Bangladeshi folk singer Rahul Ananda has said he narrowly escaped arson of his home as attacks on the Hindu minority spark fears of religious persecution in the restive south Asian country.
Mr Ananda, whose house in Dhaka was a cultural hub that hosted famous global figures, most recently French president Emmanual Macron, is one of the more prominent Hindus to have been targeted during the ongoing violence in the country.
Bangladesh is in the throes of a political crisis after mass protests against a controversial jobs quota swelled into an anti-government movement that forced prime minister Sheikh Hasina to flee the country earlier this week.
The violent protests have left more than 400 people dead since June.
After Ms Hasina fled to India on Monday, mobs in some places attacked Hindus who are reportedly seen as being supporters of her secular Awami League party.
Bangladesh is over 90 per cent Muslim .
The Hindu population in the country of about 170 million has declined to 8 per cent from about 20 per cent when it broke away from Pakistan in 1971.
Mr Ananda claimed that a mob vandalised, looted and set afire the house where he was staying with his wife and son. They all managed to escape unharmed.
The mob “took everything from furniture and mirrors to valuables,” an unidentified family source told The Daily Star . “After that, they torched the house along with Rahul da’s musical instruments.”
The singer reportedly kept a collection of over 3,000 handmade musical instruments.
Mr Ananda is the frontman of popular folk band Joler Gaan that has performed internationally in Australia and Scotland.
Joler Gaan said Mr Ananda’s home is not merely his residence but a cultural hub that has reunited Bangladesh.
“It was Joler Gaan’s official studio. Musical discussions, recording, mixing, editing, everything happened there,” the group said in a Facebook post.
“Do the instruments belong to just Joler Gaan ? No. They are for all young musicians who believe we can make our own instruments. It is because of these instruments that people of this country can proudly say that these sounds are only heard in Bangladesh. It is this glimpse of a dream that draws another musician from faraway France.”
The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, which represents the country’s religious minorities, said mobs have vandalised 200-300 mostly Hindu homes since Monday and damaged 15-20 temples.
The attacks have left nearly 40 people injured, council general secretary Rana Dasgupta told Reuters.
The Independent spoke to a few Hindu families in Bangladesh. They fear being attacked because, they noted, Hindus are viewed as being supporters of Ms Hasina’s party.
A Hindu resident of Shibpur in Dhaka’s Narsingdi district claimed that “minorities are being brutalised”. “We were shaken when we learned that my brother’s house had been burnt to ashes by a mob,” the resident, who asked not to be named for fear of his safety, said.
He and his family are not associated with any political party, he said, but they still face the danger of violence.
“Many people have suffered torture even without belonging to any political party and we are distressed. The situation is bleak as the rioters do not know the difference between supporters of Hasina and those who stay away from politics,” he said, adding that some of his relatives have been injured or suffered losses to business or property during the protests.
The situation remains grim even though many Muslim friends have come to their aid and are trying to protect them from the disturbing elements, he said.
Supriya Bhattacharya, a prominent union leader, said the situation for Hindus is “very grim”. “We are constantly worried and living in fear. Anyone can be attacked at any time,” she told The Independent . “Disturbing elements are looting temples, burning houses, seizing land, and killing people.”
She noted that Hindus face mob violence whenever there is political turmoil in the country. “But the violence has exceeded all levels this time and we are terrified. If this discrimination against us continues, then we will soon be wiped out from Bangladesh. We need urgent support from the international community,” she said.
In many places the violence has prompted Muslims to come out and protect Hindu temples and other places of worship of minorities.
Student groups leading the protests against Ms Hasina have frequently urged the public not to target any minority community. But Hindu community leaders have said they feel vulnerable due to the absence of a functioning government.
Mehedi Hasan Marof, a journalist in Dhaka, said the Hindu community has not been singled out for violence.
“Those with allegiance to Hasina's ruling party have been subjected to mob fury, no matter their religion,” he told The Independent .
India, Bangladesh’s Hindu majority neighbour where Ms Hasina has taken shelter, has expressed concern about the treatment of minorities across the border. “What was particularly worrying was that minorities, their businesses and temples came under attack at multiple locations. The full extent of this is still not clear,” S Jaishankar, India’s foreign minister, said.
India has evacuated most of the staff and their families from its embassy and four consulates in Bangladesh, unnamed government sources told Reuters.
India is walking a tightrope on the Bangladesh crisis as New Delhi enjoyed deep ties with Dhaka under Ms Hasina’s leadership, but can’t afford to antagonise whoever takes power given the economic and strategic imperatives of keeping the neighbouring country in its orbit of influence.
Bangladesh is India’s largest trading partner in South Asia.
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