Political, not communal: Misinformation runs rife in India over attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh

By Faisal Mahmud

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) — Social unrest swept through Bangladesh following the resignation and flight of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina earlier this month.

In the upheaval, several instances of violence against the South Asian nation's minority Hindu community have taken place, resulting in at least two dead after being targeted by mobs.

According to a minority rights group called the Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Unity Council, Hindu homes, businesses, and temples have been targeted in incidents of vandalism and looting across 29 districts.

Meanwhile, the daily Prothom Alo has highlighted such attacks in at least 12 districts, with these events being widely shared on social media in India.

Despite evidence indicating that much of the violence against Hindu households was politically motivated, many Indian media outlets reported the incidents as communal attacks, running sensational headlines, unverified information, rumors, and provocative language.

Indian media outlet Republic Bangla, for instance, published a story titled "Hindu Shunno Bangladesh Ashonka (Apprehension of a Hindu-free Bangaldesh)" suggesting that Hindu homes were targeted with the aim of driving minorities out of the South Asian country.

A 50-minute documentary by Republic Bangla showed several households being attacked, with the network claiming that the dwellings belonged to Hindus and suggesting that the incidents were religiously motivated.

However, Anadolu’s independent verification revealed that at least one of the houses belonged to a Muslim and another to a Hindu politician affiliated with Hasina’s Awami League, and attacked due to its association with the former premier's political party.

In another example of false and potentially provocative reporting, a video circulating on X claimed that an attack had taken place against the Hindu Navagraha Temple in southeastern Chattogram. However, the footage actually depicted a fire at a nearby political office, not the temple. This misinformation was also propagated by Indian broadcaster Republic TV. The temple remains intact, as confirmed by its caretaker to Anadolu.

Many of the videos containting misinformation were posted on X with hashtags like #AllEyesOnBangladeshiHindus, which have gained traction following the recent events in Bangladesh.

A video posted on X on Aug. 7 showed the burning of a shop, allegedly Hindu-owned, with individuals attempting to salvage goods from the flames. According to X, the account that shared it was managed from India.

Indian media outlet Sudarshan News also reported on the footage, portraying it as an attack on Hindus. However, DismissLab, an independent fact-checking organization based in Bangladesh, said the video was not recent.

The original video depicts a fire from July in the eastern village of Maju Chowdhury Hat, where 15 shops were razed. This indicates that although the specific cause of the fire is not known, it happened before Sheikh Hasina's resignation and was not the result of communal violence.

- False identity and false claims

Another post on X falsely claimed that the house of Liton Das, a prominent Bangladeshi Hindu cricketer, had been set on fire, presenting a collage of two images as evidence. One image showed a young man sitting near a Hindu place of worship, while the other shows a burning home.

The post received over a million views and has been shared by many accounts with similar claims. While the man in the first image is indeed Liton Das, a reverse image search by German public broadcaster DW's fact-checking team revealed that the burning house was not his residence.

Instead, it was linked to reports of former Bangladesh cricket captain Mashrafe Mortaza's house being burned by protesters.

Social media footage and images verified by Al Jazeera's fact-checking agency Sanad show students safeguarding Hindu temples and other places of worship, including in Chittagong, the country's second-largest city.

Russell Ahmed, a coordinator at Chittagong University, told the Bangla Tribune newspaper, "Miscreants are intentionally targeting various public and private institutions to discredit the students' movement."

Indian broadcaster NDTV reported that a violent mob attacked Bangladeshi singer Rahul Ananda's ancestral home in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, setting fire to his musical instruments and furniture. Ananda's family managed to escape the attack.

The musician's folk band, Joler Gaan, posted a video of their last recording in the now-damaged room, calling the blaze a "fire of rage and revenge."

Journalist Muktadir Rashid visited Ananda's residence and told Anadolu that it was situated within the compound of the Centre for Research and Information (CRI), a major think tank affiliated with the Awami League. The location of Ananda's house near the CRI building seems to be the reason for the attack.

Gobinda Pramanik, president of the Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance, told Anadolu that, to his knowledge, no Hindu households that were not connected to Hasina's Awami League were attacked.

"These attacks were politically motivated, rather than religiously driven, and the way some Indian media are falsely portraying these incidents as attacks on the Hindu community is concerning," he said.

- Protecting minorities

Student leaders who spearheaded the recent mass protests against Hasina have urged their supporters to protect Hindu temples and churches. This appeal comes amid concerns from diplomats and human rights organizations on reports of attacks on minority groups following the prime minister's resignation during the nationwide unrest.

Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islami (BJI) political party on Wednesday said a number of attacks on religious minorities, including vandalism, looting, and arson had occurred. The party strongly condemned these acts, underscoring equal rights for all citizens in a call for national unity.

To ensure the safety of Hindu and other minority religious sites throughout the country, students have been maintaining overnight vigils at various locations. In front of the Dhakeshwari temple in the capital Dhaka, Shahadat Ul Islam, a student from a madrasa, or Islamic seminary, stood tall last Thursday night along with several others. "We are keeping vigilance here so that no one can harm our Hindu brothers," said Islam.

Jahir Uddin Swapan, advisor to the chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), told Anadolu that efforts by some Indian media to depict Bangladesh as a communal nation are "ludicrous." He accused the outlets of trying to impose their own communal perspectives on others and emphasized that in Bangladesh, many Muslims are stepping forward to ensure the safety of minorities.

Swapan also pointed out that the Indian media misunderstood the scale of the student and public movement, mischaracterizing it as a conspiracy by Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI or political opponents of Bangladesh. He urged Indian media to send reporters to witness the situation firsthand and understand what has truly transpired.

Meanwhile, the first reported attempt to infiltrate India from Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina's departure occurred when around 500 individuals from the country tried to cross the border through the Jalpaiguri district in West Bengal. India's Border Security Force, which has been on high alert along the Bangladeshi border since Monday, thwarted the attempt.

On Thursday, the Indian far-right Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) appealed to New Delhi to protect Hindus in violence-hit Bangladesh amid the ongoing unrest and to prevent "jihadis" posing as refugees from entering the country.

Rajesh Jain, VHP secretary in the western state of Madhya Bharat, urged Indian authorities to take all necessary steps to safeguard Hindus in Bangladesh. He stressed the importance of ensuring the safety of Hindus, who he said were particularly vulnerable in the neighboring country.

In Dhaka, hundreds demonstrated on Friday against the escalating violence aimed at the country's Hindu minority, chanting slogans promoting "unity and peace," and some carried signs urging the "protection of minorities."

Meanwhile, in response to the violence targeting the minority Hindu community in Bangladesh, a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized his strong stance against racially motivated attacks and incitement to violence.

Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for Guterres, stated on Thursday, "We have made it clear that we want to see an end to the recent violence in Bangladesh. We firmly oppose any attacks or incitement based on race or ethnicity."