49 minority teachers in Bangladesh forced to quit

Dhaka, September 1

At least 49 teachers belonging to minority communities were forced to resign in Bangladesh after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government on August 5, according to a minority organisation in the violence-hit nation.

The Bangladesh Chhatra Oikya Parishad, the student wing of Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad, said this on Saturday, The Daily Star newspaper reported. The organisation’s coordinator, Sajib Sarkar, said in the students’ violence that ensued for days following the ouster and fleeing of 76-year-old prime minister Hasina, minority teachers across the country faced physical assault, and at least 49 of them were forced to resign.

However, 19 of them were reinstated later, the report quoted him as saying. Sarkar added that religious and ethnic minorities have also faced attacks, looting, assault on women, vandalism of temples, arson attacks on homes and businesses, and killings during this period.

Bangladesh saw several incidents of violence against members of Hindu, Buddhist and Christian communities following the fall of the Hasina-led Awami League government last month.

Hasina resigned and fled to India on August 5 following unprecedented anti-government student-led protests over a controversial quota system in government jobs.

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, 84, who is leading the interim government as its Chief Adviser, said he wanted to build a Bangladesh where everyone can practice their faith without any fear.

According to the data compiled by the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad organisations, members of minority communities in the country faced at least 205 incidents of attacks in 52 districts since the fall of the Hasina-led government.

Over 230 people were killed in Bangladesh in the incidents of violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina government, taking the death toll to more than 600 since the protests started in mid-July.