Ethnic Cleansing of Bangladesh’s Hindus Continues in 2012
Dr. Richard L. Benkin
The numbers tell the story—or at
least part of it. After India’s
Partition, Hindus were almost a third of the East Pakistan population,
according to Pakistan’s 1951 census.
When East Pakistan became Bangladesh in 1971, they were under a fifth;
30 years later less than a tenth; and according to reliable estimates, less
than eight percent today. Throughout
that time, there was a steady flow of reports on anti-Hindu atrocities there;
atrocities that include religious desecration, land grabs, property
destruction, beatings, forced conversion to Islam, child abduction, rape, and
murder.
Bangladeshi governments not only
refused to prosecute the perpetrators, but also maintained openly
discriminatory laws. One, the Vested
Property Act, is an anti-Hindu law taken in whole cloth from Pakistan that
allows the government to seize minority land and distribute it to Muslims. It has been the economic engine that powers
ethnic cleansing. Another, the Eighth
Amendment to the Constitution, declares Islam to be the state religion with
numerous consequences that elevate Bangladeshi Muslims and denigrate all other
citizens, especially Hindus.
To Know
More Please Read:
(Satkhira, Bangladesh)
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