Dipu Chandra Das’s lynching, which shocked India and the world, should have been the last such act of brutality in Bangladesh. This has not been the case, with violence against minorities, principally Hindus, continuing unabated. A Hindu man was murdered in Narsingdi city by unidentified assailants on Monday night; the murder took place hours after another person of the same faith was shot to death in Jessore. There are whispers that other fatalities and acts of arson targeting minorities in Bangladesh continue under the radar. The interim government’s assurance of safety to the besieged communities is, as a result, ringing hollow. This would deepen the cynicism of the international community when it comes to responding to the claims of the chief adviser of the interim government, Muhammad Yunus, that his dispensation is acting to curb such violence. He needs to do much more to rein in the sectarian genie that has been allowed to get out of the bottle. Moreover, an atmosphere of unrest is also not amenable to the smooth conduct of the forthcoming elections that have already been marred by acts of partisanship. The Jamaat-e-Islami has alleged that conditions for free elections continue to elude Bangladesh: Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League has, of course, been banned from contesting the polls. The additional challenge of untamed sectarian violence could further dent the nation’s image and its electoral contest.
The consequences of violence against Hindus in Bangladesh transcend borders. New Delhi would be watching the rise of such bigotry, indicative of a hole in Bangladesh’s secular fabric, with mounting concern. It must not allow its decision to shelter the ousted Ms Hasina to come in the way of condemning the bloodshed in its eastern neighbour. At the same time, India must also ensure that neither Bangladesh nor the world is in a position to point the finger at New Delhi for being complicit in its own majoritarian project: news of the targeting of minorities in Bangladesh could further inflame already fraught ties between Hindus and Muslims in this country. Yet another round of influx of Hindu refugees from Bangladesh could be an economic strain as well as a diplomatic flashpoint. The fluid situation in Bangladesh and its pitfalls — the targeting of Hindus there as well as the possibility of Dhaka’s outreach to Islamabad — deserve close monitoring by New Delhi, which must prioritise the welfare of the people of Bangladesh in the course of its engagement with Dhaka.