Empireslastcasualty2

The Existential Threat Facing Bangladesh’s Religious & Ethnic Minorities and its Secular Democracy A paper presented at the 2nd Annual Forgotten Genocide Conference George Mason University September 23, 2024 By Dwijen Bhattacharjya, Ph. D. Lecturer in Bengali Columbia University, New York City Introduction      The religious and ethnic minority Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, the indigenous peoples, many of whom are animists, Bauls ‘mystic singers, and even the Sufi, Shia and Ahmedia Muslims of Bangladesh and its fledgling secular democracy are both facing an existential threat from the Islamists, who effectively took control of the country on August 05, 2024, by forcing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to abdicate power and leave the country. Although, a few “Student Coordinators” led this mass uprising or Bangla Spring from the front, this highly consequential regime change was by no means a student movement seeking abolition of quota in government jobs for the descendan...

  What happened at Hazari Lane in Chattogram is ‘crime against humanity’ Sitangshu Guha, New York  Journalist and Writer 10th Nov 2024 Guhasb@gmail.com      When security forces break a Closed Circuit (CC) camera and enter someone's home or business, the intention of that operation will obviously be questioned. This is exactly what happened at Hazari Lane, a Hindu-dominated area in Chattogram. The Army and Police, along with a group of Islamists, attacked Hindu homes and businesses at night, cordoning off the entire area. How many were wounded or killed? Nobody knows for sure, as no media was courageous enough to report the incident. But the cries of the Hindus of Hazari Lane, as well as those in the rest of Bangladesh, will not stop until the culprits are brought to justice. Will that happen? It hasn’t happened in the past, and given the circumstances, there is little hope it will happen now. Why? Because in a Muslim-majority country like Bangladesh, nobody car...