Tharoor highlighted how several institutions were vandalised during the ongoing violence, calling it a negative sign for the people of India | (Photo: PTI)
Amid the ongoing violence in Bangladesh, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said it is difficult for people in India to remain indifferent when every symbol of the country’s friendship with Bangladesh is being attacked there.
Referring to the crisis in Bangladesh, Tharoor said it is tragic to see what was hailed as a democratic revolution degenerate into anarchy and violence targeting minorities and the Hindu minority.
“It is extremely tragic that what was hailed as a democratic and popular revolution has degenerated into anarchy and violence directed against minorities and against the Hindu minority… We in India must stand with the people of Bangladesh. But we find it difficult to remain indifferent when every symbol of India’s friendship with Bangladesh is attacked,” Tharoor told ANI.
He highlighted how several institutions were vandalised during the ongoing violence, making it a “very negative” signal for people in India.
Tharoor said: “The statue of the surrender of Pakistani forces to Indian soldiers has been vandalised. The Indian Cultural Centre has been destroyed and several institutions have been vandalised, including the ISKCON temple. All these things send very negative signals to the people of India. It is also not in the interest of Bangladesh to give this impression.”
“They should say that it is about restoring their democracy, but in the process they turn against minorities and, in particular, against a minority that will inevitably be noticed and resented in our country and elsewhere…” he added.
Bangladesh is in a politically unstable situation after Sheikh Hasina resigned as Prime Minister on August 5 amid growing protests. The protests, led mainly by students demanding an end to the quota system for government jobs, turned into anti-government demonstrations.
On Tuesday, a clash broke out between members of the Bangladeshi army and members of the minority Hindu community who were protesting with posters of their relatives who went missing during the violence in the country.
The members were protesting outside the Jamuna State Guest House in Dhaka, where Bangladesh’s caretaker prime minister, Muhammad Yunus, resides.
Early Tuesday morning, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, a senior adviser to the interim government of Bangladesh, visited the historic Dhakeshwari Temple in Dhaka, where he assured Bangladeshi minorities of their safety and security in the country.
“We all have equal rights. We are all one people with one right. Don’t make distinctions between us. Please help us. Be patient and judge later what we could do and what we couldn’t. If we failed, criticise us,” Professor Yunus was quoted as saying by Bangladesh’s Daily Star newspaper.
“In our democratic aspirations we should not be seen as Muslims, Hindus or Buddhists, but as human beings. Our rights must be guaranteed. The root of all problems lies in the decay of institutional arrangements. That is why these problems arise. Institutional arrangements must be fixed,” he added.
Following Younus’ visit, an important meeting between representatives of the Muslim community and the Hindu minority was held at the temple. This meeting served as a platform for open dialogue, where both communities discussed various issues and worked to strengthen communal harmony.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First published: August 14, 2024 | 8:43 a.m. IS
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