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When bigots keep winning

6 November 2016, 07:58 AM
COUNTRY
Aasha Mehreen Amin
Aasha Mehreen Amin
By Aasha Mehreen Amin
6 November 2016, 07:58 AM
UPDATED 8 November 2016, 01:34 AM
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A Hindu woman sitting in her vandalised home in Kashipara of Brahmanbaria's Nasirnagar upazila yesterday. Religious zealots attacked her house and destroyed all belongings during the mayhem on October 30. Star file photo
It is a mindboggling mystery how, after such a hue and cry over the vicious attacks on homes, property and temples of Hindus in Brahmanbaria’s Nasirnagar, unknown miscreants have had the audacity to carry out another arson attack – this time the target was on Nasirnagar’s Upazila Parishad’s Vice Chairman who is Hindu and who protested against the October 30 mayhem.

It is a mindboggling mystery how, after such a hue and cry over the vicious attacks on homes, property and temples of Hindus in Brahmanbaria's Nasirnagar, unknown miscreants have had the audacity to carry out another arson attack – this time the target was on Nasirnagar's Upazila Parishad's Vice Chairman who is Hindu and who protested against the October 30 mayhem. All this happened despite the presence of a huge number of security personnel – two platoons of BGB, more than 500 police and detectives and a Rab camp with at least 30 members. Obviously the instigators behind this terrible fiasco, are undeterred and unafraid by all these protective measures that have come a little too late.

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People armed with sticks and sharp weapons at College Mor in Nasirnagar. A rally was held there to protest a Facebook post allegedly demeaning Islam. At least five Hindu temples and about 100 homes were vandalised just 250 metres away. Photo: Collected
The people of Brahmanbaria's Hindu community continue to have sleepless nights; for how can they just erase the nightmare of hordes of zealots swooping on them, setting fire to their homes - at least 200 of them -, looting whatever they could find, even snatching gold earrings and nose pins from women and young girls and vandalising their places of worship? Outrage and empathy have been pouring in from all over the country, ministers have promised to find the perpetrators but even this will do little to assuage the fears of this helpless community who are bewildered by this onslaught of hate.
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One of the vandalised Hindu temples in Nasirnagar upazila of Brahmanbaria. Photo: Collected
Their fears are well-founded. Media reports have revealed that the local administration and law enforcers just didn't bother taking any preemptive action even though they knew that these attacks were imminent. It is clear that the attack was a well organised one with the possibility that the religiously offensive Facebook post was planted to set off a wave of hate crimes. The question remains why? Why did these attacks take place when the government especially our Prime Minister has always reiterated that Bangladesh is a country of communal harmony in keeping with the basic spirit of our Constitution?
At this point no one can hide from the collective shame to fail to give this community the assurance that they are safe and are equal citizens. It cannot be hard to find those who carried out these heinous crimes and those who are behind these diabolical acts. The question is do we have the sincerity to identify the culprits and punish them, no matter who they are?

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