Speakers at an international seminar in New York expressed deep anxiety over the persistent persecution and severe lack of security facing religious and ethnic minorities in Bangladesh. They warned that such ongoing violence poses a grave threat to the country’s national security and democratic framework.
The seminar, titled “Persecution Has No Winners,” was organized by the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, USA. Researcher Mrinmoy Samaddar and Attorney Ashok Karmaker, Chairperson of the Unity Council’s Board of Governors, presented the keynote papers. The event drew a distinguished audience, including local international diplomatic representatives, civil society members, writers, professors, and legal experts.
A Historical Pattern of Attacks and Impunity
Research presented at the seminar highlighted that human rights violations against minorities are not isolated incidents, but rather part of a long historical continuum—spanning from the post-1972 constitutional commitments through the post-Babri Mosque fallout to the recent aftermath of 2024. Attorney Ashok Karmaker noted that a persistent culture of impunity allows perpetrators to evade justice time and again. Meanwhile, Swapan Kanti Das, General Secretary of the organization, criticized the authorities, alleging that the government has failed to take effective action to halt the systemic abuses against minorities.
Taslima Nasreen Highlights Fear and Displacement
Participating in the discussion, author Taslima Nasreen stated, “Bangladeshi Hindus are living under extreme insecurity today. Driven by relentless attacks and persecution by Islamic fundamentalists, they are being forced to abandon their ancestral homesteads and birthland.”
Speakers further emphasized that the steady decline in the minority population over the decades, combined with distressing news reaching abroad, has sent shockwaves through the diaspora and caused profound distress among the younger generation.
Calls for International Action
The organizers announced plans to pursue diplomatic engagement at both national and international levels using the recommendations and resolutions adopted during the seminar. Efforts are currently underway to formally submit the research findings and policy recommendations to international human rights organizations.
The Policy Steering Committee of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, USA, affirmed that it will continue its legal initiatives to mobilize global public opinion on minority rights and security in Bangladesh, in coordination with overseas representatives and international observers.
The seminar concluded with an urgent call on world leaders to play a proactive role in safeguarding an inclusive, non-communal, and democratic Bangladesh.
