5 August 2024 remained a dark chapter in the history of Bangladesh. Three-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee not only her government but also her country. From cities to remote villages, fundamentalists targeted minorities, especially Hindus.
From the night of the 5th, Bangladeshi fundamentalists and rioters tried to target minority Hindus living in 58 states of the country. There are many areas from Meherpur to Chittagong or Sherpur where Hindu temples were set on fire or vandalised. Aaj Tak’s team has reached ground zero to know how the situation is in Bangladesh after 5 days.
As soon as we stepped out of Dhaka airport, we saw a picture of Bangladesh that no one could have ever imagined. The picture of the city outside the Dhaka International Airport is crowded, but there is an unspeakable unrest in the atmosphere. There is no police presence anywhere in the entire Dhaka city.
Law and order in the city has now been handed over to the Bangladesh Army. Along with the army, children from Bangladesh Scout Cadet Corps and other institutions who go to school and college are managing the traffic with sticks in their hands. Outside the airport, either the military is moving around on the roads or a squad of armored vehicles has been deployed, and somewhere soldiers are standing in bunkers with ultra-modern machine guns.
The number of people in the market which used to be crowded in the morning and evening has reduced. The army has been deployed for guard duty. The youth were the first to start the agitation against the Sheikh Hasina government over the quota law. Now an interim government has been formed under the leadership of Dr Yunus, but there is confusion over what will be the future of Bangladesh.
Zahida, who has been looking after the movement and the arrangements on the roads, told Aaj Tak that the future of Bangladesh is bright but there is a concern that some people targeted and attacked Hindus and their temples to defame the movement.
Fakhruddin says that it is possible that the youth leaders of Sheikh Hasina’s party Awami League attacked the minorities so that the movement could be defamed, but these youth say that the situation is better now and they themselves have deployed themselves from villages to cities to protect their Hindu brothers and sisters. The situation is not very good in the old Dhaka city either. Schools, colleges and universities are shut down.
Youths are controlling traffic on the roads with sticks in their hands. Police stations are deserted. Protests are happening everywhere. On Saturday also, youth entered the Supreme Court and protested and demanded the resignation of the Chief Justice. Bar Council member and protester Rakib told Aaj Tak that many judges of the Supreme Court used to work at the behest of the Sheikh Hasina government, so they should resign. Under pressure, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court sent his resignation to the President, then the protesters remained adamant in the Supreme Court premises till late evening, so the security was directly handed over to the Bangladesh Army.
Meanwhile, a large number of Bangladeshi Hindus have also come out on the streets. On Saturday evening, not hundreds but thousands of people from the Hindu community gathered in the capital Dhaka and demanded justice and security from the new government. Angry with the burning of temples, people from the Hindu community gathered in Dhaka and raised their voice for the safety of Hindus with slogans of Jai Shri Ram. Subroto, who came from Mirpur, told Aaj Tak that the whole world is silent about the atrocities being committed on Hindus, but Bangladesh is our country and we will not go anywhere from here.
Charu Chandra Das, general secretary of the ISKCON temple in Dhaka, told Aaj Tak that in the areas where Hindu families were attacked, they sought help and even today there is fear and worry among the Hindus of Bangladesh. However, he also said that the situation is becoming normal in many areas and now the local people are also coming forward to help. The situation in Bangladesh seems to be a little normal compared to the last two days, but the lack of an active government, the police missing from the streets and the lack of order definitely raises a question whether Bangladesh is heading towards anarchy.
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