In Bangladesh, the protests against the quota system started as genuine student-led protests after the 5th of June 2024 High Court ruling that reinstated the old quota system in the country. This judicial exercise was the beginning of the weeks-long anti-quota movement. Students from six major universities started the protests. Initially, demands were simply over job issues : firstly, they wished the quota provision to be lowered below 5 per cent. Secondly, students demanded that the minority and the disabled quota was too high and therefore should be reduced. Finally, they demanded a new law that restricted the quota below 5 per cent.
However, as the protests became more widespread, extremist forces like Jamaat-e-Islami and opposition party, Bangladesh Nationalist Party joined the protests. By July 20th, the number of points had increased and became more political due to the expansion of the movement. The revised nine-point demands included the demand for the resignation of two key Hasina allies from the cabinet: Asaduzzaman Khan and Obaidul Quader. The protestors also demanded a nationwide ban against the student wing of Awami League Chhatra League. These unreasonable demands were meant to weaken the Awami League as a party. The demands were not met. This started a new phase of violent protests, counterprotests and finally the reaction of state forces. As protests became widespread, it became clear that they had been hijacked by forces that were beyond the control of the Hasina government or student leaders.
The protests finally became more about electoral politics and larger issues around the Sheikh Hasina regime. The government tried to reset/reduce the quota but by then the demands changed and the single point demand was the resignation of Sheikh Hasina herself. Apparently, the protests against the quota were hijacked and turned into a regime change operation. The quota movement became a regime change protest when on August 3 the protestors put forth one point demand for the resignation of Hasina.
From Regime Change Protest to Anti-Minority Riots
Hasina was forced to flee after the military refused to support her demands to maintain order in the country. She fled the country and was given protection in neighbouring India. In the aftermath of her removal, the country plunged into chaos. The lack of order paved the way for a mobocracy in the country wherein a frenzied and hysterical persecution of the religious minorities and Awami League members began. Historically, minorities especially Hindus, have always been the punching bag of the extremists and Islamists whenever there was any political, social or religious unrest. This time it was no different. On Monday 5th August, there were confirmed reports of attacks and lootings against minority homes and businesses in at least 27 districts. By Friday according to the minority organisation, Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, 52 districts witnessed 205 anti-Hindu attacks. These attackers targeted several prominent temples in the country too. CDPHR has provided complete details of 110 cases of atrocities against minority Hindus between 5th to 9th August 2024.
The recent communal violence in Bangladesh has had devastating effects on minority communities. Thousands of Hindu families have been left impoverished, with numerous temples attacked and burned. Women, in particular, have faced severe assaults, and there have been reports of murders across various locations. The violence, which began on August 5, has instilled widespread fear and anxiety among minorities and has drawn international condemnation. The media, including The Daily Star, has documented extensive mob violence against minorities.
Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government on August 5, 2024, amid a student-led uprising, at least 49 teachers from minority communities were forced to resign across the country. This wave of forced resignations is part of a broader pattern of violence and discrimination against minorities, particularly Hindus. Attacks on religious and ethnic minorities include looting, assaults on women, vandalism of temples, arson attacks on homes and businesses, and even killings. 2.5 million Hindus working in Bangladesh at risk of losing their jobs. This systematic targeting could potentially erase Hindu influence from the education system, further entrenching radical Islamist ideologies. The impact of this persecution extends beyond the individuals being targeted, instilling fear and insecurity within the broader Hindu community.
Is August 2024 Bangladesh Turmoil a USA Deep State Project Successfully Ventured with Islamists?
The recent unrest in Bangladesh, perceived as a spontaneous uprising, is in fact a complex scenario involving foreign influence, especially from the United States. Despite accusations against Sheikh Hasina’s government for undemocratic practices, the protests were not organic, rather they were manipulated by external actors, and the internal Islamists like the banned Jamaat-e-Islami and other extremist groups, and extremists’ sympathizer political party, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
In the case of Bangladesh, there are compelling reasons to explore whether a covert network of USA has orchestrated a broader campaign to undermine the Hasina administration, utilising economic influence, media narratives, and clandestine operations to subvert a democratically elected government. There are three tactics of USA to subvert democracies and run regime change operations:
A. USA Military Interventions: Perils of Moral Policing the World
B. The National Endowment for Democracy: An Instrument of Regime Change
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED), portrayed as an NGO, operates as a conduit for U.S. government directives, manipulating NGOs globally to export American values.
