Bangladesh News and Discussion

Anindya · Post by **Anindya** » 16 Feb 2013 13:37

Anti-Jamaati blogger activist brutally murdered in Bangladesh

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 18 Feb 2013 00:35

Bangladesh moves to ban main Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami for war crimes

DHAKA: Bangladesh's parliament on Sunday amended a law to allow the prosecution of the country's largest Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami for war crimes, in a move that could pave the way to it being banned.

News of the move was greeted by loud cheers from thousands of protesters in central Dhaka who have been demanding a ban on Jamaat, whose leaders are on trial for war crimes allegedly committed in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.

Law minister Shafique Ahmed told AFP that under the new law "any organization including Jamaat can be prosecuted" by a special court for war crimes and if found guilty "it can be banned" from politics.

Previously only individuals could be prosecuted for war crimes.

"It's one step towards banning Jamaat," deputy law minister Qamrul Islam told AFP.

The move comes after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday indicated that she would back a ban on Jamaat, whose members are suspected in the murder of an anti-Islamist blogger, as it had "no right to be in politics in free Bangladesh".

Jamaat was briefly outlawed by Hasina's father, the country's founder, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the 1970s for supporting Pakistan during the war. However, a military government scrapped the ban after Sheikh Mujib's assassination in 1975.

Demonstrations championed by online activists have seen thousands take to the streets for the last two weeks demanding the execution of Jamaat leaders accused of genocide, murder and rape during the 1971 war and a ban on the party.

"It's a partial victory for us. We won't stop protests unless Jamaat and Shibir (Jamaat's student wing) are banned," said Mahbub Rashid, a blogger and an organizer of the anti-Islamist demonstration.

Rival protests by Islamists demanding a halt to the trials of Jamaat leaders have turned violent across the country, leaving 13 people dead. Clashes between police and Islamists have intensified since last week after a senior Jamaat leader was sentenced to life imprisonment for mass murder.

Jamaat and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have said the trials are based on bogus charges and are part of a wider political vendetta.

The government rejects the accusations and says the trials are needed to heal wounds from the nine-month war in which it says three million people were killed, many by pro-Pakistani militias whose members allegedly included Jamaat officials.

Both Jamaat and BNP boycotted the parliament, which passed the amended law less than a week after it was approved by the cabinet.

Parliament also amended war crime laws to ensure the Jamaat leaders can be swiftly executed if convicted and the verdict challenged if the sentence is less than death.

It set a 60-day limit for the supreme court to dispose of appeals.

New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch this week criticized the law ahead of its passing, saying it "makes a mockery of the trial process".

Late on Friday Ahmed Rajib Haider, a blogger who helped organize the anti-Islamist protests, was hacked to death with a machete near his Dhaka home. Police have yet to comment on a possible motive, but his brother said the blogger was targeted by Jamaat's student wing for his online activities.

Fellow blogger Shakil Ahmed said a veiled threat was issued against him on a pro-Jamaat blog.

The site has since been banned by the country's telecoms regulator for "spreading hate speech and causing communal tension".

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 18 Feb 2013 06:39

Nitin Pai: Why Shahbag is special.

In the conclusion to a study of the genocide perpetrated by the Pakistani army and its militant proxies before the birth of Bangladesh in 1971, I wrote: “realpolitik struck the final blow ... by allowing the key perpetrators to escape trial and punishment.”

“Bangladesh’s new government acutely felt the need for international recognition, not least because it was substantially dependent on foreign aid. In a grand tripartite bargain, the three countries decided that India would release Pakistani prisoners-of-war, Pakistan would recognise Bangladesh, repatriate the Bengalis on its territory and admit a number of Biharis. Bangladesh, which had by then reduced the number of Pakistanis it wanted to put on trial for war crimes from 1,500 to 195, agreed to drop its demands entirely.”

The razakars – collaborators belonging to Islamist militant groups who had aided the Pakistani army’s genocidal campaign – not only avoided punishment, but acquired political power in the country whose independence they had violently opposed. For almost four decades, it appeared that the quest for justice was a lost cause. This was the case until four years ago when Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government assumed office and delivered on its campaign promise of putting suspected war criminals to trial.

