ybvdadminuser(RNS) — In the last weeks of 2024, several digital billboards paid for by the newly emerged United Hindu Council popped up around California’s Bay Area.
“Hindus, Buddhists, Christians living in fear in Bangladesh … Ask Yunus Why,” read one.
“Hindu monks are being arrested … Ask Yunus Why,” read another.
The tagline, a question directed toward Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, the interim leader of Bangladesh’s government, asks for accountability on what many Hindus worldwide are calling targeted violence and discrimination against Hindus and other religious minorities in the predominantly Muslim nation. Since the ousting and resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August — a leader whose secular party historically held Hindu support — and the subsequent takeover by Yunus, Hindu advocates say the atrocities have increased with no consequence, including reports of the destruction of homes and houses of worship, looting of businesses and physical assaults by emboldened Bangladeshis.
Chinmoy Krishna Das, a Hindu monk and vocal minority rights advocate formerly of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, was arrested in Bangladesh in November on charges of sedition after allegedly disrespecting the Bangladeshi flag. His arrest has led to protests, violent clashes and international condemnation, reaching a high after Das was denied bail and detained on Jan. 2 of this year.
In the months since the student-led coup against Hasina, Hindu advocacy organizations in the United States have been attempting to gain national attention for the estimated thousands of incidents, and more than 450 deaths, that have taken place against Hindus in Bangladesh. In October of last year, a large airline banner flew over the Hudson River, reading “End Hindu Genocide in Bangladesh.” Sewa USA, a disaster response nonprofit, has been steadily raising funds for Hindus fleeing violence for the past five months.
“People have been asking what they can do as individuals and constituents to let their voices be heard by those in power,” said Ramya Ramakrishnan of the Hindu American Foundation in a recent press release. “They are also tired of the biased media reports omitting accurate facts about the situation of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh and therefore decided that they needed to take action themselves.”
This week, two Democratic Hindu members of Congress, Reps. Ro Khanna and Raja Krishnamoorthi, publicly spoke out about the issue.
On Tuesday (Jan. 7), Khanna posted a video to his X account: “I had a long and productive call this morning with (Muhammad Yunus),” he wrote to his constituents. “He assured me that Bangladesh will do everything in its power to protect Hindus & people of all faiths from violence & religious persecution.”
The same day, Krishnamoorthi took to the House floor to raise further awareness among his lawmaker colleagues.
“Hindus in Bangladesh continue to be targeted today — with their homes and businesses being destroyed and their temples vandalized,” he said. “I have engaged with the State Department and called for action in Senate confirmation hearings, but we must do more. I urge my colleagues to act now to protect Bangladesh’s religious minorities.
“The world is watching, and we cannot let history repeat itself.”
Hindus now make up less than 8% of the Bangladeshi population after once accounting for 20%, a fact that many attribute in part to the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, in which Hindus were disproportionately killed, raped and displaced by the Pakistani military and its collaborators. This genocide of more than 2 million Hindus, acknowledged by a U.S. Congress resolution in 2022, caused a mass emigration of Bangladeshi Hindus to India, where many of their descendants remain today.
“It is galling to see (Muhammad Yunus’) continuous disregard for basic human rights, religious freedom and security for Bangladeshi Hindus,” the Coalition of Hindus of North America, an advocacy organization that has been mobilizing for action since August, posted on X. “We urge more lawmakers to speak up.”
Bengali American citizens have urged action at the Bangladesh Embassy, the White House and most recently, in Mar-a-Lago. The Hindu Bengali Society of Florida and other Hindus showed up to protest outside of President-elect Donald Trump’s home on Dec. 27, demanding the release of Chinmoy Krishna Das.
“We have gathered here today as Hindus from all across America,” said Dilip Nath, a former Democratic New York City Council candidate who traveled from the city to Florida. “Hindus, Buddhists and Christians are dying every day. This is our last option: to ask President-elect Trump to help the 18 million Hindus in Bangladesh. Intervene, help, please stop the genocide.”
Before the presidential election last year, Trump posted a message on X, saying, “I strongly condemn the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, & other minorities who are getting attacked and looted by mobs in Bangladesh, which remains in a total state of chaos… It would have never happened on my watch. Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have ignored Hindus across the world and in America.” He has commented on the situation since being elected.
“President Trump will not stand for this!” another protester could be heard saying at the Florida protest. ”No one in America will stand for this!”
