[This piece is an open letter from Hindus Advancing Human Rights (HAHRI). We have decided not to alter the text to which its nearly 70 signatories have agreed. We do, however, believe that it is useful to share this piece with our audience. Thus, what follows is the unedited text as HAHRI Executive Director Rahul Sur has provided it to us.]

Hindus Advancing Human Rights (HAHRI)
HinduPACT

December 21, 2024
Sugar Grove, IL, USA

Mananiya Pradhan Mantri Shri Narendra Modi ji,

Namaste,

We are directly appealing to you through this public letter to proactively address the unending torment of Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh based on a policy of Peace Through Strength. This is not an “internal” matter for Bangladesh—a country that owes its existence to India. The alarming events in Bangladesh could result in grave, unforeseen security and political challenges for India, the region, and could have international ramifications given the rise of jihadi forces in the country.

The security of Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, and Jains in the erstwhile Pakistan and its successors is a legal and moral obligation of India, arising from the partition of India in 1947.

Volumes of evidence show that the demonic forces responsible for genocide, mass murder, rape, the destruction of temples, and the legalized theft of property from Hindus in erstwhile East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, have grown stronger than ever. No matter which political party is in power, military or civilian, the combined forces of Islamic fundamentalists and Bangladesh’s administrative and societal forces continue to discriminate against Hindus, forcing them to convert or flee. Since 1951, the Hindu population has declined by 15 percent—a decline of genocidal proportions. Theirs is a precarious existence marked by unending anguish, humiliation, and ethnic cleansing.

A group of Hindu and human rights organizations has issued a report titled Atrocities against Religious Minorities in Bangladesh to the United Nations, World Bank, IMF, Asian Development Bank, and private sector importers of products from Bangladesh urging swift action from them.

To state the obvious, the sole factor driving this discrimination is the fact that Bangladeshi Hindus are Hindus. Recall the reports of Pakistani soldiers checking men during the 1971 conflict to check if they were circumcised. The absence of circumcision was a grotesque marker of Hindu identity and meant certain death. Language fails before such evil, and one is left with an inexpressible sense of loathing that should arise in any civilized human being. We now know that this is too much to expect from the jihadi mindset.

Once again, enormous damage has been done to the Hindus of Bangladesh since August 5, 2024, through the same playbook: Killing, looting, burning, rape, followed by the most shameless denial, lying, and false allegations against India. As the slow decimation of Hindus continues, there is growing skepticism about any assurances Bangladesh might give to safeguard its Hindu population. Taslima Nasreen warned us in 1992. No one listened. Will India ever learn from its history?

We, the signatories—comprising Indians as well as the Hindu diaspora—are loyal to the country of our citizenship but are also bound by love to the land of our ancestors. We believe we are endowed with a sharper perspective on the dangers India faces, as similar forces here are attempting to scapegoat us. We now submit the following for your consideration and action:

1. Address the Indian public on the situation and outline the steps your government will take to ensure the protection of Bangladesh’s Hindus.
2. Convene an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) to build consensus across the political spectrum on the ongoing gross violation of human rights and maintain a unified approach to this grave national security concern.
3. Call for immediate free and fair elections in Bangladesh in which no political party is banned and which should be overseen by international observers. This step would not only highlight India’s stature as the world’s largest democracy but also exert pressure on Bangladesh to limit the term of its current government, which came to power through force and seeks to prolong its reign.
4. Convey a confidential but firm message to the Government of Bangladesh, highlighting its dependence on Indian exports, electricity, and access to medical facilities. These should be withheld unless Bangladesh ceases the persecution of its Hindu minority.
5. Reorient India’s strategic posture towards Bangladesh. It should no longer be automatically considered a “friendly” country.
6. Set up a high-level permanent monitoring committee to publish regular public reports on the situation of Hindus in Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh must be aware that it is being closely observed, which will encourage better behavior.
7. Strengthen and seal the border and grant visas only to Bangladeshi Hindus. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 has already established the principle of special treatment for oppressed Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Sikh, and Jain minorities. This is a rational response to their persecution and is in no way contrary to India’s secular values.
8. Initiate an all-India drive to expel illegal Bangladeshis from India. There is an emerging international consensus that illegal migration is not a right and imposes significant costs on the nation.  Recall the promise to expel illegals was an important issue in the recent US elections and now has the approval of the American public.
9. Crack down hard on corrupt Indian officials who enable illegal Bangladeshis to procure genuine Indian identity papers. Such acts should be treated as sedition against India.
10. Impress upon the United Nations that it should cease accepting Bangladeshi peacekeepers for deployment in UN peacekeeping missions, given the gross human rights violations perpetrated by them against Hindus.
11. Demand that the High Commissioner of Human Rights, Mr. Volker Türk, personally and unequivocally condemn the human rights violations against Hindus in Bangladesh.
12. Impress upon the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) the need to convince Bangladesh to immediately cease the persecution of its Hindu population.

India must rise to its civilizational and humanitarian responsibility to rescue this group, indissolubly bound to Bharat Varsha. The national mood is grim and expectant. We are beyond the stage of inaction or tepid, half-hearted measures. We look to you to take decisive action, as Indira Gandhi did in 1971.

We are most grateful for your attention and look forward to your response.

Yours truly,

SIGNATORIES 

Signatories (Alphabetic by Last Name)

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