‘Civil Society of Delhi’ to march to Bangladesh Embassy Tuesday to protest attacks on Hindus: RSS

Civil society members representing more than 200 social and cultural organisations will take out a protest march to the Bangladesh embassy in Delhi next week against the “persecution” of Hindus and other minority communities in the neighbouring country, a functionary of the rightist Hindu nationalist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh said on Friday, the Press Trust of India, or PTI, reports.

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, co-in charge of the RSS Delhi unit’s media and communications department Rajnish Jindal said the march to the Bangladesh embassy will be held under the banner of ‘Civil Society of Delhi’ on December 10, observed as International Human Rights Day, according to the report.

“The entire country (people of India) is outraged and agitated over the ongoing atrocities against Hindus and other minority community members in Bangladesh,” Jindal was quoted as saying.

“We will take out a protest march to the Bangladesh embassy in Delhi on December 10 against atrocities against Hindus and members of the other minority communities in Bangladesh,” he was quoted as saying.

Representatives of more than 200 social, cultural and religious organisations in Delhi will join the protest march, the RSS functionary was also cited as saying.

“We will submit a memorandum to the Bangladesh embassy. We will submit a memorandum to all international organisations, including UN, UNHRC, WHO, AMNESTY International and ADB, demanding that they immediately intervene to stop the ongoing atrocities and violence against Hindus in Bangladesh,” Jindal was quoted as saying.

Ahead of the protest march, a memorandum in this regard will be submitted to all district magistrates in Delhi on December 9, he was cited as adding.

The protest march is aimed at drawing the attention of “national and international stakeholders” to the “violence and persecution” of Hindus and other minority community members in Bangladesh, seeking their intervention, the organisers of the event were cited as saying in a statement.

Addressing a press conference, former high commissioner to Bangladesh Veena Sikri and former director general of Intelligence Bureau (IB) Rajiv Jain reportedly highlighted the “worsening” human rights situation in Bangladesh, expressing grave concern over the violence against the minority community members in the neighbouring country.

“This is the worst situation for the Hindus and other minority communities in Bangladesh since the Liberation War of 1971,” Sikri was quoted as saying.

She was cited as saying there had been incidents of attacks on Hindus in the past in Bangladesh, but they did not continue for long.

“Attacks on livelihood, rape, abduction and killing — we are witnessing these kinds of attacks there today only after 1971,” she was quoted as saying while claiming that several Hindus in government jobs in Bangladesh have been “forced” to resign.

Rajiv Jain, the ex-chief of IB and former member of the NHRC, was cited as saying there is an “open violation” of the rights of Hindus and members of the other minority communities in Bangladesh and the interim government of the country is “unable” to protect them.

Even the judiciary and government bodies, including the National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh, are “unable” to protect the rights of minority community members in the country, he was cited as adding.