UK Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel has publicly called on the British government to intervene and address the alarming increase in violence targeting minority communities in Bangladesh. The Conservative MP, in a letter to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, highlighted a series of murders of Hindus and urged the UK to use its diplomatic influence to restore stability and protect religious freedoms.
Patel's Strong Condemnation and Call for UK Action
In her letter, which she shared on social media, Priti Patel expressed deep concern over the situation. She pointed to reports of at least six Hindus being killed within a span of just 18 days in recent weeks. "The situation in Bangladesh is very concerning. Religious freedoms should be protected and the murders of Hindus and persecution taking place are wrong and must stop," Patel stated. She urged the Labour government to make a formal statement in the House of Commons on the issue.
Patel pressed the Foreign Secretary to outline what steps the UK has taken over the past year to monitor the violence and make diplomatic representations. She also questioned what work is underway with regional partners to leverage British diplomatic influence to bring about stability and ensure respect and protections for minorities in Bangladesh.
India's MEA Voices Concern Over "Disturbing Pattern"
Echoing the international concern, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has also condemned the attacks. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal noted a "disturbing pattern of recurring attacks on minorities as well as their homes and businesses by extremists." He emphasized that such communal incidents must be dealt with swiftly and firmly by the authorities.
Jaiswal criticized a troubling tendency to dismiss these serious incidents as results of personal rivalries or political differences. "Such disregard only emboldens the perpetrators, and deepens the sense of fear and insecurity among minorities," he warned, highlighting the need for accountability.
Protests in London and Specific Cases Highlighted
The issue has galvanized the diaspora in the United Kingdom. British Hindu groups, led by the Bengali Hindu Adarsha Sangha (BHAS) UK, have been coordinating protests in London. They raised long-standing concerns over discrimination, violence, murder, and demographic decline faced by minority communities in Bangladesh.
Protesters specifically condemned two incidents: the "unethical arrest of interfaith voice Chinmaya Prabhu" and the public lynching of Dipu Das by Islamic extremists. Chinmoy Krishna Das, a Hindu monk, was arrested in Bangladesh in 2024 on sedition charges. In a separate and brutal incident, Dipu Das, a 25-year-old garment factory worker, was lynched by a mob over alleged blasphemy in Mymensingh city on December 18 last year. Shockingly, his body was subsequently set on fire.
The growing international pressure from figures like Priti Patel and the Indian government, combined with activist protests, puts a spotlight on the urgent need for the Bangladeshi government to ensure the safety and security of its religious minorities and hold perpetrators of violence accountable.
