Krishna Das Prabhu held in Bangladesh: The 8 demands for Hindus and minorities his group is raising, explained

Local media reports said that Prabhu, who has been starring rallies demanding information for Hindus, was arrested successful Dhaka’s main airdrome connected Monday portion travelling to Chattogram successful southeastern Bangladesh.

The Sammilit Sanatan Jagran Jot has been calling for number rights and security, and for the implementation of an 8-point database of demands. Here’s what they are.

Establishment of a Special Tribunal, for swift trials successful cases of number persecution, including compensation and rehabilitation for victims.

In Bangladesh, Islam is the authorities religion and determination has been documented unit against number communities successful the country. While Hindus are the largest minority, determination are respective different number groups who person faced unit and persecution owed to their religion, connection and culture.

According to the 2022 study of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, successful the country, 91 per cent of the colonisation is Muslim, portion 8.95 percent beryllium to different faiths, including Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Ahmadiyya etc. Approximately 0.12 percent of the colonisation is categorised arsenic those who travel indigenous faiths, similar the Santals. According to Bangladesh’s 2022 census, determination are officially 50 indigenous groups that travel indigenous faiths, and autumn wrong the number classification. Of these, the Chakma are the largest taste minority, astir of whom travel Buddhism. The 2nd largest number aft the Chakmas, are the Marma who hint their origins to modern-day Myanmar. Other indigenous minorities see the Mro, Tripuri, Oraon, Khasi, Barman, Garo etc.

Human rights advocates and number assemblage leaders person consistently highlighted however communities are denied justness successful the lawsuit of unit and persecution connected spiritual grounds wrong the existing ineligible model successful Bangladesh.

Enactment of a Minority Protection Law,  to guarantee information and rights for number communities.

According to a US State Department achromatic insubstantial for 2009-2017, the Constitution of Bangladesh and different laws support spiritual state and, connected paper, the authorities is expected to enforce these protections. While the constitution establishes Islam arsenic the authorities religion, successful 2010 a Supreme Court determination reversed a 1975 amendment and reaffirmed secularism arsenic a Constitutional principle. The achromatic insubstantial states that the country’s constitution provides for the close to profess, practise, oregon propagate each religions, taxable to law, nationalist order, and morality.

Although the authorities publically supported state of religion, attacks connected spiritual and taste minorities continued to beryllium a occupation during the reporting play (2009-2017), since spiritual minorities are often astatine the bottommost of the societal hierarchy and, therefore, person the slightest governmental recourse.

It does not look that the concern has improved for minorities successful Bangladesh, and has possibly lone go much terrible station the autumn of the Hasina authorities successful August 2024, wherever determination has been a illness of the country’s instrumentality and order. A request of this benignant indicates that minorities judge they volition payment from ineligible protections nether a circumstantial law.

Creation of a Ministry for Minority Affairs, to code the circumstantial needs and issues of number groups

Bangladesh has a Ministry of Religious Affairs that besides oversees spiritual affairs of number communities. However, it does not person a circumstantial ministry to code community-specific needs and issues of the country’s galore number groups that autumn extracurricular the spectrum of religion and worship.

Upgrade of the Hindu Welfare Trust to a Hindu Foundation, and akin upgrades for the Buddhist and Christian Welfare Trusts.

Connected with the request to make a ministry for number affairs, the eight-point request calls for the instauration of a ‘Hindu Foundation’. The Hindu Welfare Trust was established by the Bangladesh authorities successful 1983 for the payment of the Hindu assemblage successful the country. However, according to Banglapedia, a scholarly database dedicated to probe connected Bangladesh, it is precise overmuch a authorities entity, controlled by the authorities successful power.

Banglapedia says “the main intent of the spot is to beforehand the spiritual activities of the Hindus and assistance them support their spiritual institutions. There are much than 20,000 Hindu spiritual institutions passim Bangladesh. The trust, which receives funds from the authorities successful the yearly improvement programme, gives these institutions fiscal enactment for their payment and maintenance. Every twelvemonth the spot gives grants for assorted Hindu spiritual festivals and for the renovation of Hindu temples.”

A instauration typically operates differently, wherever it is controlled by backstage individuals and not the authorities and is managed by trustees. In this case, the request for a instauration apt indicates that the power of the instauration would beryllium successful the hands of Hindus successful the state who are backstage individuals, operating without authorities interference. The request for a akin spot for different number groups would enactment successful the aforesaid way.

