With increasing violence against minorities, and with key figures such as Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das arrested, a growing number of students from Bangladesh’s minority communities are emigrating to West Bengal next door to complete their degrees. Meena Sarkar is one of them. Using a changed name for security purposes, she has migrated to India and is pursuing a master’s in mass communication.
Meena, a Dhaka University student, revealed painful experiences as she sought safety outside the country. She revealed that not only her but other numerous students from minority communities face the same fate by compelling them to leave Bangladesh on account of increasing insecurity there. “Every day, I live in fear for my family. Minorities like us are no longer safe in Bangladesh,” Meena told.
A shocking turn of events, the situation for Meena and her family took a drastic turn on August 5, following months of protests by students. In a shocking political development, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to resign and leave the country. “Our family did not leave Bangladesh during partition in 1947 or even during the war of independence in 1971. But now, the situation has been so grave that we had to leave,” Meena explained, pointing out the critical situation.
The violence against the minorities was intensified that night when a mob attacked her ancestral home in Rangpur and destroyed their property. Meena and her parents had to flee; they hid overnight in a nearby field before the army intervened the next day. “We were terrified, hiding in a field overnight. I was only able to call my brother in Dhaka, feeling utterly helpless. The army arrived and took us to a relief camp, and from there, we made our way to Dhaka,” she recounts.
New Beginning In West Bengal Amid Ongoing Concerns
After a long fight to get a visa, Meena finally reached West Bengal to pursue her further studies. But the concern regarding her family’s safety back in Bangladesh never leaves her side. “I am here in India now, but I am deeply worried about my family back in Bangladesh. My two brothers are still there—one of them is a professor—and my parents have had to abandon our ancestral home in Rangpur,” Meena said, her voice filled with anxiety and uncertainty.
As the situation for minorities in Bangladesh continues to worsen, many more, like Meena, are making the difficult decision to leave their homeland in search of safety and stability, with no clear resolution in sight for those they leave behind.
ALSO READ | Indian Bus Deliberately Hit By Truck In Bangladesh, Tripura Minister Claims
