Muhammad Yunus Under Fire: Hindu Persecution in Bangladesh

Poonam Sharma

Rising Fury Against Muhammad Yunus

Bangladesh’s interim prime minister and Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus is under fire for the increasing persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh. There have been protests in West Bengal and border states, with protesters chanting the slogan “Go Back to Pakistan.” Yunus is accused by protesters of not safeguarding minorities and compromising with radical Islamist elements.

Decline of Bangladesh’s Hindu Population Through History

The Hindu minority was once almost 30% of the population in Bangladesh. Now, their numbers have dwindled to less than 8%. The exodus has resulted from decades of seizure of properties, forced religious conversions, and temple attacks. Reports of violence, intimidation, and displacement under the present interim government have sharply gone up, further fueling indignation among Hindus as well as human-rights groups.

Nobel Image vs. Ground Reality

Yunus is internationally renowned as the father of microfinance and the advocate of the poor. Yet critics argue that though he champions social entrepreneurship elsewhere, his government is responsible for pogrom-like situations within the country. Temples have been desecrated, Hindu women attacked, and villages depopulated — contradicting his international image of peace and reform.

Appeasement of Radicals

Civil-society activists and leaders say Bangladesh’s ruling class—Yunus included—have consistently made concessions to Islamist forces for political survival. Such appeasement encourages anti-Hindu forces and weakens the secular constitution of the country. They also point to the hypocrisy of persons who speak out against India’s citizenship laws but stay mum regarding attacks on minorities in Bangladesh.

Echoes of Partition in West Bengal

Protests along India’s borders bring back memories of Partition, when Hindus from millions of refugees in East Pakistan ran away. The current slogan “Go Back to Pakistan” directly connects Yunus’s government to that history of communal purging, implying Bangladesh has returned to anti-minority pre-1971 polices.

Economic and Strategic Fallout

Bangladesh’s Hindu minority contribute significantly to education, business, and industry. Their marginalization undermines the national economy and erodes investor confidence. For India, the current persecution implies refugee flows and destabilization of sensitive border states of West Bengal, Assam, and Tripura, with consequent security and demographic implications.

Risk to Yunus’s Global Standing

The same Western governments and NGOs that previously celebrated Yunus for his activities among the poor might now be compelled to reconsider. Human-rights groups are chronicling abuses, and diaspora groups are lobbying legislators in the United States and Europe. If left unchecked, Bangladesh stands at risk of diplomatic isolation during a time of economic pressure.

Betrayal of the Nobel Legacy

For most protesters, the wrath is visceral. They are outraged by a Nobel laureate who received the prize for taking the poor out of poverty, yet sits idly as one of the subcontinent’s ancient communities is torn apart. This jarring disparity between what he claims to believe in and what he does fuels public anger.

What Yunus Has to Do

To restore his reputation, Yunus needs to:

Order independent investigations into assaults on Hindu homes and temples.

Prosecute offenders irrespective of party politics.

Reassert Bangladesh’s secular constitution and overtly reject Islamist politics.

Collaborate with India on minority protection, refugee prevention, and intelligence-sharing to contain extremist networks.

A Warning for the Region

These “Go Back to Pakistan” slogans are not slogans at all, but a threat of regional destabilisation. They are a sign of built-up resentment and call for accountability from a former hopes-induced symbol of a leader. Unless they act decisively, Yunus stands to damage both his own reputation and Bangladesh’s slender social fabric.

Global Call for Accountability

The world community has to move beyond Yunus’s Nobel aura and insist on Bangladeshi minorities getting protection. India, America, the UN, and international human-rights organizations need to hold Dhaka accountable to its human-rights obligations. Moderate Muslims and civil-society leaders within Bangladesh need to recover the country’s secular ethos.

Conclusion

Muhammad Yunus’s caretaker government is at a turning point. It either takes courageous measures to protect Hindus and revive secularism or oversees their continued exclusion and global opprobrium. The protests echoing along the border are a clear clarion call — and a biting indictment of Yunus’s current leadership.