Jumbangla Desk: Various discussions are being held in different circles about the rally held by the Sanatan community of Bangladesh on Friday at Laldighi Maidan in Chittagong to realize their eight-point demands. The announcement of a long march towards Dhaka to collect demands from that rally has also come to the attention of many.

Organizers of the rally say that as it was organized by Sadhu Sants outside the organizations known to the members of the minority community, the mass gathering of the people this time has caught the attention of the media and for the same reason they feel that their speeches have also come into discussion.

On Friday, the chief speaker of the rally in Laldighi, Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari told BBC Bangla that they want to draw the government's attention to them.

“We want to make it clear that this is a movement of saints. It is not for or against the government or any party. We want equality and non-communalism in everything including constitution, laws so that everyone can get equal status," he told BBC Bangla.

Kanchan Acharya, a coordinator of Sanatan Jagran Manch, says that they have raised their demands for civil rights. He says that in the last 53 years, not a single incident of attack on the minority community has been prosecuted.

However, Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari rejected the campaign that the supporters of the government are running on social media saying that they have entered the field to put pressure on the government or to give an opportunity to the Awami League.

He said, “When the Hindu community speaks, it is an old strategy to tag it politically or to ignore the cases of minority persecution that are dragged into other countries. If we want to move the country forward, we have to move everyone along - that's what we want to say."

The government's position or statement on the demands raised by the Hindu community is yet to come.

However, religious adviser Dr. AFM Khalid Hossain said in an event in Dhaka today that every citizen of Bangladesh has equal rights. Everyone has the right to practice, practice and propagate religion freely. The government is careful that no one can disturb this right.

What the eight points said
The eight-point demands from Friday's rally include setting up of speedy trial tribunals for appropriate punishment of those involved in the persecution of minorities, compensation and rehabilitation of victims and immediate enactment of minority protection laws.

Incidentally, a decade of attacks on minority communities caught the attention of the international community as well. During Durga Puja in 2021, there were incidents of attacks on temple halls across the country over allegations of Quran being found in a worship hall in Comilla.

According to a recent report by human rights organization Law and Arbitration Center, over 3500 attacks on minority communities, especially Hindus, have occurred in the nine years since 2013.

These attacks include attacks, vandalism and arson on Hindu homes and business establishments and pujamandaps, temples.

According to Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, not a single person was punished after the trial.

“Rather, hurting our religious sentiments gets bail. And Hindus were arrested and jailed for expressing their religious sentiments. If we say something we are given a group tag. Other country tags are given,” he alleged.

Their other eight-point demands are formation of Ministry of Minority Affairs, promotion of Hindu Religious Welfare Trusts to Hindu Foundations, promotion of Buddhist and Christian Religious Welfare Trusts to Foundations, enactment of Law on Restitution and Conservation of Immortal Property and implementation of Transfer of Entrusted Property Act, construction of places of worship in educational institutions and prayer in hostels. Room, Sanskrit and Pali education board modernization and five days holiday on Durga Puja.

Kanchan Acharya says that they have already discussed their demands with the interim government at various levels.

"During this year's Durga Puja talks have been held with government representatives but no progress has been made yet," he said.

Now why on the street
after the assembly of Sanatan community in Laldighi on Friday, many people have raised various questions about it on social media. Some people say that during the Awami League period, the people of Sanatan community did not speak like this.

Others are commenting that Sanatan sect 'supports Awami League'.

Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari says that they think these are old tactics by legitimizing oppression of minorities.

“We want justice for all the injustices we have been subjected to under any government and we demand guaranteed protection. The government has built five hundred mosques for the Muslim community. We welcome it but what has it done for other religions?,” he said.

“We are now on the streets because there is talk of change. But some events have disturbed us. Attacks on former homes, temples or individuals are regular. Now livelihood is being given. There are cases of dismissal and demotion just because of being a Hindu. Our events are being interrupted at various places. For these reasons we have to protest," he told BBC Bangla.

He said that they have already discussed their demands with leaders of various parties and organizations including BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and Hefazet-e-Islami.

“Government has made six commissions but there are no minorities or minorities in those commissions. We want us to speak up."

The goal is to create pressure on the government?
The leaders of the Hindu community claim that although there was a commission for the post-election violence in 2001, the Awami League government did not take any action based on it in fifteen years. Even at that time, the murder of principal Gopal Krishna Muhuri in Chittagong created discussion across the country, but till now the people responsible for that incident have not been prosecuted.

The Gyanjyoti murder in Raujan in 2006 and the Ramur Buddhist temple fire in 2012 caused a lot of stir, but no one was brought to justice.

On October 30, 2016, fifteen temples and more than three hundred houses were attacked, set on fire and looted in Nasirnagar, Brakshanbaria, on charges of posting religiously insulting pictures on Facebook. However, seven of the eight cases have not been prosecuted.

On the night of September 29, 2012 miscreants torched and attacked 12 Buddhist temples and places of worship in Ramu. At the same time, the international community was also vocal about the attack, looting and burning of 30 houses of the Buddhist community.

Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari told BBC that they were always vocal against this in response to the question why they did not take part in the field during the Awami League period.

"Even in 2021, we held protests across the country. There were protests against that incident in 154 countries,” he said.

However, many supporters of the government are promoting on social media that people of Sanatan religion are now taking to the streets to favor the Awami League.

Asked about this, Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari said, “This is an old game of invaders and communal groups. This is why we want to draw the attention of the government. Because if the country is to be taken in the right direction, everyone has to be treated equally and everyone has to be guaranteed equal respect and security”.

“The strategy of ignoring trends with political colors is old. If we say something, the topic of India is drawn. We also want to say that Pakistan also has minority commissions and ministries. So why not in Bangladesh?

"It should be remembered that if a Muslim is harmed somewhere in the world, just as the hearts of Muslims all over the world cry, so the hearts of Hindus all over the world cry when a Hindu is harmed," he said.

What more was said in the rally
Principal Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari was the main speaker in that rally at Laldighi Maidan on Friday. He is the spokesperson of Bangladesh Sanatan Jagran Manch and principal of Pundarik Dham.

In the speech given there, he said, "If someone tries to overthrow us and live in peace, then this land will become Afghanistan, it will become Syria".

“93 persons have been exempted from police service on account of minority identity alone. Hindus are being identified in Veterinary and Chittagong University. In between, such misdeeds stopped for some time. Now getting up with head. We will not be silent anymore,” he said.

He also said, "Initiatives are being taken to amend the constitution in Bangladesh. We don't mind. But do not accept constitutional amendment as a second/third class citizen. The Chief Justice of Pakistan has become a Hindu. And in this country, one by one, they sent him away. Source: BBC Bangla