Kolkata: Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, is under the scanner.
As the head of Bangladesh’s interim government following the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina four months ago, Yunus has failed to protect Hindus and other minority communities from being attacked and tortured, even making an effort to dismiss such reports as concocted by foreign media.
The Indian government has repeatedly condemned the atrocities against Hindus and urged Yunus to protect them.
On Friday, BJP Lok Sabha MP Jyotirmay Singh Mahato wrote to the Norwegian Nobel Committee requesting it to reassess the legacy of Yunus, highlighting the “horrors” against minorities under his leadership.
Mahato urged the Nobel Committee to publicly condemn the “atrocities and issue a statement denouncing the ongoing violence against minorities in Bangladesh” under Dr Yunus’s leadership.
“I am writing this to you with a heavy heart, compelled to highlight the tragic irony of awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to individuals whose legacies are now stained with violence and injustice. This letter specifically addresses the grave atrocities against Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh under the current regime led by Dr Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate,” wrote the Lok Sabha MP from West Bengal’s Purulia constituency.
“Dr Yunus, hailed internationally for his work on microfinance, now stands accused of orchestrating or turning a blind eye to heinous crimes against humanity. Under his leadership in the interim government, the Hindu community has faced unspeakable horrors: Mass Killings and Targeted Attacks: Reports detail a chilling escalation in violence, including the destruction of homes and Hindu temples, systematic rapes, and brutal murders. Suppression of Religious Rights: Hindu festivals such as Durga Puja have been disrupted by intimidation, extortion (Jaziya demands), and bans on public celebrations,” the letter stated.
Mahato mentioned that former Bangladesh PM Hasina had called Dr Yunus the “mastermind” behind the mass killings in Bangladesh.
The Nobel Peace Prize, a beacon of hope for humanity, now risks “losing its moral authority when awarded to figures whose actions contradict the very essence of peace and justice”, observed Mahato.
“Dr Yunus, once celebrated as a social reformer, has now been labelled by many as the ‘Butcher of Hindus’,” pointed out Mahato, referring to Yunus founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering the concepts of microcredit and microfinance.
“His administration has not only failed to protect minorities but has also indulged in anti-India rhetoric to deflect attention from its failures. Such actions are antithetical to the principles of peace and coexistence that the Nobel Prize seeks to uphold,” Mahato further stated.
According to media reports and first-hand accounts, the Hindu community has faced more than 200 attacks across Bangladesh after Hasina’s Awami League government fell on August 5.
