Tulsi speaks on Bangladesh, gives Yunus a reality check

US Director of National Intelligence (DNI), Tulsi Gabbard was categorical about Bangladesh during a media interview she gave while visiting India. She spoke of how the “long-time unfortunate persecution, killing, and abuse of religious minorities like Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, and others has been a major area of concern” for the United States. This was validation for the hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi minorities, particularly Hindus, who have experienced the worst kind of violence unleashed against them by radical jihadi elements, with most of them belonging to the radical Jamaa-e-Islami, which has been ruling Bangladesh’s streets ever since 5 August 2024, when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee. It has been sheer mayhem in the last seven-odd months, where Hindus have faced the worst kind of persecution—from being murdered, raped, to being strung up on poles and tortured to death, their houses burnt to ashes, to their gods and temples razed to the ground. The only term that can be used for such jihadi “students”, who have been roaming Bangladesh’s streets and meting out instant justice, is death squad. And it is not just the minorities, Awami League leaders and cadre are also being hounded and killed, with their only crime being they belong to Sheikh Hasina’s party. Moreover, when power goes to the radicals, they try to impose their ideology on society as a whole, so Bangladesh is witnessing an extreme form of moral policing as radical groups multiply and tighten their grip on the country. Bangladesh is descending into complete chaos, with Muhammad Yuns coming across as losing control of the situation, allowing the jihadis a free pass. At the most he is a figurehead. Just because he won a Nobel Prize does not make him the best person to govern Bangladesh. He was installed in his position because he is close to a particular section of the American political landscape, the reason why he got the Nobel Prize. Leaving that aside, the duty of the so-called caretaker of Bangladesh is to take care of the country, without any discrimination—a duty in which he has failed.
Yunus and the people surrounding him have been trying to paint all the pogrom and mayhem as Indian propaganda, as exaggeration, apart from stating that whatever little bit of violence has taken place is political in nature and not communal—as if that justifies the killing. But in reality, he is speaking untruths. Hindus are being targeted not just because they were seen as largely Awami supporters, but also because of their religion. Bangladesh has had a long history of persecuting Hindus, the reason why from around 30% at the time of Partition in 1947, when East Pakistan took birth, the population has dwindled to around 7-8%. Persecution took place even when Hasina was Prime Minister, it was just that she was willing to pay heed to India’s concerns and take better care of the minorities. Yunus does not even pretend to do that, allowing the country to slide into complete lawlessness.

Reacting to Gabbard’s statement, Yunus said that his country was not going the ISIS way and that Bangladesh was inclusive and moderate—which is anything but the truth. The big mistake he has made is that he has aligned himself with a particular shade of western politics—specifically, the left-liberal sort, which has turned a blind eye to the happenings in Bangladesh ever since he has been installed as caretaker of the interim government. But times have changed, with senior US government personnel more willing to pay heed to other voices too. If he does not realise that, then all his boast about being an international player—he has been saying that—will remain just that, a boast. While no one is denying that Yunus is internationally connected, but he also needs to factor in India’s views about him and his country. By trying to play the Pakistani tune, or by aligning himself with Pakistan, if he tries to bypass India’s concerns, then he is making a mistake. He is forgetting that his is a puny country, surrounded by India on three sides and with an economy the size of one of India’s larger states. He also seems to be forgetting that he is an unelected leader, who does not have the constitutional standing to be called even a head of government. Bangladesh needs a democratically elected government, so Yunus, instead of holding on to power with the help of the jihadis, should quickly facilitate the holding of elections and allow a democratic government to be installed. Meanwhile, he should stop acting as the front man of the jihadis and instead let the minorities live in peace.