A predominant prick of Bangladesh’s population believes the caretaker authorities is offering higher security for non secular and ethnic minorities as in contrast with the old Awami League authorities, shows a recent gaze by Bid of The US (VOA).
The gaze, achieved in late October, stumbled on that 64.1% of respondents mediate the caretaker authorities is offering greater protection to minorities than the old administration. In disagreement, 15.3% judge the disclose of affairs has worsened, while 17.9% if truth be told feel it stays unchanged.
It, on the different hand, says that the perceptions of security fluctuate between Muslims and non-Muslims.
The poll included 1,000 respondents selected to replicate Bangladesh’s demographics. The sample used to be evenly damage up between males and girls, with 92.7% figuring out as Muslim. A miniature bit over half of of the respondents had been below the age of 34, and a pair of quarter resided in metropolis areas.
Preliminary Turmoil
After the tumble of the Awami League authorities on 5 August, non secular minorities, particularly Hindus, faced a wave of violence, including assaults on properties, companies, and locations of love.
“Attacks had been motivated both by political affiliations and merely for being a minority,” acknowledged Nur Khan Liton, a human rights activist. He famed incidents such as arson assaults on Ahmadiyya communities in Panchagarh.
Highlighting the longstanding vulnerability of minorities in Bangladesh, Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights See, criticised successive governments for failing to guard minority rights.
“The indigenous communities within the Chittagong Hill Tracts are deliberately marginalised, and authorities bear deprived them of their rights. Hindus and Ahmadiyyas live targets of extremist groups,” Ganguly acknowledged in an interview with VOA.
On the different hand, below the caretaker authorities led by Dr Muhammad Yunus, predominant efforts had been made to stabilise the disclose of affairs. Civil society, non secular institutions, and security forces came together to guard locations of love.
“Interior a month, we seen indispensable improvements due to collaborative efforts from the overall public, political events, and non secular groups,” acknowledged Nur Khan, now a member of the newly established Commission on Enforced Disappearances.
Differences in Thought
The gaze revealed a divide in perceptions of safety between Muslims and minorities. Among Muslim respondents, fully 13.9% felt the disclose of affairs had worsened below the caretaker authorities. On the different hand, 33.9% of minority respondents believed their security had declined.
Jayati Sarker, a Dhaka resident and NGO employee, expressed blended emotions. While she beforehand felt stable returning home late at night, she now fears venturing out even earlier within the evening. “Within the previous, I did now not hesitate to attain home with my daughter at 11pm. Now, even at 8pm, I if truth be told feel unsafe,” she acknowledged.
No matter these concerns, some respondents acknowledged a strategy of reduction due to the absence of particular political formulation.
“For 15 years, Awami League activists bought Hindu-owned land at low costs or compelled gross sales. Now, they’re long gone, constructing a strategy of reduction,” Sarker added.
Hiren Pandit, a programme coordinator in Dhaka, famed improved security in rural areas due to increased defense power deployment nevertheless remained cautious about the future. “Our village properties had been burned down, and we aloof live with insecurity,” Pandit acknowledged.
World Danger
The post-transition violence in opposition to minorities in Bangladesh has drawn international consideration. India’s Ministry of External Affairs has consistently voiced its concerns, while US Secretary of Yelp Antony Blinken discussed minority rights with Dr Yunus all via their 26 September assembly in New York.
Donald Trump, the newly elected US President, condemned the violence in an 31 October post on social media platforms X and Truth Social. “I strongly condemn the barbaric violence in opposition to Hindus, Christians, and other minorities in Bangladesh,” Trump wrote.
Future Possibilities
In an take care of marking the caretaker authorities’s 100 days, Dr Yunus attributed the violence to political motivations pretty than non secular tensions. “Some incidents had been given a non secular guise to destabilise the nation extra,” he acknowledged.
Human rights activist Nur Khan sees encouraging signs nevertheless emphasised the need for constant actions over the arrival months to rebuild believe within minority communities. “The sense of unease is reducing, nevertheless whether or now not minorities can if truth be told feel fully stable is determined by the authorities’s initiatives within the next six to 9 months,” Khan acknowledged.
