UNITED NATIONS, Dec 11 (IPS) – Bangladesh has been in the midst of a simmering political crisis and deep social divide since August 5 when former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country following a student-led uprising. Political relations between India and Bangladesh have since become sour and allow a large amount of disinformation, especially around the persecution of Hindu people.
Hindus make up about 8 percent of Bangladesh’s population of 170 million. The Bangladeshi Hindu community is widely known to have sided with Sheikh Hasina’s ousted Awami League political party, which has sparked anger and violence in many parts of the country.
During the rule of Sheikh Hasina, India used to cooperate with Bangladesh. After the fall of his government, India did not show support for the new interim government of Bangladesh. This, coupled with India continuing to host Sheikh Hasina in their country, has led to the deterioration of good relations between India and Bangladesh.
“The anger (between India and Bangladesh) is not only on the roads but it will be on the road. So, the Hindu focus may be based on religious prejudice but one cannot discount the anger of the common man over India’s policy of ‘protecting Hasina at any cost’ even if it hurts bilateral relations,” said Kumkum Chada, an Indian writer. and a political reporter with the Hindustan Times, an Indian and English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi.
In the transition from the FALL of Sheikh Hasina to the establishment of a caretaker government, the ongoing violent student-led protests have seen a sharp increase. This resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties and thousands of arrests. On November 17, Muhammad Yunus, Senior Advisor to the interim government of Bangladesh, told reporters that approximately 1,500 people were killed during the protests.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a report detailing various human rights concerns that arose during the period of increased public insecurity. According to research, there have been reports of arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, beatings, and sexual violence against female protesters.
Additionally, on August 5 and 6, several Hindu houses, temples, and businesses were attacked, vandalized, and looted in 27 districts of Bangladesh. Internet services and communication channels faced severe disruption, making it difficult for officials to determine the exact number of Hindu casualties. However, officials have said that Hindu deaths make up a small part of the total death toll.
Although there has been much unknown in the media about the frequency of attacks on Hindus, it should be noted that they still happen. An IPS reporter contacted a member of the Hindu community, the sister of a Hindu lawyer in Bangladesh who was seriously injured in a hate crime.
“On the 25th of November, my elder brother was attacked by a group of Islamic terrorists. He is currently in a coma at Dhaka Medical Hospital. We feel unsafe and do not have the cost to continue his treatment. We fear that the hospital may be neglected. The management urged us to be quiet. “Extremists are threatening lawyers and the police are destroying CCTV footage,” said the sister, who did not want her name to be revealed for fear of reprisals.
The brother of another Hindu victim also spoke to our reporter and gave us some insight into the social situation in Bangladesh. “The attacks have not stopped since August. Although they are not as rare as the media says, they definitely do happen. There is a lot of fear in our communities. We feel afraid to go outside and receive threats of violence. The government and the police do not support us,” he said.
OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said the OHCHR has no mandate to monitor Bangladesh after August 15. However, the office is currently negotiating with the government of Bangladesh for an independent human rights investigation. “This can help provide a more accurate picture and counter misinformation and motivation,” said Shamdasani.
The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council said the attack was motivated by public hatred of religious minorities. However, the Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance, a coalition of 23 Hindu organizations, conducted a fact-finding mission and found that the attack was motivated by mob violence and political revenge.
“There may be a section of minorities, especially Hindus, targeted because of their faith. But many Hindus had ties to the Awami League, because historically it was a minority protection group, so they may have been targeted for political integration,” said Thomas Kean, senior adviser on Bangladesh and Myanmar at the Crisis Group.
Since August, the coverage of violence against Hindus by the Indian media has sparked a major debate, with Bangladesh claiming misinformation and the use of anti-Islamic sentiments to promote false and sensationalist stories depicting mass killings of Hindus in Bangladesh.
Misinformation about the persecution of Hindus not only harms the majority of Bangladeshi citizens but also has a negative impact on the Hindu minority as well. “We are concerned about the politicization of minorities, especially Hindus, through misinformation and widespread killings, as this puts them at risk and undermines real concerns,” Shamdasani told an IPS reporter.
According to an investigation by Rumor Scanner, a Bangladeshi fact-checking organization certified by the International Fact Checking Network (IFCN), 49 Indian media outlets published at least 13 false reports between August 12 and December 5.
Despite few new reports of violence against Hindus from unverified investigations, Indian media continue to report alleged abuses as if they were still happening on a large scale in Bangladesh.
On August 7, The Wire, an Indian non-profit news agency independent of the Indian government, released an interview with Rashna Imam, an advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. Imam described recent reports from the Indian press as “absolutely baseless and baseless”, adding that looting and vandalism had been going on “to some extent” for about a month. The Imam added that based on the available statistics, the current social situation is “under control.” Dr. Yunus also described the reports from the Indian press as “exaggeration.”
An investigation from Rumor Scanner has uncovered dozens of reports, photos, and videos that have been circulated in the press since July. One video broadcast by Indian media, says that a Hindu man was protesting for his son who went missing due to conflicts. Rumor Scanner identified the protester as Babul Howlader, who is actually a Muslim. In addition, his son had not gone missing during the protests, he had been missing since 2013.
Another viral video on X (aka Twitter) claims to show a violent temple attack in Bangladesh. Rumor Scanner has confirmed that the video was actually taken in India during a photo shoot.
In addition, several reports from Indian news organizations are talking about the alleged burning of a Hindu temple. However, Prothom Alo, a leading Bengali language daily in Bangladesh, has learned that the attack took place at the Awami League office near the temple.
Many Indian and Bangladeshi Hindu news sites reported the death toll as a number of Hindus were attacked or killed in the protests. The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council reported that in the days following Sheikh Hasina’s resignation, there were at least 2,010 incidents of violence against Hindus, such as attacks on Hindu temples, homes and businesses. These figures have yet to be confirmed.
Hundreds of India-based X accounts circulated the post using hashtags like #AllEyesOnBangladeshiHindus and #SaveBangladeshiHindus. Many of these posts include inflammatory language, hate speech directed at Bangladeshi Muslims, misleading images and videos, and false statistics.
Bangladesh has had a difficult time countering the disinformation spread by the Indian media because of the strength of the Indian media sector. India currently has over 500 million satellite channels and 70,000 newspapers, making it the largest newspaper market in the world. Bangladesh has a relatively weak media sector, with about 3,000 print media outlets.
This is also fueled by the stronger presence of social media in the lives of Indians than in Bangladesh. India has the highest number of Facebook, X, and Instagram users in the world. All these platforms are known to be centers of misinformation. According to a study by the World Population Review, as of 2024, India has about 467 million social media users. Bangladesh has about 53 million social media users.
Additionally, language barriers have hindered the visibility and access of Bangladeshi media. India has many newspapers and magazines published in Hindi and English while Bangladesh has very few newspapers published in Bangla and English.
According to a study by WPR, India also has about 265 million English-speaking citizens while Bangladesh has only 29 million. This shows that there are too many English speaking journalists in the Indian media industry. It is for these reasons that Western audiences are more likely to be touched by Indian stories.
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