Many in Western policy circles have applauded the “Gen Z” student protest movement that marked the end of Sheikh Hasina’s era in Bangladesh and paved the way for the ascent of octogenarian and Nobel Laureate, Muhammad Yunus, as the country’s interim leader.
The movement, however, was marred by violent riots that led to the deaths of over 440 people, many of whom died at the hands of police and security forces. In addition, Hindus and other minorities were targeted in mass violence that saw at least 205 incidents across 52 districts in the country, according to the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council.
These incidents include killings, rapes and the destruction of temples, homes and businesses. They are affecting thousands of families and leading many to flee to the border seeking refuge in India.
Perhaps more disturbingly, some commentators and media outlets have attempted to frame the killings as revenge for traditional Hindu support for the Awami League as the country’s primary secular party. Others have pointed to a few fake images floating around on social media to discredit the overall scale of the anti-Hindu violence, which has however been well documented as real.
Even Yunus has come out to condemn the violence and threatened to resign if anti-Hindu attacks continued, while meeting with the Hindu community — all positive developments.
Beyond Yunus’s good intentions, events may not be fully within his control, given the country’s sordid history of military coups and political assassinations, religious extremism and mass violence. Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led the country to independence, was assassinated in 1975.
So as the interim government attempts to restore law and order and move the country towards elections and the restoration of democracy, the question of what the U.S. role should be arises.
First and foremost, the U.S. needs to press upon the interim government to provide protection to religious minorities and provide rehabilitation and restitution to the victims of violence, who remain in a state of fear and terror. There is already a budding humanitarian crisis, with thousands of displaced families, many of whom are at the border with India.
Despite these unfortunate and grim developments, the response from U.S. government officials has been mixed and sporadic at best with a few statements coming from a handful of members of Congress and the State Department. Others such as the president and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have been shockingly silent about the violence against minorities.
And just as critically, the U.S. cannot allow the resurgence of Islamist groups such as Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), who seek to create a Taliban-like state, per their own charter. Jamaat is one of the country’s most powerful and influential religious-political organizations, and along with ICS has been behind much of the country’s current violence against religious minorities.
By no means is this the first time, however, that JeI and ICS have been involved in mass riots and violence against religious minorities.
In 1971, they collaborated with the Pakistani military in committing genocide against ethnic Bengalis and specifically Bengali Hindus as the eastern wing of the country fought for independence against West Pakistan. (The Nixon administration sat by and did nothing to stop that genocide, according to former American consul general in Dhaka, Archer Blood.)
Subsequently, they were involved in violence in 2001, and again in anti-Hindu violence in 2013-2014, and 2021.
From 2013-2021, there were approximately 3,600 incidents of anti-Hindu violence, with a majority being committed by JeI-ICS activists, according to local human rights groups. This collective violence since 1971 has led to a drastic decline in the Hindu population in Bangladesh from 20 percent to less than 8 percent today.
In the past, the response to this violence from members of Congress and other policymakers was muted, due in part to strong lobbying efforts by Jamaat and its affiliate groups in the U.S.
Jamaat also has connections and links to transnational terrorist groups such as Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami Bangladesh, a State Department-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Moreover, given their political history, previously forming a coalition government (2001-2006) with the main opposition, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, they are a political force to be reckoned with. Jamaat, in addition to other Islamist groups such as Hefazat-e-Islam, have used their political power to undermine the country’s secularism and extract concessions from the previous governments.
Jamaat’s ability to influence and shape the country’s future trajectory is deeply concerning from a human rights and regional security perspective. That’s why the administration and Congress must speak out in unison against the atrocities committed against Hindus and other religious minorities and send a strong message to the interim government that a failure to stem additional attacks will come with serious economic consequences.
The U.S. cannot afford to once again sit by quietly and do nothing like it did in 1971. Doing so will lead to disastrous consequences not only for Hindus or the nation of Bangladesh but the broader Bay of Bengal and Indo-Pacific region.
While advocating for a secular government in Dhaka, Washington has to steadfastly champion the rights of Hindu, Buddhist and Christian minorities and the protection of their places of living and worship.
Akhil Ramesh is the director of the India Program and Economic Statecraft Initiative at Pacific Forum. Follow him on Twitter: Akhil_oldsoul. Samir Kalra is the managing director of the Hindu American Foundation.