C. American Deep State: Subverting Democracy Internally and Externally
The ‘Deep State’, comprising the military-industrial complex, academia, media, NGOs, and intelligence agencies, works covertly to undermine regimes misaligned with U.S. interests. It is done by employing strategies such as collaboration with local factions, financial support for separatist entities, and the propagation of disinformation to destabilise proficient democracies.
In case of Bangladesh, the regime change has been a work in progress for many years for the USA Deep State. A mix of last two methods have been used to bring a regime change. The relationship between the Clinton Foundation and Muhammad Yunus, as revealed by Wikileaks, is a notable example. In fact, the Octogenarian, Yunus was nurtured by the Western powers, particularly US since 1965 when he was given a Fullbright Fellowship, to later accolades and awards, including a Nobel, and advocating for him with the Bangladesh governments for dropping legal cases against him or for going soft on him.
U.S. interference in Bangladesh’s politics is marked by support of opposition forces like the BNP, covert meetings with opposition leaders, NGOs, and Islamist groups, and diplomatic pressure, including sanctions and controversial actions by U.S. Ambassador Peter Haas. The interference served to replace Hasina’s independent government with a more favorable regime, which aligned with American interests, including alleged plans for a naval base in the Bay of Bengal. Historically, the U.S. opposed Bangladesh’s creation, favoring radical elements such as Jamaat-e-Islami. The Hasina administration’s removal reveals a recurring pattern of U.S. involvement in destabilising democracies worldwide when it suits its strategic interests, showing that the U.S. prioritises geopolitical gains over genuine democratic values.
The interim government’s decision to lift bans on these factions after Hasina’s ousting, along with the appointment of Mohammad Yunus, a figure linked to Western elites as chief advisor, highlights deep foreign interference. Such tactics align with broader U.S. strategies of using academic grants, fellowships, and cultivating assets like Yunus to destabilise governments that challenge its geopolitical interests, particularly against China and India. As Hasina warned in Parliament, “They are trying to eliminate democracy and introduce a government that will not have a democratic existence.”
To safeguard its geo-political interests, which are its topmost priority, the United States has historically aligned itself with extremist groups that oppose the very principles it claims to champion. This pattern is evident in its alliances with radical factions in regions such as the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and now Bangladesh. Following the recent fall of the government in Bangladesh, the USA’s connections with Islamist groups like Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, which played a crucial role in the recent turmoil, are becoming increasingly apparent. The involvement of these extremist groups in the interim government and the lifting of bans on their activities are clear signs of their growing mainstream acceptance. These factions have allegedly received covert support from Western NGOs and Pakistani networks, contributing to the escalating dissatisfaction with the previous Hasina government. By coordinating closely with these international entities, Islamist student and extremist groups organised large-scale protests at the street level, further destabilising Bangladesh internally.
Misinformation and Propaganda Through Media
Despite formal decolonisation, a covert form of imperialism persists through Western media and academia’s control over global narratives, often overshadowing local perspectives. This is evident in post-Hasina Bangladesh, where atrocities against minorities are downplayed or denied by Western outlets.
Initially, media acknowledged the violence, with Muhammad Yunus condemning these attacks as “heinous acts.” However, geopolitical biases soon influenced coverage, shifting the focus towards debunking alleged Indian misinformation while sidelining the actual atrocities.
As minority community people were being killed, scared and women raped, their properties vandalised, temples desecrated and atrocities being unleashed, there started an orchestrated campaign to deny these attacks or doubt the religious nature of these attacks. Local and global media like Al Jazeera, BBC, and Dhaka Tribune started portraying the violence as mere “anarchy and lawlessness,” downplaying the targeted nature of the attacks against minorities. The General Secretary of BNP led this campaign when he told an Indian news channel that these were individual incidents, not “systematic” and started by stray individuals. One can see that the narrative buildup started during this phase with the BNP leading this campaign of denial of systemic abuse of Hindus in the country. Gradually, global media platforms joined the denialism with Qatar’s mouthpiece Al Jazeera even terming the attempts to highlight atrocities as ‘Islamophobic’ and “Alarmist”. Western media, despite claiming to champion human rights, often ignored or misrepresented the violence against Hindus in Bangladesh. Outlets like France24 dismissed these hate crimes, framing them in a geopolitical context and accusing India of “hypocrisy.” Articles from The Print and other Western-controlled Indian media tried to portray the attacks as politically motivated rather than religious, creating a misleading dichotomy.
In a country where Hindus have faced unprecedented pogroms over any random pretext, such attempts were meant to divert the attention away from the targeted atrocities. However, brave Bangladeshi minority activists themselves reported the widespread nature of these protests. CDPHR has collaborated and confirmed with some activists the extent of such attacks as the only Human Rights organisation so far. Furthermore, there are documented cases of attacks against Ahmaddiyas too.
