizing their land, and committing heinous crimes against Hindu women—while we continue to play cricket with them as if nothing is wrong, will not be tolerated. Inspired by the ideals of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the Hindu community will not stand idly by in the face of such injustice. Until the persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh ends, until Hindus are fully protected and their religious rights restored, and until those responsible for these crimes are held accountable, all cricket matches between India and Bangladesh must be cancelled. Playing sports with a nation that allows the massacre of Hindus would be a betrayal of our values and the dignity of the Hindu community.
