Bangladesh’s minority in fear as elections near

Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old Hindu garment worker, was accused in December by several Muslim colleagues of making derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad. The accusations drew a violent mob to his workplace. He was beaten to death, his body hung from a tree and set on fire.

Across Bangladesh, Hindus watched the recorded images on their phones with dread. Protests erupted in Dhaka and other cities, with demonstrators demanding justice and greater protections. The interim Government, led by Muhammad Yunus, ordered an investigation, and police said that about a dozen people were arrested. But human rights groups and Hindu leaders say the killing wasn’t an isolated act, but part of a wider surge in attacks on the minority community, fuelled by rising polarisation, the reemergence of Islamists and what they describe as a growing culture of impunity.

Among Hindus, fear has grown more pervasive as the Muslim-majority nation moves toward a national election on February 12. “No one feels safe anymore,” said Ranjan Karmaker, a Dhaka-based Hindu human rights activist. “Everyone is terrified.”Surge in attacks Hindus make up a small minority in Bangladesh, about 13.1 million people, or roughly 8 per cent of the country’s population of 170 million, while Muslims make up 91 per cent.

The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, an umbrella group representing minority communities, says it documented more than 2,000 incidents of communal violence since the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a mass uprising in August 2024. The group recorded at least 61 killings, 28 instances of violence against women - among them rape and gang rape - and 95 attacks on places of worship involving vandalism, looting and arson. It has also accused the Yunus-led administration of routinely dismissing or downplaying reports of such violence.

When contacted by The Associated Press for a response, an official from Yunus’ press team declined to comment. The administration headed by Yunus has consistently denied claims that it has failed to ensure adequate protection for minority communities and insisted that most incidents aren’t driven by religious hostility. Previous elections in Bangladesh have also seen increases in violence, with religious minorities often bearing the brunt.