On the 28th August 2024, the Bangladesh Chhatra Oikya Parishad reported that at least 49 teachers have been forced to resign from their jobs. Thus, one can see that, despite media insinuation, there is indeed a systemic and organised attempt in the country to brutalise Hindus in every aspect: homes, businesses, threats, and government jobs all are under assault.
Minority leaders like Kajal Debnath from Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council repeatedly voiced concerns about the unprecedented fear among minorities, highlighting how Western media and its local counterparts engaged in deceptive tactics, half-truths, and distorted narratives to obscure the reality of the ongoing violence against Hindus in Bangladesh.
Future of Minorities in Radicalised Bangladesh: Hostage in Their ‘Own’ State
Historically, Bangladesh has a history of moving from secularism to Islamism. This happened due to a variety of domestic and external political factors and aided by ruling political parties. As the Islamic fundamentalists started having greater influence on the polity of Bangladesh, just after six years of liberation, in 1977 ‘secularism’ was replaced with “absolute trust and faith in Almighty Allah”. Even though the constitution of the Muslim-dominated Bangladesh remained secular, the final blow to it came in 1988 as Islam was made the State religion. Apart from civil society members and political parties, extremists’ groups like Jamaat-e-Islami played a crucial role in this journey. It has a violent past particularly targeting the minorities.
The latest round of atrocities is nothing but a continuation of the project that began with the Pakistan formation: the creation of two nations with minorities held hostage in the Muslim majority province. Hindu bodies and society have been a site for contestation ever since. This latest round is not an aberration but a rule. Because Hindus come under attack whenever there is unrest in the country, it is logical to ask a simple but pertinent question about their future: what is the future of Hindu minorities in the country?
After the independence of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rehman tried to experiment with secularism in the Muslim-majority country but within a few years, it was challenged as the foundational principles of the Muslim nation-state came to haunt his fragile linguistic experiment. After his assassination, his Bangla-identity-based idea of Bangladesh came under a systematic assault. and Hindus continued to a hostage in their own country.
Failure of the Present Illegitimate Government of Bangladesh: Government Structure and Performance
As the new interim regime is headed by a non-political entity, parachuted by USA and consists of known Islamists and Hindu haters, there is not much hope for the minorities of the country. Moreover, the three-week performance of the new government too proves the same fact. The government has failed to maintain law and order and safeguard the interests of minorities and secularists. The physical attacks on Hindus, Ahmadiyas, AL leaders and workers, minority activists, taking away jobs of minority professors and professionals are going on unabatedly. The forced resignations are, in fact, an extremely disturbing trend. Women are further under the risk of Sharia compliant restrictions. Arbitrary arrests and illegal detentions of minorities and secularists are going on. The ban against the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing the Chhatra Shibir has been lifted. Recent meeting of Yunus with Hefazat-e-Islam leader, Mamunul Haque has further confirmed the Islamists’ hold on the current interim regime. The interim government released a terrorist from Ansarullah Bangla, convicted in the murder of a secular blogger, Jashimuddin Rahmani on parole. Pandering of such extremists along with others reveals the true nature of the interim government of Muhammad Yunus. Minorities can never be safe in a government that is accommodating such extremists.
Religious Minorities of Bangladesh historically have been a Victim of the Kafir, Two-Nation and Hostage Population Theories. Till the idea of considering fellow citizens as lesser and thus deplorable and worthy of punishment persists, and people with these ideas are in a position to inject them in the social and political system, the religious minorities of Bangladesh have no future in the country. In fact, in the current political scenario, the minorities of the country are living in the scary times. The trajectory of ‘new’ Bangladesh looks very dark for the religious and ethnic minorities in the country. Already, the Hindus of the country have been depleted steeply in the last few decades and the reasons could be out of the three- got killed, converted or fled. What further awaits them is too gloomy. The only ray of hope is the unity shown by Bangladesh minorities in coming out for their human rights.
The government of Bangladesh cannot derelict its moral and constitutional duty to protect the minorities. By pandering to extremists and Islamists they are endangering their future in the country. Therefore, in this context, the international community and civilisational states like India share a responsibility to protect the minorities in Bangladesh and ensure that they survive and flourish in their country. India has a civilisational responsibility towards these minorities, they need India’s complete diplomatic, political, economic and legal protection. In such a dark, insecure and uncertain environment India, that is Bharat, should effectively play its predestined role as a dharmic civilisational state that protects the persecuted minorities in this neighbourhood.
