'Ethnic Cleansing Of Hindus': British MP Blackman As UK Raises Concerns Over Bangladesh

Last Updated:December 04, 2024, 08:32 IST

Several UK MPs raised concerns over attacks on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh following Sheikh Hasina's ouster in August.

British MP Bob Blackman speaking in the UK Parliament. (ANI)

British lawmakers on Tuesday raised concerns over the attacks on the Hindu minority community in Bangladesh and the arrest of religious leaders. Conservative MP Bob Blackman, who has repeatedly condemned the violence, said there was an “attempt at ethnic cleansing of Hindus" in Bangladesh since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina.

During a debate at the House of Commons, Blackman said, “At the moment we have a position whereby Hindus are suffering with their houses burnt, businesses being ransacked, priests being arrested. Two further (priests) were arrested over the weekend and 63 monks were denied access to the country."

“The clear issue here is an attempt at ethnic cleansing of Hindus from Bangladesh," Blackman further said, calling on the Foreign Office Minister in charge of the Indo-Pacific Catherine West to condemn the deliberate persecution of religious minorities. West said the issue was on top of her agenda when she met interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh in November.

In his earlier remarks, Blackman had said that Hindus in Bangladesh were subjected to death, with their spiritual leader arrested and their houses burnt. He had asserted that the UK has the responsibility to act on the matter because they had enabled Bangladesh’s independence.

UK Lawmakers Raise Concerns Over Bangladesh

West also highlighted India’s concern over the ongoing situation in Bangladesh, following the arrest of ISKCON Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das on sedition charges. “The UK government will continue to monitor the situation, including making representations from this House, and will engage with the interim government in Bangladesh on the importance of freedom of religion or belief specifically as it affects the Hindu community," she said.

Meanwhile, Indian-origin British MP Priti Patel also called on the government to take action to protect the lives of the people in Bangladesh amid rising attacks on Hindus in the country, saying she was “deeply concerned".

“There are deep and longstanding ties between our two countries, and the degree of escalation of the violence is deeply, deeply concerning. And what we are witnessing now is just uncontrolled violence in many quarters. And we are now watching with horror and shock as further violence has spread in Bangladesh," she said in the parliament.

Situation On ‘Knife Edge’ After ISKCON Leader’s Arrest

Labour MP Barry Gardiner described the situation as being “clearly on a knife edge" and raised concerns on behalf of “large diaspora populations in the UK and large Hindu communities with strong links to the community in Bangladesh". He earlier said there are reports of police and army standing by as over 20 places of Hindu and Sufi worship were vandalised and worshipers attacked.

On the arrest of Chinmoy Das, Gardiner said, “People are concerned that whilst he was engaged in exclusively peaceful protest, he has been denied due process, charged with sedition and denied bail. Yet none of the individuals who attacked temples were apprehended or charged."

British Sikh Labour MP Gurinder Singh Josan asserted that all communities were “appalled" at the situation and asked the government of its engagement with the UK Hindu and Bangladeshi communities on this issue.

Relations between the two neighbours are going through a rough patch after the regime change, which forced former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to India to seek shelter as protesters ousted her over quota reforms. The recent arrest of a Hindu monk, Chinmay Krishna Das Prabhu, has put the country and Hindus inside Bangladesh as well as in India on the edge.

Thousands of people took out a massive demonstration near the Bangladeshi mission in Agartala on December 2. The protesters reportedly barged into the Assistant High Commission of Bangladesh and allegedly resorted to vandalism, an incident the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) described as “deeply regrettable".

(with agency inputs)

London, United Kingdom (UK)

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