“We again urge Bangladesh to ensure safety of Hindus,” MEA on Chittagong attacks

India has again condemned the recent attacks on the Hindu community in Chittagong, Bangladesh and said that such actions would only create more tensions in the community.

The remarks by Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) came while addressing the weekly media briefing on Thursday in New Delhi.

Jaiswal said, “We have observed that there have been attacks on the Hindu community in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Their properties have been looted, their business establishments have been looted. These happened following incendiary posts on social media targeting Hindu religious organisations.”

He further urged the Bangladesh government to take action against the “extremist elements” and ensure the safety of Hindus in the country.

He added, “It is understood that there are extremist elements who are behind such posts and such illegal criminal activities. This is bound to create further tensions in the community. We yet again urge the Government of Bangladesh to take strong measures to ensure the safety of Hindus and to take action against extremist elements.”

Notably, in Bangladesh’s port city of Chittagong, a clash between the Hindu community and the law enforcement forces took place during a tense situation over a Facebook post criticising ISKCON. Due to this, the joint forces of police and army conducted an operation there on Tuesday night.

“A local youth named Osman posted on Facebook demanding the banning of ISKCON. Law and order forces went there when tension arose. It has been alleged that something like acid was thrown at the law enforcement agencies,” said a Hindu community leader.

The leader also noted, “At night, joint forces raided Hazari Goly and arrested about 100 suspects. Some were released after questioning. Due to a power outage during the operation, details about the incident were not known.”

As per a report by the Bangla Daily, Prothom Alo, blank shots were also fired during the operation.

Meanwhile, the MEA spokesperson further said that India reaffirms its commitment to “democracy, peace, and stability” in Myanmar, emphasising that developments in the country are of significant interest to India.

Jaiswal said, “As an important neighbouring country of India, developments in Myanmar are naturally of interest to us and to other stakeholders, including our academic community, our think tank community, and our business community. They have been, over a period of time, and off and on, on a regular basis, organising some interaction with various stakeholders in Myanmar and on 5th and 6th November, the Indian Council for World Affairs organised one particular workshop on Indian experience on constitutionalism and federalism, where they invited stakeholders from various segments of the Myanmar society.”

“It is our understanding that such interactions we hope will contribute to deliberations on developing a Myanmar-led and Myanmar-owned solution to address the country’s current challenges. India remains a steadfast supporter of democracy, peace and stability in Myanmar,” he added.