The internet played a role in ensuring that the flame for justice was not completely extinguished. Especially over the last decade, a new generation of patriotic Bangladeshis found voice, fellowship and influence online. For instance, my friend and long-time blogger Rezwan-ul-Islam put together the Bangladesh Genocide Archive (genocidebangladesh.org), in which he curated articles, photographs, videos and papers documenting a gruesome, but forgotten, chapter in world history. There were many like him; but, somehow, it felt like there were too few to make a difference.

For, in many ways, theirs was a battle against those who’d rather forget — the United States under Richard Nixon sided with the butchers, the United Nations was unable to do much and Pakistan wanted to erase every memory. Even a part of the Bangladeshi political spectrum found it more profitable to do deals with the collaborators than to bring them to justice. In the event, it was a battle that the keepers of the flame managed to win.

So when Abdul Quader Mollah, a person convicted of committing heinous crimes, walked out of the tribunal with a life sentence, a wide grin and a flashing V-for-victory sign, it is understandable that a lot of Bangladeshis flew into a rage. Within days, Dhaka’s Shahbag intersection became the site of massive public protests. Rapid, leaderless and transcending partisan lines – the hallmarks of mobilisation in the deeply networked societies of this age – the protests unambiguously demanded that those found guilty of mass atrocities be put to death.

One reason why many Bangladeshis want to hang the war criminals is that they fear that a future government sympathetic to the Islamists, or dependent on their support, might commute life sentences and set the culprits free again. Mr Mollah’s triumphalism is suspected as being an outcome of a deal among the political parties. For the time being, the Shahbag protests have ensured that domestic realpolitik does not get in the way of justice again.

The Jamaat-i-Islami is fighting back: online, politically and on the streets. In a shocking incident that is reminiscent of the terror tactics adopted by razakars in 1971, a blogger was killed and dismembered last week, allegedly by militants affiliated to the Jamaat. It is likely that the Islamist right-wing will attempt its own counter-mobilisation in the coming weeks, creating a major security challenge for the Bangladeshi government as the country heads towards general elections.

Although the sight of massive crowds baying for blood is unsettling, the Shahbag protests are not merely about hanging murderers. Bangladesh is in a remarkable, and perhaps unprecedented, situation: large crowds have gathered in a Muslim-majority country protesting against Islamist politics. This is really a massive public rejection of parties like the Jamaat-i-Islami and a repudiation of their ideology. So strong is the public sentiment that even the opposition Bangladesh National Party is finding the need to distance itself from its long-time ally.

While the Shahbag protests are certainly impressive, it is the forthcoming general election that will decide which way Bangladesh will go. Tens of thousands of protesters gathered at a Dhaka intersection make for compelling visual footage. They are, however, a fraction of the electorate that will decide who forms the next government. While Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina did deliver on her election promise on the issue of the razakars, will voters reward her with another term based on this one issue?

brihaspati · Post by **brihaspati** » 18 Feb 2013 07:19

Elections are a different issue. Overall the state machinery is almost completely infiltrated by Islamists, and the army's sentiments are at best dubious. The overt and covert Islamists are almost equally balanced. A 10% swing roughly sweeps the elections - but this is the relatively undecided and wavering urban vote.

What is most likely to happen this time around is a split in the urban vote evenly and hence a more even proportion of actual elected from each of the two fronts.

Agnimitra · Post by **Agnimitra** » 20 Feb 2013 02:20

Sarmila Bose's Ox-farts need more censure:
The war Bangladesh can never forget

Pakistan has never accepted responsibility for what happened. Moreover, historians and journalists have come perilously close to genocide denial, or have seemed motivated by a desire to minimise the numbers involved. The official Pakistani estimates were originally only 26,000 dead and 2 million refugees. A recent Oxford historian whose methodology was savagely criticised declared that there were no more than 50,000 to 100,000 dead from all sides in the war.

If this were true, the Pakistani forces would have fallen short of their ambitions. At a meeting on 22 February 1971, the Pakistani President General Yahya Khan is recorded as saying in fury: “Kill three million of them, and the rest will eat out of our hands.” Ten million fled to India; 30 million left the cities and went to the villages.