Laws to Recover and Protect Debottar (Temple) Properties, alongside due enforcement of the Vested Property Act

There person been documented attacks against Hindu temples successful Bangladesh implicit the years, but besides against places of worship belonging to different number faiths and idols of deities. However, determination is small ineligible recourse for minorities. The Vested Property Act, 1974, according to Ain o Salish Kendra, a Bangladesh-based nationalist ineligible assistance and quality rights organisation, that has been monitoring unit against minorities successful the state since 2013, is simply a much-criticised Act and among the “longest moving and astir damaging” among each laws that are weaponised against minorities.

According to Ain o Salish Kendra’s explanation, the Enemy Property Act was initially enacted successful 1965 aft the India-Pakistan warfare and it authorised the Bangladesh authorities to confiscate properties belonging to those who had migrated from Pakistan to India, mostly Hindus from what was past East Pakistan and is present Bangladesh. In 1974, the Vested Property Ordinance was promulgated, with the stated justification that it would let ‘enemy’ spot to vest successful the Bangladesh government.

Since then, the instrumentality has stayed connected the books and its provisions person been applied arbitrarily and repeatedly to drawback ample portions of onshore owned by some Hindus, Christians, Adivasis and different number groups. According to Ain o Salish Kendra, successful emblematic cases, spot is physically seized by section individuals, often neighbours, usually affiliated with almighty politicians oregon landowners.

“A lawsuit is past filed showing the spot to beryllium ‘vested’ successful the state. This is simply a reasonably casual process with the complicity of corrupt, section officials. As agelong arsenic a lawsuit is on, lease implementation tin continue. Some cases brought nether the (Vested Property Act), enactment connected tribunal dockets for decades, turning number litigants into landless paupers. Whether the cases are won oregon mislaid becomes irrelevant arsenic yet penniless erstwhile onshore owners person nary prime but to springiness up their claim,” says Ain o Salish Kendra.

Prayer Rooms successful Educational Institutions, to accommodate number spiritual practices successful each schools, colleges, and hostels.

Since Islam is the authorities religion successful Bangladesh, campuses for acquisition institutions usually person a supplication country oregon mosques for Muslim students. In 2022, Dhaka University opened its archetypal multi-religion supplication country for number students, putting up images of Hindu deities, Buddha and Christ for Buddhist and Christian students respectively. There person been nary akin measures implemented crossed the country, nevertheless successful the past 2 years.
Modernization of Sanskrit and Pali Education Boards, to heighten acquisition resources for these communities.

In Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Sanskrit and Pali Education Board is simply a Dhaka-based organisation that is liable for conducting acquisition courses successful accepted Sanskrit and Pali education. According to Banglapedia, it was archetypal established successful 1915 successful Kolkata, anterior to Partition, arsenic the Bengal Sanskrit Association and utilized to behaviour examinations for primary, secondary and grade courses.

At the clip of partition successful 1947, the relation was divided into three: Bengal Sanskrit Education Association (that remained successful West Bengal), Assam Sanskrit Sabha and East Pakistan Sanskrit Sabha. After 1947, the East Pakistan Sanskrit Sabha conducted each examinations of the Sanskrit and Pali Tols (tols are fundamentally groups) successful East Pakistan.

“In 1962 it was renamed Pakistan Sanskrit and Pali Education Board. After the liberation of Bangladesh, it was renamed the Bangladesh Sanskrit and Pali Education Board. It is an autonomous assemblage and each its expenses are met from a authorities grant. The authorities subsidises the salaries and allowances of the teachers of the colleges and schools nether the board,” says Banglapedia.

The committee conducts examinations for Sanskrit courses successful past Hindu spiritual texts, Astrology, Ayurveda etc, and Pali courses successful Sutra, Vinaya and Abhidhamma, immoderate of the main spiritual texts successful the Buddhist canon. According to Banglapedia, it besides awards primary, secondary and grade certificates, with each people moving for a year.

“At 1 time, the fig of toll colleges approved by the committee was 110 for Sanskrit and 88 for Pali. There were 50 introspection centres. The fig of acquisition institutions has since gone down, and immoderate of the centres person besides closed,” says Banglapedia.

The request is to summation acquisition resources for the board

Five-Day Public Holiday for Durga Puja, recognising this important spiritual festival for the Hindu community

In Bangladesh, the festival of Durga Puja is usually a one-day vacation sanctioned by the Bangladesh government. This year, successful 2024, pursuing the autumn of the Hasina government, the Yunus interim authorities said it was giving a two-day vacation for the festival, arsenic determination were 2 much authorities holidays 1 aft the different that aforesaid week. The Yunus authorities had said the Hindu assemblage was truthful getting a four-day vacation to observe the festival. During and successful the run-up to the Durga Puja festival, Hindu assemblage members person reported the vandalism and demolition of idols, loot of temples and pandals and attacks connected Hindus.