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Bholananda Giri Ashram on Abhay Das Lane, Dhaka. It is there that Jana Vishek, a follower of Sanatan Dharma, sits in the evening aarti or prayer. After the prayer, they spoke with one of them, Sushmita Devi. When asked about the overall situation, Sushmita Devi said that despite visiting the temple regularly, now a ‘fear has crept into my mind’. This attack happened in different places. My own relative’s house and temple were also attacked. They were not party people. I myself have not been a direct victim of the attacks, but it is frightening to see them,” said Sushmita Devi.

When Durga Puja is being organized by Hindus in Bangladesh, many Hindus like Sushmita Devi are expressing fear about security. After the fall of Sheikh Hasina in a student uprising in Bangladesh, people from the minority community have also held protests and rallies in the past two months, accusing them of attacking Hindu homes and temples in various parts of the country. In these gatherings, such statements about politics are coming out, which have not been heard before. The Hindu leaders associated with Awami League, who were seen in front for so long, were not seen in these protests. But the question is, what exactly are the demands of the followers of traditional religion protesting in such a big event? And what message do they want to convey through these protests?

The recent participation of Hindus in various gatherings of Sanatan followers in and outside Dhaka is being interpreted by minority leaders as an expression of ‘massive anger’. Almost immediately these protests created a stir among the Hindu community. Initially, various organizations organized protests separately, but later it was done jointly under the banner of ‘Combined Minority Alliance’. However, attacks on Hindu temples or homes in Bangladesh are not new. Even though such incidents had happened earlier, there were no such large-scale protests by minorities. But what is the reason why so many Hindu people across the country are so angry? We actually have our backs against the wall. This feeling is spread among all. As a result, everyone came forward and tried to tell their existence. Professor Hirendranath Biswas, Advisor of the Combined Minority Alliance, said.

The attacks that have taken place in the past have happened in a specific area or in a specific village. An effect of that has also been seen. But the magnitude of the attack seems to have surpassed everything this time. In fact it has spread all over the country. As a result, at this time, a great fear, despair, panic came to everyone’s mind. Everyone was saying, even in my village no one had said such a thing before. It’s that we can’t seem to stay any longer. It is this fear that has helped people to mobilize.

This time, the participation of minorities in Dhaka or outside Dhaka is mainly seen by young people. And the students are playing the main role behind it. Apart from the large gatherings, another thing to note in the protests is the absence of leaders with political identities. Even those who led the minority community in the last two decades were not seen in the rally. On the other hand, the active role of saints and saints was seen in the movement as well as ordinary Hindus. The organizers of the movement say that they are aware that the movement should not have any political side, that no one can use it for political purposes.

We are not bringing forward those who were previously political office bearers or have the label of politics. And they don’t come naturally either. There is no need for those who were government party members at different times to join our movement. We will protest on the streets like us, they should not create disruption,” said Nirmal Biswas, a student of Dhaka University, one of the organizers of the movement. But what do they want to achieve through this question Mr. Biswas says that they are keeping the politicians away so that the movement does not become controversial.

Many may say that minorities are agitating to bring back the Awami League government. We are not agitating to bring back the Awami League government. But if the politicians are here, there may be a conspiracy to suppress us with tags. We have no target or intention to destabilize the country. We did not take to the streets at the instigation of anyone. We have entered the field only to implement our eight-point demand. This is our aim, said Nirmal Biswas. The eight points that are being talked about in the movement of the minority alliance are not new. Earlier, various organizations have presented these demands separately. But now the Hindu leaders want to put the important demands together and implement them under the name of eight-point demand. Where there is a demand for formation of investigation commission, minority protection law or formation of a separate ministry in the trial of minority torture.

Besides restoration of deity property, construction of shrines for minority community students in educational institutions, five days holiday on Durga Puja has also been sought. But this movement is happening at a time when a new interim government is in power. As a result, as many people have raised questions about the purpose of the movement, there is also a campaign in different quarters that India or Awami League is behind this movement, referring to Hindus as the ‘vote bank’ of Awami League. However, the minority leaders are rejecting these campaigns. General Secretary of Bangladesh Hindu Parishad Suman Kumar Roy says that neither the Awami League government nor any previous government has shown any willingness to accept their demands.

Suman Kumar Roy said, since 2001, today is 2024. As many atrocities have been committed on Hindus, not a single incident has been properly investigated and prosecuted. Awami League government has been in power for sixteen consecutive years, we thought, they will give importance to our demands. But in reality nothing happened. It is said that Awami League is Hindu friendly, Hindus vote for Awami League. But we have not seen its reflection. Again, it is not so that all Hindus like Awami League. So how were BNP or Jamaat leaders elected in the past in different places like Satkhira, Chittagong? They must have got the votes of the Hindus. So I think that Hindus only vote for Awami League is a baseless idea.

However, Suman Kumar Roy is also claiming that before and after any election, minorities become ‘scapegoats’ for all parties. If the Awami League candidate loses the election, then they come and beat the Hindus, set them on fire, vandalize them. Saying that the Malones did not vote, they lost. If the BNP candidate also loses, they also say that these Malones did not vote for us, that’s why we lost. So politically we should be a sacrificial ship. It is clear from the words of those who are leading the movement that they want to end the ‘Awami League supporter’ or ‘pro-India’ label on Hindus. But how will that happen? The leaders of the movement say that they are now trying to stay out of politics. Their assessment is that in the past, many people in the Hindu community have used the Hindu identity in party politics instead of looking at the interests of the minorities. Although these leaders benefited, none of the demands of the Hindus were fulfilled. Rather, Hindus have been ‘persecuted’ at various times.

Last August 4th, in the last gathering of the minority alliance in the central Shaheed Minar of Dhaka, Chinmoy Krishna Das, ISKCON leader of Chittagong and principal of Pundarik Dham, said that no one can use the Hindus for any particular party. He said, from now on, before the elections in all Bangladesh, we will vote for those who will work for our rights and our demands. We Hindus will not do any party’s party. Those who want to do this with Hindu names, we will socially ostracize them. This time, the government has extended a day’s holiday before the puja. Although the demand of the Hindu community was to give five days off on the occasion of Puja. But that didn’t happen. Besides, the leaders say that the minority community has not received any separate assurance regarding the entire eight-point demand. However, it is known that there are some discussions with the coordinators of the student movement at various levels of the government, including minority torture, security in worship.

But what exactly is the government thinking about meeting the eight-point demand? When asked, the religious adviser said that these demands are under the consideration of the government. They have made demands and the Chief Advisor has held several discussions with people of various communities including Sanatam Dharma, Buddhists, Christians. Our time is short. To do these, it takes an elected government, it takes time. We are the interim government. The government is not involved in any work that creates controversy. And those that are time consuming don’t happen in a day. We are struggling to do daily work. They claimed. These are under the consideration of the government.

But whatever the government does, Hindu community leaders say, they have fallen into a cycle of torture and deprivation in their language. That needs to end. This calls for a new perspective and a new kind of unity among traditionalists. A lot of things are now being heard among the agitators that were not said before. But on the one hand, when there is anger among the followers of Sanatan Dharma about being used politically and a new movement for eight-point demands, then there is no concrete initiative from the government to implement these demands. As a result, the minority leaders are also declaring to continue the movement instead of withdrawing from the movement.