In the first phase of the war, young men and Hindus, Awami League members, intellectuals, students and academics were targeted for murder. In the second phase of the war, women were singled out. It is thought that at least 200,000 women were raped by the Pakistani forces and their collaborators – 25,000 victims found themselves pregnant, so that is not implausible. There are eyewitness accounts of “rape camps” set up by the Pakistani forces.
...
In the last week of the war, when Pakistani defeat was inevitable and a new nation was clearly about to be born, a concerted effort was made to kill as many intellectual leaders as possible, many between 12 and 14 December.

OARN, the Brits love to create conflict and then perpetuate the memory of mutual inflicted pain between us subcontinentals. "Can never forget," says the Independent.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 20 Feb 2013 03:24

Carl wrote:Sarmila Bose's Ox-farts need more censure: ]The war Bangladesh can never forget[
OARN, the Brits love to create conflict and then perpetuate the memory of mutual inflicted pain between us subcontinentals. "Can never forget," says the Independent.

This is kind of democracy British forced on the sub continent after 200 years. In its history of the region the people have never experience this kind of events.

PratikDas · Post by **PratikDas** » 20 Feb 2013 03:47

I'm not really familiar with Sarmila Bose's deeds or misdeeds and it would certainly be irksome if she was yet another WKK on a stipend. However, the author of the article "The war Bangladesh can never forget" is Philip Hensher, not Sarmila Bose.

Lilo · Post by **Lilo** » 20 Feb 2013 03:50

A recent Oxford historian whose methodology was savagely criticised declared that there were no more than 50,000 to 100,000 dead from all sides in the war.

^
SarmilaBose

Agnimitra · Post by **Agnimitra** » 21 Feb 2013 11:44

Acharya wrote:
Carl wrote:Sarmila Bose's Ox-farts need more censure: ]The war Bangladesh can never forget[
OARN, the Brits love to create conflict and then perpetuate the memory of mutual inflicted pain between us subcontinentals. "Can never forget," says the Independent.
This is kind of democracy British forced on the sub continent after 200 years. In its history of the region the people have never experience this kind of events.

Its called demoncrazy - the Anglosphere's most marketed gift to India. The seed was planted in the fertile soil of subhuman poverty, rascal deracinated elites, formalized caste and ethnic divisions, and communist history re-writing. It bore its mature fruit in its true son Pakistan.

Demoncrazy is currently being reproduced in the Arab world.

Agnimitra · Post by **Agnimitra** » 23 Feb 2013 00:49

So the net effect of the clashes between those demanding acknowledgment of the facts of 1971 versus the internal Islamists who had supported West Pakistan in its genocide and rape is...

Bangladesh Blocks ‘Anti-Islam’ Blogs

Amid growing public unrest, Bangladesh has blocked some internet sites and blogs for ‘hurting religious feelings’ in the majority Muslim nation, as rival protests resumed between Jamaat-e-Islami supporters and young protesters supporting bloggers.

“We've taken the actions in line with the country's ICT (Information Communication Technology) Act,” Giasuddin Ahmed, vice chairman of the country's telecommunications regulator, told Agence France Presse (AFP).

Ahmed added that least two websites had been blocked as well as removing 10 blog posts for “spreading hatred, provoking social disorder and hurting religious feelings of the people”.

Authorities have also asked blog operators to "moderate" their posts to try to filter out anti-religious writings, another official said....

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 24 Feb 2013 05:53

Young and angry at Shahbagh

Many of the youngsters who turned up to protest at Dhaka's Shahbagh Square were born after Bangladesh's War of Liberation. Subrata Nagchoudhury visits the country's protest hub to know what spurs them on.

member_19686 · Post by **member_19686** » 28 Feb 2013 21:34

Jamaatis wreak havoc in Bangladesh, kill 19 after top leader sentenced to death

By NitiCentral Staff on February 28, 2013

At least 19 people were killed by activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir as they ran riot across the country following the verdict of war criminal Delawar Hossain Sayedeee on Thursday, a Daily Star report said.

Victims included policemen, Jamaat-Shibir activists and civilians.

Hours after Sayedee was sentenced to death, Jamaat-Shibir activists set fire to a Hindu temple and houses of the minority community in Noakhali, the report said.

Jamaat-Shibir activists attacked police and vandalised at least 60 vehicles in Rajshahi and Chittagong districts on Thursday in retaliation to Sayedee’s sentencing, the report said.

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 awarded the death penalty to Sayedee, vice president of the Jamaat, for committing crimes against humanity during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, according to the report.

