'Not Just Bangladesh's Internal Matter': Sadhguru Reacts As Calls To Protect Hindus Amid Unrest Grow Louder

World leaders and organizations from India and around the globe have condemned the attacks on the Hindu minority in Bangladesh amid the ongoing unrest.

Spiritual leader Sadhguru stated that the attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh should not be seen as merely an internal issue of the neighbouring country. Meanwhile, Canadian MP Chandra Arya urged Canada to take action to ensure the safety of minorities in Bangladesh.

On ‘X’, Sadhguru emphasized that it is India’s responsibility to stand up against these atrocities and protect minority communities.

“The atrocities being perpetrated against Hindus is not just an internal matter of Bangladesh. Bharat cannot be Maha-Bharat if we do not stand up and act at the earliest to ensure the safety of minorities in our neighborhood,” wrote Sadhguru on ‘X’.

“What was part of this Nation unfortunately became neighborhood, but it is our responsibility to protect these people -who actually belong to this Civilization- from these shocking atrocities,” wrote Sadhguru.

As per the media reports, hundreds of Hindu houses, businesses and temples have been vandalised since the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Hindus constitute about 8% of Bangladesh’s 170 million people.

Canadian MP Chandra Arya Expresses Concern Over Attacks On Hindus In Bangladesh

Indian-origin Canadian MP Chandra Arya expressed his deep concerns over the reports of attacks on Hindus, temples and other religious minorities in Bangladesh and called on Canada country to ensure the safety of minorities in Bangladesh on Tuesday.

“I am concerned by the report of attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh and their temples and also attacks on other religious minorities. I also note some reports of the Hindu temples being protected by their Muslim neighbours. I call on Canada to monitor this and urge authorities in Bangladesh to protect religious minorities. @CanHCBangladesh @BDHCinCanada,” Arya wrote in a post on X.

VHP Urges Government To Take Action to Ensure Safety Of Minorities In Bangladesh

On Tuesday, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) also urged the government to take “every possible” step to ensure the safety of Hindus, Sikhs and other minorities in Bangladesh, claiming that “fundamentalists” are targeting them in several districts of the neighbouring country.

Addressing a press conference, VHP president Alok Kumar called for strict security vigil on the Indo-Bangladesh border, saying that attempts could be made to “orchestrate infiltration” into the Indian territory taking advantage of the prevailing situation in the neighbouring country.

He also asked the world community to take “effective action” for the safety of minorities and protection of human rights in Bangladesh which he said is “trapped in a strange uncertainty, violence and anarchy”.

“In the recent past, religious places, business establishments and houses of Hindus, Sikhs and other minorities have also been rampaged in Bangladesh. Till last night, 22 houses in Panchgarh district alone, 20 houses in Jhenaidah and 22 shops in Jessore became targets of the fundamentalists and in many districts even crematoriums were vandalised,” he said.

There is “hardly” any district left in Bangladesh which has not become a target of their “violence and terror”, he added.

“In Bangladesh, the houses, shops, offices, business establishments of Hindus and women, children and even the centres of their belief, faith and worship such as temples and gurudwaras are not safe. It can be said that the condition of the oppressed minorities there is going from bad to worse,” Kumar said.

He claimed that a lot of damage has been done to ISKCON temple in the neighbouring country.

The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) said reports about incidents including ransacking and, in some cases, burning of Hindu temples have come from across Bangladesh. While the full extent to which religious minorities are being targeted in this greater unrest is not yet fully clear, the picture is deeply concerning, the HAF said.

“These attacks are heartbreaking, but unsurprising. It is well documented that prior to the toppling of Sheikh Hasina’s government, Bangladesh’s Hindu population has been targeted and harassed in sections of the country for many years now,” HAF director of Policy Research Anita Joshi said, reported PTI.

“The Bangladesh military is reportedly forming an interim government, and so we urge local law enforcement and military leadership to ensure the safety of all Bangladesh’s religious minorities, protecting their homes, business, and places of worship in this moment of turmoil,” Joshi said.

The HAF said it has called on the US State Department to work with Bangladesh’s military leaders and the interim government to immediately protect religious minorities from violence, reported PTI.

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