30,000 Hindus Rally In Bangladesh Demanding Protection From Attacks

Dhaka: Tens of thousands of minority Hindus rallied in Bangladesh's capital Dhala demanding protection from a wave of attacks and harassment for the minority communities. They alleged that there has been an increase in incidents of violence and threats since the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and demanded the interim government to protect them. The protestors also demanded the government to drop sedition cases against Hindu community leaders.About 30,000 Hindus demonstrated at a major intersection in the southeastern city of Chattogram, chanting slogans demanding their rights while police and soldiers guarded the area. Other protests were reported elsewhere in the country.Hindu groups say there have been thousands of attacks against Hindus since early August, when the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was overthrown and Hasina fled the country following a student-led uprising. Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel peace laureate named to lead an interim government after Hasina's downfall, says those figures have been exaggerated.Hindus make up about 8 per cent of the country's nearly 170 million people, while Muslims are about 91 per cent.The country's influential minority group Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council has said there have been more than 2,000 attacks on Hindus since August 4, as the interim government has struggled to restore order.The issue has reached beyond Bangladesh, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi voicing concern over reports of attacks. While the administration of United States President Joe Biden has said it is monitoring Bangladesh's human rights issues since Hasina's ouster, US presidential candidate

What Are Hindu Activists Demanding? Hindu activists have been staging protest rallies in the capital, Dhaka, and elsewhere since August to press a set of eight demands including a law to protect minorities, a ministry for minorities and a tribunal to prosecute acts of oppression against minorities. Friday's protest in Chattogram was hastily organised after sedition charges were filed Wednesday against 19 Hindu leaders, including prominent priest Chandan Kumar Dhar, over an October 25 rally in that city. Police had arrested two of the leaders who were involved in organising the orotests. The charges stem from an event in which a group of rally-goers allegedly placed a saffron flag above the Bangladesh flag on a pillar, which was considered disrespecting the national flag.Hindu community leaders say the cases are politically motivated and demanded Thursday that they be withdrawn within 72 hours. (With AP Inputs)