New York: Hindu American groups flew a huge airline banner over the Hudson River, urging the global community to take action and stop the alleged ongoing violence of Hindus in Bangladesh.
The banner flew over the river and circled the Statue of Liberty. The statue is a global symbol of human dignity, freedom, and equality.
Massive airline banner circling right above iconic Statue of Liberty & Hudson River, calling for Stopping Genocide of Hindus in Bangladesh. The Hindus of America have United to protest & highlight the state of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh. Md Yunus are you listening?… pic.twitter.com/YPnHzfeRVw
— Radharamn Das राधारमण दास (@RadharamnDas) October 4, 2024
The Hindu population in Bangladesh now stands at 8.9%, according to reports. It dwindled following the 1971 genocide, which as documented by US Congress Resolution HR 1430 in 2022 claimed 2.8 million lives. In 1971, the percentage of Hindu population in Bangladesh was 20. The resolution had also claimed that at least 200,000 predominantly Hindu women were raped during the genocide.
In such a scenario, the recent reports alleging targeted violence, lynchings, kidnappings of minor girls, and forced job resignations are affecting up to 200,000 Hindus in the country further. There are also reports of property seizures.
“Hindus in Bangladesh are on the verge of extinction. Hopefully, this will raise awareness among the civilised world and prompt the UN to take action to save the victims of militant Islamic forces in Bangladesh. If Bangladesh becomes Hindu-free, it will become Afghanistan 2.0, and militants will spread to neighbouring India and other parts of the world, including the West. This is everyone’s problem,” said Sitangshu Guha, from the Bangladesh Hindu Community and one of the event organisers, as quoted by NDTV.
Pankaj Mehta, another activist and member of the Interfaith Human Rights Coalition, stated that it was time for the UN Human Rights Council to put aside politics and officially recognise the 1971 Bangladesh genocide, the largest genocide since World War II. He claimed that three US-based organisations—The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention, Genocide Watch, and the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience—had already recognised the atrocities committed by Pakistani occupation forces and their Islamist allies in 1971 as genocide.
He added that the UN must take steps to prevent another looming genocide. The community in US also urged executives of major buyers of Bangladeshi garments—such as Walmart, H&M, Gap Inc., Target, PVH Corp, and VF Corporation—to suspend shipments from Bangladesh.
The Jewish community in America has also expressed solidarity with the Hindu minority. The Jews drew parallels to the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists in Israel.
