Canadian Hindus staged a protest outside the Bangladeshi Consulate in Toronto, despite the cold winter weather, on Tuesday, calling for justice and protection for Hindu communities and other minority groups in Bangladesh.
The protesters raised slogans holding placards with messages like: “Shame Shame Bangladesh”, “Mohammed Younus a murderer”, “Hindu lives matter and “Stop Hindu genocide.”
The protesters also called upon the governments of Canada and India, along with the global community, to exert pressure on Bangladesh’s administration to ensure the safety and security of Hindus and other minorities.
‘We want peace in Bangladesh’
“Today is also World Human Rights Day. And we as a united Canadian Hindus have been gathered here as a protest in front of the Bangladesh Council in Toronto, Canada. We are protesting because of what we have seen, what’s going on in Bangladesh since August 3, 2024,” a protester told news agency ANI.
“We want Bangladesh to stop killing minorities. We want Bangladesh to stop killing Hindus, stop burning worship places, stop raping women, abducting women. And we want peace in Bangladesh,” he continued.
‘ They’re assaulting our women, raping our children’
Another demonstrator said, “What’s happening is in Bangladesh they’re genociding Hindus, they’re assaulting our women, they’re raping our children, they’re doing whatever they can because the Hindus are a minority and they’re trying to overrun the Hindu minorities.”
“That’s what they have done in Pakistan, they have done in Afghanistan, now they’re trying to do in Bangladesh. We are here to support our brothers and sisters all over the world to unite and show our concern,” he added.
‘Will be vanished from Bangladesh’
A Hindu woman of Bangladeshi-origin said, “Being a Bangladeshi origin, my heart goes out to them. So this needs to be stopped.”
She further emphasised on the historical presence of Hindus in Bangladesh stating that, “We have vanished from Afghanistan. We have vanished from Pakistan. This is the high time. If we are not saved now, we will be vanished from Bangladesh as well. This was our land. Our 14th generation was born over there. People of Bangladesh need to stay back in their own homeland. They are not invaders. They are not Britishers. They are the son of the soil of that land. “
“They (Hindus) need to be protected. Their rights need to be protected. And they should be saved in their own home country. And stop killing them. If you do not take care of Hindus today, tomorrow there will be no Hindus in Bangladesh,” she added.
Extremist groups in Bangladesh have conducted numerous attacks against Hindus and other minority communities. The incidents include the destruction of minority residences through fire and theft, along with the defacement of religious statues and temples.
Recently, last week on Friday, attackers targeted another Hindu temple, the Mahabhagya Lakshminarayan Mandir, situated in Dhor village, north of Dhaka.
The detention of Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das in Chittagong on October 25 for sedition sparked significant demonstrations.
Similarly, on October 30, officials charged 19 people, including Das, at Chattogram’s Kotwali Police Station, claiming disrespect towards Bangladesh’s national flag during a Hindu community gathering in Chattogram’s New Market area.
Earlier on November 26, India expressed deep concerns regarding the arrest and bail denial of Chinmoy Krishna Das and atrocities towards minorities in Bangladesh.
“We have noted with deep concern the arrest and denial of bail to Shri Chinmoy Krishna Das, who is also the spokesperson of the Bangladesh Sammilit Sanatan Jagran Jote. This incident follows the multiple attacks on Hindus and other minorities by extremist elements in Bangladesh. There are several documented cases of arson and looting of minorities’ homes and business establishments, as well as theft and vandalism and desecration of deities and temples,” the MEA had said in a statement.
“We urge Bangladesh authorities to ensure the safety and security of Hindus and all minorities, including their right of freedom of peaceful assembly and expression,” the statement added.
