Bangladesh Minority Teachers Forced Out Amid Post-Hasina Turmoil, 49 Resign

At least 49 teachers from minority communities in Bangladesh were forced to resign following the collapse of Sheikh Hasina’s government on August 5, according to a minority rights organization. The Bangladesh Chhatra Oikya Parishad, the student wing of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad, revealed this during a press conference on Saturday, as reported by The Daily Star.

Sajib Sarkar, the organization’s coordinator, stated that in the violent aftermath of Hasina’s ousting, minority teachers across the country were subjected to physical assaults, leading to the forced resignations. Of those who resigned, 19 have since been reinstated.

Sarkar further detailed that religious and ethnic minorities have also endured widespread attacks, including looting, assaults on women, vandalism of temples, arson, and killings during this period of unrest.

The country has witnessed a surge in violence against Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian communities following the fall of Hasina’s Awami League government. Hasina, aged 76, resigned and fled to India on August 5 after unprecedented student-led protests erupted over a controversial government job quota system.

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, now leading the interim government as Chief Advisor, recently met with Hindu community leaders and pledged to foster interfaith harmony in Bangladesh. Yunus expressed his desire to create a nation where everyone can practice their religion without fear and where temples need no guarding.

According to data from the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, there have been at least 205 reported attacks on minority communities in 52 districts since the Hasina government’s fall. The violence has claimed over 230 lives, pushing the death toll to more than 600 since the anti-quota protests began in mid-July.