Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus urges peace ahead of return to Bangladesh

The Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who is to lead an interim government in Bangladesh, urged people in the country to “refrain from all kinds of violence” after a mass uprising that has included communal attacks.

Concern is rising in Bangladesh and neighbouring India over continuing violent unrest after the ousting of the former prime minister Sheikh Hasina; in particular, attacks on Hindu homes, shops and temples.

In a statement, Yunus – who has agreed to requests from student leaders, the military and the president to lead an interim government – congratulated the “brave students who took the lead” in the protests and described the resignation of Hasina on Monday as “our second Victory Day”, after Bangladesh’s independence day in 1971.

Related: Mass protests in Bangladesh – in pictures

But he warned: “Let us make the best use of our new victory. Let us not let this slip away because of our mistakes. I fervently appeal to everybody to stay calm. Please refrain from all kinds of violence. I appeal to all students, members of all political parties and non-political people to stay calm. This is our beautiful country with lots of exciting possibilities.”

He added: “Violence is our enemy. Please don’t create more enemies. Be calm and get ready to build the country.”

Yunus, widely seen as a stabilising figure, is in France but plans to travel back to Bangladesh on Thursday.

Violence against Hindus appears to have started just hours after Hasina resigned and fled the capital, Dhaka, on Monday. Images of Hindus being lynched by mobs, temples set on fire and businesses looted have flooded social media in India, although the full scale of the attacks is unclear.

There are more than 13 million Hindus in Bangladesh – almost 8% of the population, which is predominantly Muslim – and many are traditionally supporters of Hasina’s party, the Awami League.

The Awami League, which has close ties with India, is secular. Its rival, the Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP) and the hardline Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami, backed the protests.

Hasina remains in India where she sought refuge. In the vacuum left by her hasty exit, groups opposed to Hasina’s rule have targeted the Awami League’s followers, which include Hindus and Muslims.

Tarique Rahman, son of BNP leader Khaleda Zia and acting chair of the party, appealed to Bangladeshis to keep everyone safe. “It is our duty to protect all Bangladeshis, irrespective of religion and politics, from discriminatory violence, and not to harass any particular community, create division, or seek vengeance,” he said in a post on X .

Related: Why has Bangladesh’s prime minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled?

In the old quarter of Dhaka, Muslims stood side by side with their Hindu neighbours to protect a Hindu temple from a violent mob. Student leaders have formed volunteer groups to help guard other sites.

But alarm is growing in west Bengal, which is the closest Indian state to Bangladesh and shares a 2,200km (1,360-mile) border. An Indian parliamentarian who belongs to the ruling Bharatiya Janata party said India should prepare to see an influx of Hindu refugees.

“If this situation doesn’t come under control, mentally be prepared to give refuge to 10 million Hindu refugees. If the situation is not controlled there, Jamaat and radicals will take control,” Suvendu Adhikari told reporters.

India’s minister for external affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, told MPs yesterday he was “deeply concerned” over the safety of the Hindu minority.

Some rightwing Hindu religious leaders in India have already become vocal, calling for the country to act.

The self-appointed spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev said anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh was not merely an internal matter and that India should “stand up and act” to protect Hindus.

In a post on X , Vasudev said, “It is our responsibility to protect these people – who actually belong to this civilization – from these shocking atrocities.”

The former diplomat Neelam Deo told the Guardian that any possible influx of Hindus into India depended on how widespread the violence became and how close the affected areas were to the border with India.

She said that, if news reports were true that violence had broken out in 27 of Bangladesh’s 64 districts, the violence was already widespread.

“The army will have to take action and show that attackers will not get any impunity. But it’s also important for people in Bangladesh to stop demonising the Awami League. If that continues, then both its Muslim leaders are vulnerable and so, of course, are its Hindu supporters,” Deo said.

Local media in India has reported that the country had brought 190 non-essential staff at its high commission in Dhaka home on a special flight. Indian diplomats and other staff, though, remain in the country, in Dhaka and in Indian consulates in four other cities.

India is watching the upheaval in Bangladesh, with which it has had very close relations under Hasina, very carefully. The two countries have maintained close security, trade, investments and defence cooperation.

New Delhi fears that an unstable neighbour, in which the Jamaat-e-Islami might have a greater role, will allow rivals China and Pakistan more influence in its affairs.