Soon after the verdict was pronounced, around 500 Jamaat-Shibir men attacked law enforcers at Binodpur bazaar in Rajshahi, injuring two policemen, the report said.

At least 50 cocktails were exploded during the attack.

Meanwhile, another group of Jamaat-Shibir men blocked the Dhaka-Rajshahi highway. Police fired many rounds of rubber bullets and lobbed teargas shells to free the highway, according to the report.

Similar events took place in Chittagong, where at least 60 vehicles were vandalised by Jamaat-Shibir activists on the Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar highway in the afternoon, the report said.

The Jamaat has called a 48-hour nationwide hartal from Sunday morning in protest of the death penalty for Sayedee.

The Government hastily decided to deploy the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) across the country from 8:00 pm on Thursday to assist the police in maintaining law and order, the report said.

According to BGB officials, additional members of the paramilitary force will be deployed in the capital, Dhaka, while BGB men would be deployed at different districts as per the requirements of respective district administrations, according to the report.

(Source: Daily Star)

http://www.niticentral.com/2013/02/28/j ... 51022.html

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 28 Feb 2013 22:14

brihaspati wrote:Elections are a different issue. Overall the state machinery is almost completely infiltrated by Islamists, and the army's sentiments are at best dubious. The overt and covert Islamists are almost equally balanced. A 10% swing roughly sweeps the elections - but this is the relatively undecided and wavering urban vote.

What is most likely to happen this time around is a split in the urban vote evenly and hence a more even proportion of actual elected from each of the two fronts.

Slowly it seems Bengali nationalism is on the rise. Clashes with jihadis is inevitable.

Anindya · Post by **Anindya** » 01 Mar 2013 05:31

from the above link....

Hours after Sayedee was sentenced to death, Jamaat-Shibir activists set fire to a Hindu temple and houses of the minority community in Noakhali, the report said.

Gus · Post by **Gus** » 01 Mar 2013 16:26

riots and protests in BD, dozens dead.

Wonder what changed in BD, for Hasina to take this now. Things were trending paki in last decade.

brihaspati · Post by **brihaspati** » 02 Mar 2013 00:38

RoyG wrote:
brihaspati wrote:Elections are a different issue. Overall the state machinery is almost completely infiltrated by Islamists, and the army's sentiments are at best dubious. The overt and covert Islamists are almost equally balanced. A 10% swing roughly sweeps the elections - but this is the relatively undecided and wavering urban vote.

What is most likely to happen this time around is a split in the urban vote evenly and hence a more even proportion of actual elected from each of the two fronts.
Slowly it seems Bengali nationalism is on the rise. Clashes with jihadis is inevitable.

Its the second phase of generational clash trend with Islamism. These guys will also not succeed - they do not yet dominate demographically. They are also coming into direct clash with the mullahcracy - which as per my theory, they see once they see mullah's somehwo in power or in direct gov-state power. THey typically fail even on the second round - because their previous generations are still numerically majority together withe elderly - and they have had grown up or come to power in compromise with the mullahcracy. Roughly 2/3rds seems to be the tipping point - so another gen necessary for any significant overthrow of the mullahs.

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 02 Mar 2013 01:15

Gus wrote:riots and protests in BD, dozens dead.

Wonder what changed in BD, for Hasina to take this now. Things were trending paki in last decade.

Good question. Hasina is doing many things that she did not do in previous terms. What may be the reason?

brihaspati · Post by **brihaspati** » 02 Mar 2013 01:20

She is facing equal seats from opposition in Parliament this time - and perhaps even a defeat.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 02 Mar 2013 04:36

BBC take !

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21626843

Not worth posting the headline.

Man the Brits are Turds.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 02 Mar 2013 08:15

The ghosts of 1971

Book Review: Bangladesh: The Price of Freedom

Samudragupta · Post by **Samudragupta** » 02 Mar 2013 08:17

I think this incident is not entirely against mullahcracy or Islamism...Bangladesh has still not reached the Iranian stage yet..the current situation is more akin to the result of deep resentment against the upper riverine plains where JI is being seen as continuation of the entity...but the Islamists are transforming themselves to come under singular Arab lead in the subcontinent where the Islamists will be increasingly being seen in Bangladesh as an Perso-Arab entity than a subcontinent entity....From an Indian POV it is important that Islamists in Bangladesh is being seen as more as Paki phenomenon than an Arab-Persian phenomenon....until and unless people rise against the Arab-Persian entity we can never be surre that they are rising against the Islamism....

