“We do not want to use the word minority. Everyone is a citizen of Bangladesh and everyone has equal rights. The few isolated incidents that have occurred since 5th August are mainly political, not religious, reasons,” Bangladesh Home Affairs Advisor Lieutenant General (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury claimed before the United States (US) Charge d’Affaires in Dhaka Tracey Anne Jacobson on the afternoon of 21st January, according to a report in The Daily Star. He added that the Indian media is spreading lies that minorities are not being oppressed in Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, Islamists attacked two temples on Tuesday in Kashiani of Gopalganj and set them on fire, reported Dhaka Tribune. The incident happened in the wee hours of 21st January in the Kashiani upazila’s Tarail Northpara village of Fulkra union, where a Durga temple and a Shitala temple were attacked. Both temples suffered severe damage from the flames, which destroyed worship materials and idols. However, the perpetrators are yet to be identified. The authorities also arrived at the scene to evaluate the damage after learning of the occurrence. This is the latest attack on minorities and their religious places in Bangladesh that started after the ‘students revolution’ overthrew Sheikh Hasina government.
Promoth Biswas, who worships at the temples every day, spoke of his dismay at witnessing the destruction. “I went to the temple for my usual morning prayer on Tuesday and found the bamboo door open. Inside the Durga temple, I saw that the worship materials had been burned. Additionally, the statue of Shitala Devi in the nearby Shitala temple had been set on fire using straw. I immediately informed others about the situation,” he voiced.
OC Mohammad Shafiuddin Khan of the Kashiani police station verified the instance and promised that an inquiry will be carried out. “I visited the site after receiving the news, and we are taking legal action. However, as of now, no one has filed a formal written complaint,” he alleged.
Notably, the Bangladeshi administration led by chief advisor Muhammad Yunus has consistently propagated the narrative of “no atrocities on minorities,” while simultaneously attributing blame to the Indian state and its media for spreading disinformation. However the horrific developments coming out of the country reveal entirely different ground realities. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury who met with Tracey Ann Jacobson at his office at the Secretariat also advocated for the relocation of further Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar to the United States.
“The United States has been in a leadership role in humanitarian assistance and rehabilitation of the Rohingya from the beginning. They have already rehabilitated a significant number of Rohingya. I urge the United States to rehabilitate more,” he urged. According to Tracey Ann Jacobson , the biggest contributor to the rehabilitation and development of Rohingya refugees is the United States. In order to better the lives of the Rohingya, the US development agency US-Aid is collaborating with regional non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Bangladesh. About 17,000 Rohingya have previously been resettled by the US and this process is still going on.
The meeting covered a wide range of subjects, including border security, the problems faced by minorities, cooperation in the agricultural sector, counterterrorism, the Rohingya issue, the Police Reform Commission, mutual cooperation in strengthening the capacity of law enforcement agencies and mutual interests. According to the Home Affairs Advisor, the US is one of Bangladesh’s main development partners. Many Bangladeshi students travel to the US each year to pursue higher education and the country remains a partner in the security and counterterrorism sectors.
Furthermore, he added that they have been helping Bangladesh by giving police and other law enforcement authorities cutting-edge training and equipment to improve their skills. He then asked for additional training on human rights problems for the police and on human trafficking concerns for the Coast Guard and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB). “We will continue to increase the United States’ support for Bangladesh’s development,” the US Charge d’Affaires stated. She admitted that 30 percent more students are now able to study in the US than earlier.
She also assured, “We will provide more training to law enforcement officers. However, we must ensure that the officers return to their respective positions after the training.” Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, on the other hand, declared that the border situation is very normal. Next month, the two nations will meet in Delhi at the level of the director generals of the BGB and BSF (Border Security Force).