RSS, Karan Singh condemn atrocities against minorities

Ruling BJP’s parent organisation RSS on Saturday issued a strong statement condemning atrocities against Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh and urged India to seek international support in the matter.

In a separate statement, Congress veteran and former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Karan Singh condemned the violence, urging the head of the Bangladesh government, Mohammad Yunus, to protect and reassure the minorities.

RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale, who is the second-in-command, led the offensive on the issue as violence continued in Bangladesh. He said the atrocities, including attacks, killings, looting, arson and inhumane persecution of women, being committed against Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh by Islamic extremists were alarming and must be stopped immediately.

Hosabale demanded the release of ISKCON’s Chinamay Krishna Das from “unjust imprisonment”.

In a statement, he said, “The RSS strongly condemns these acts of violence in Bangladesh. Instead of taking appropriate steps to stop these incidents, the current government and other agencies have remained a mute spectator. Out of helplessness, when Bangladeshi Hindus resorted to raising their voice democratically for self-protection, a new phase of injustice and oppression has visibly emerged to suppress their voice.”

He said the Bangladesh government was unfair in arresting ISKCON’s Das, who was leading a peaceful protest of Hindus.

The RSS also urged the Narendra Modi government to continue with every possible effort to prevent the atrocities against Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh and take necessary steps to garner international support.

Congress leader Karan Singh, who was part of the late Indira Gandhi Cabinet and personally witnessed the saga of Bangladesh liberation in the 1970s, said it was assumed that unlike Pakistan, Bangladesh was to be a democratic and non-denominational nation where all religious communities would receive equal protection from the state.

“But recent events in Bangladesh, in which Hindu temples, organisations, community leaders and private residences have been ruthlessly attacked, causing severe loss of life and properties are indeed shocking. The same has happened with Christian churches and the community. These events are highly condemnable,” said Karan Singh.

He urged Nobel laureate Mohammed Yunus, who heads the new government of Bangladesh, to take immediate steps to prevent this carnage and reassure the large and widespread Hindu community that their lives, property and religious spaces would be fully secure.

“The recent events have created widespread concern in the billion-strong Hindu community around the world and are gravely impacting the image of Bangladesh. I am confident that Prime Minister Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have conveyed the appropriate message to Bangladesh on behalf of India,” he added.