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 02 Mar 2013 13:27

It seems refugees have started arriving at the bengal border as also indian truck drivers and helpers who had to flee across the border leaving their vehicles behind in the chaos.

It all depends if the bd army can stand firm and crush the ji. I guess its their tet offensive so now or never..they are hitting with full power.

Samudragupta · Post by **Samudragupta** » 02 Mar 2013 13:58

The administration is keeping a close eye on the developments across the border. In Kolkata, security around the Bangladesh High Commission in Park Circus has been stepped up following several Muslim organisations in the city showing solidarity with the Jamaat.

" The Bangladesh government is hanging innocent people. The country is becoming another Egypt and innocents are being killed by the police," Maulana Shafique Quasmi, Imam of Nakhoda Masjid, said.

On February 21, pro-Jamaat outfits wanted to organise a rally in Kolkata to show their solidarity with their leaders across the border. But the police refused them permission fearing violence.

Strange!!!

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 02 Mar 2013 14:52

Nothing strange. JEI is the main Islamist org in WB and Northern India. If Hasina Govt. comes back to power and bans the JEI it will be a big blow to Islamists in Bd.

Samudragupta · Post by **Samudragupta** » 02 Mar 2013 15:25

Supratik wrote:Nothing strange. JEI is the main Islamist org in WB and Northern India. If Hasina Govt. comes back to power and bans the JEI it will be a big blow to Islamists in Bd.

If JI is banned that will be greatest setback for the fightback against Islamism...because if that happens it means Al will be in control of the Islamists in Bangladesh...with creeping Islamism in the institutional machination of the state.....Hasina and the so called left leaning elites of AL will be "assimilated" in a future effectively(may not necessarily be violent)...creeping Islamism will come back in the form of Bengali nationalism and secularism through backdoor....JI is an organisation...its the ideology that has to be curtailed..and for the ideology to be seen in the real perspective JI has to be sustained in its violent form.....the current embargo will end when all the war criminals were hanged and JI is wounded but not destroyed sufficiently so that it comes back with more venegance in the next stage....ultimately the escalation matrix will expose the ideology and that is what is needed....

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 02 Mar 2013 15:40

AL is already a mix of soft Islamism and socialism (after all it is an offshoot of the ML). The AL has the dubious record of occupying the highest amount of Hindu land in Bd. However, if JI is banned the degree of Islamism will be reduced. But that is hypothetical as AL may or may not return to power and BNP if it comes to power may overturn the prosecution and ban.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 02 Mar 2013 19:15

looks like exec summary is we have a 200 million strong time bomb glued under our butts with no clear means to exercise control inside the pressure vessel.

and unlike other miscreants we cant even shift our chair out of the zone.

member_19686 · Post by **member_19686** » 02 Mar 2013 19:41

Exodus to India as Bangladesh burns
By Subhro Maitra, TNN | Mar 2, 2013, 06.01 AM IST

MAHADIPUR (Bangladesh border): Hundreds of Bangladeshis have poured into the border district of Malda, fleeing the violence that has broken out after Jamaat-e-Islami vice-president Delwar Hossain Sayedee was sentenced to death on Thursday for his role in the '71 atrocities.

BSF officials at the Mahadipur checkpost say they have never seen such an exodus in years. Even Awami League members are among those seeking refuge in India, say sources.

Hundreds of loaded trucks are stranded on this side of the border as export has come to a complete stop. Some 300 drivers and helpers returned on Friday, leaving their trucks behind in Bangladeshi ports. Hundreds more from Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Punjab are stranded there. "We are more concerned for their safety now than our losses," said exporter Samir Ghosh.

Awami League leader Md Alauddin, a member of the Natore municipality board, and his wife were seen walking through Mahadipur border checkpost on Friday. "The entire nation is in flames. Roads have been cut at many places, and houses torched. Awami supporters are under attack," he said.

Risha, a second-year BBA student, followed Alauddin a while later, on her way to a relative's house in Murshidabad . "The library at Shibgunj in Nawabgunj district was set on fire on Thursday. The flames were yet to die down when I left. We are very scared," she said. Like Risha, many begin by claiming that they have crossed over for medical treatment.

"I don't know when I shall be able to return home," said the student.

Sixty-year-old Abdus Salam of Chapai Nawabgunj admits he is terrified. "An undeclared strike is on. Jamat has called an official strike on Sunday and Monday. We fear more violence," he said, as Bajlur Haque and wife Latika Akhtar added. The couple has fled from Bagha in Rajsahi . "We had to sneak through fields and forests as the roads have been cut at many places. Houses and cars are being set on fire," said Bajlur.

Although Bangladeshis do come in through Mahadipur , the number has suddenly doubled, say BSF officlas. Infiltration also has shot up. On Wednesday night, 29 infiltrators - including children and women - were intercepted at the Hili border.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/worl ... 759460.cms

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 02 Mar 2013 20:37

India should stand firmly with Bd on this. Weakening of Islamists will have long term geo-political ramifications in this region.

anupmisra · Post by **anupmisra** » 02 Mar 2013 20:48

Samudragupta wrote:
"The country is becoming another Egypt" Maulana Shafique Quasmi, Imam of Nakhoda Masjid, said.

Isn't that the goal of all South Asian islamists? To be more like their arab kith and kin?

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 02 Mar 2013 21:51

India is going all out to woo Dhaka. Pranab due in Dhaka despite the protests. Bangladesh buying more electricity from India - this is all in efforts to ensure another win for AL in the elections and show the people the benefits of being pro-India. Bangladesh allowing trade/transshipment to NE, use of their ports for NE. Stopping the use of Bangladesh by ISI, rounding up the terrorists etc (just last week 2 pakis were arrested). In Jan they handed over a Tripura separist leader.

Battling the hardcore islamists is a good thing. Tactical victory - but more work needed for long term victory. Removing religion from politics is also a positive step.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 02 Mar 2013 22:30

Singha wrote:looks like exec summary is we have a 200 million strong time bomb glued under our butts with no clear means to exercise control inside the pressure vessel.

and unlike other miscreants we cant even shift our chair out of the zone.

This, added with IM time bomb will explode in our Musharrafs when we are least prepared.

The TSUchiyapanti of secularism must end so Hindu pluralism is limited to Indic philosophies and not desert religions.

The sub-continent population has no reason to be Muslims or Christians. If they really believe in and follow the memes of Christianity and Islam, there are better alternatives - Jimutavahanism/Buddhism for Christians and Sikhism for Muslims.

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 03 Mar 2013 01:01

According to latest census Bd has already reached TFR of 2.1 and the economy is growing at 6% for the last few years. If handled properly Bd is an opportunity waiting to happen. It can be brought to the Indian side and towards Indic memes. The Jamaat is big when it comes to Bengali Islamism. I see greater integration if the Jamaat is finished although such hopes are a little premature.

Anindya · Post by **Anindya** » 03 Mar 2013 10:35

Hindus under attack in Bangladesh

Daily Star reports that on Saturday alone, members of the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir have attacked and destroyed six temples and set fire to several Hindu houses and business in Noakhali, Gaibandha, Chittagong, Rangpur, Sylhet, Chapainawabganj and Rajganj. These attacks of course, are in addition to the violence unleashed by Islamists in the last three days in which more than a dozen people have lost their lives.
...
The persecution of Bangladeshi Hindus in the wake of a setback to the Islamist cause is happening exactly as it did back in 1971. Back then, the reason was the Bangladeshi freedom movement. This time, the reason is justice catching up with the war criminals.

>> In Chittagong, Jamaati Islamists attacked Hindu majority localities at Jaldi union of Banshkhali upazila and set fire to a Buddhist temple.

>> Jamaat members also burned houses at Dhopapara and Mohajonpara and attacked people with sticks, iron rods and sharp weapons.

>> The rioters also burned three shops belonging to Hindus at Kaliash union of Satkania upazila.

>> Members of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir attacked a temple and business establishments belonging to Hindus at Bhelkobazar in Sundarganj upazila of Gaibandha district.

>> Rioters also vandalised some houses in Shovaganj union.

>> Vandalism, arson and looting took place in temples, houses and business establishments of Hindus in Sylhet, Rangpur, Thakurgaon, Laxmipur and Chapainawabganj.

>> Attackers had vandalised the central Kali temple at Mithapukur upazila in Rangpur and another at Kansat in Chapainawabganj.

Samudragupta · Post by **Samudragupta** » 03 Mar 2013 15:03

Anindya wrote:Hindus under attack in Bangladesh

Daily Star reports that on Saturday alone, members of the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir have attacked and destroyed six temples and set fire to several Hindu houses and business in Noakhali, Gaibandha, Chittagong, Rangpur, Sylhet, Chapainawabganj and Rajganj. These attacks of course, are in addition to the violence unleashed by Islamists in the last three days in which more than a dozen people have lost their lives.
...
The persecution of Bangladeshi Hindus in the wake of a setback to the Islamist cause is happening exactly as it did back in 1971. Back then, the reason was the Bangladeshi freedom movement. This time, the reason is justice catching up with the war criminals.

>> In Chittagong, Jamaati Islamists attacked Hindu majority localities at Jaldi union of Banshkhali upazila and set fire to a Buddhist temple.

>> Jamaat members also burned houses at Dhopapara and Mohajonpara and attacked people with sticks, iron rods and sharp weapons.

>> The rioters also burned three shops belonging to Hindus at Kaliash union of Satkania upazila.

>> Members of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir attacked a temple and business establishments belonging to Hindus at Bhelkobazar in Sundarganj upazila of Gaibandha district.

>> Rioters also vandalised some houses in Shovaganj union.

>> Vandalism, arson and looting took place in temples, houses and business establishments of Hindus in Sylhet, Rangpur, Thakurgaon, Laxmipur and Chapainawabganj.

>> Attackers had vandalised the central Kali temple at Mithapukur upazila in Rangpur and another at Kansat in Chapainawabganj.

This is a familiar technique...organize pogroms against the Hindus so that the current anti-JI movement looses steam...nway JI is behaving exactly the same way as a caged rat... desperately trying to get its way out....lets see if the Al can stood down the international Islamist pressure and carry fwd the anti Jamaat movement....the Hindus in Bangladesh needs some bold leaders to take control of the secular movement...this is the big opportunity....

vishvak · Post by **vishvak** » 03 Mar 2013 16:02

The international human rights groups, active and loud in Shri Lanka, are silent again in Bangladesh.

The Indian govt could make the rogues declated as terror horde.

Ironic how Hindu groups in WBangla and elsewhere are silent till some horde come to kill.

uddu · Post by **uddu** » 03 Mar 2013 18:21

Seeing the attacks against the Hindus, i do strongly believe that Hindus must arm themselves.

brihaspati · Post by **brihaspati** » 03 Mar 2013 20:23

BNP and jamaat will return to power next round. No amount of sops given by India to BD will help. Neither will it help the hindus of BD nor will it soften in any way or weaken the hold of Islamism on BD state machinery. The army is divided over Islam and its use. It always was. Moreover, these coercive wings of the Muslim states on teh subcontinent probably retain strong intel and covert interfaces with ex-colonial masters.

The role in turn of the ex-colonial masters and the Saudi interface is very strong in the state and more so in the armed portions. They will never want Islamist hold to weaken. The Shahbag factor will have already frightened MI* of londonistan and KSA. Their handles in both AL and BNP as well as JI will have been told to see to it that Shahbag movement be quashed in all possible ways.

AL is already scared and there will be more feet dragging. They also know that a large portion of the armed Islamic youth has been mobilized. They also know that involving the armed forces could be a blow-back. They are not sure how much of Islamist sympathy lie within their own ranks and in the police and army and admin.

brihaspati · Post by **brihaspati** » 03 Mar 2013 20:28

Samudragupta ji,
if a Hindu takes hold of "secular" movement - that will be straight loser in BD society. The deepest of hatred is instilled into the common Muslim psyche - against the Hindu. It will not be allowed by even the genuinely secular among the BD muslims, because they know that it will be used by Islamists immediately to delegtimize the secular movement itself. No leadrship position of -even progressive movements can be given to a Hindu in BD society. the muslim ego of totalitarian power and leadership [a Muslim cannot and should not tolerate the pre-eminence of any non-Muslim] has to be stoked - even in progress.

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 04 Mar 2013 00:22

There may be a civil war type situation that may arise in Bd which should be used by India covertly to clean up the Islamists as we did in Kashmir.