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RIGHTS OF MINORITIES IN BANGLADESH: AN OVERVIEW

January 18, 2021

Today human right has a great significance. There exist different minorities such as ethnic, lingual, religious and racial minorities, which have different tendencies that are derived from different civilizations and cultures. It has brought about cultural and social varieties. Although there have been many attempts made by the specialized organizations and United Nations in order to give a precise and more comprehensive definition of minority. Minority’s subject was first introduced in Congress of Vienna and in present time different minorities are living in different countries. [1] Minorities rights are basically individual and collective rights and these are the part of the general human rights, and these must get protected by the national legislation and government policies with the support of civil society. By consensus in 1992, the United Nations Minorities Declaration referred to minorities in Article 1 as based on ethnic or national, spiritual, cultural and linguistic identity and also provides that there shall be protection of their existence. [2]

THE CASE OF BANGLADESH

Bangladesh’s original constitution, adopted in 1972, defined ‘secularism’ as one of four basic values of state policy. Later, in 1977, the principle of ‘complete trust and confidence in Almighty Allah’ was replaced by this principle. In 1988, Islam, the religion of the majority population, was proclaimed by a constitutional amendment as the state religion with an added promise that “other religions can be practiced in peace and harmony”. Bangla, the language of the dominant populous, was also proclaimed in the Constitution. There are no minorities recognised by the Constitution of Bangladesh and, thus, no special protection or promotion is allowed for them. Even so, Part III of the Constitution deals with guarantees of human rights for all people, equality before the law, protection against discrimination on the basis of faith, colour, caste, sex or place of birth, equal opportunities in public jobs, freedom of expression, freedom of thought, freedom of conscience and of speech and freedom of worship. [3] Although the constitution of Bangladesh has not clearly described minorities, it is a member of International Community which duty bounds them to protect the minorities from all forms of violence and discrimination.  But the religious minority groups in Bangladesh still faces discrimination in the society in the law and in their treatment by imposition firms. According to Bangladesh Hindu- Buddhist-Christian Oikya Parishad, violence against religious and ethnic minorities were increased after the 2018 general election that too extensively. Places of worships that belong to Shi’a and Ahmadi Muslims as well as Hindus and Buddhists have all been condemned in recent years. More particularly Ahmadiyya community of Bangladesh is more vulnerable and faces more humiliation and harassment as there the Islamist groups called for declaring Ahmadis as non-Muslims. Along with them indigenous and Hindu communities are also at risk to violence based on gender, evident on rape cases, forced marriages and especially conversion of minors inadequately attacking Hindus. [4] In general minority groups live in a state of vulnerability and fear. As the systemic causes for this nurturing have already been pointed out, sustaining an atmosphere of hegemony and minority intolerance. Minority women are more insecure because they are targeted and it’s called an assault on the whole group. However, Hindu women suffer by their own community’s discriminatory family laws. Discrimination mostly goes unreported within the household. Extortion in the political and social fabric has become a norm. their failure to fulfil the unfair demands of extortion subjects them to violence or threats. Many members of the Hindu Community have been alienated from their land by the Vested Property Act, while in 2000 the Act was repealed and its application is in flux. According to BHBCOP, Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Unity Council, there were at least about 150 incidents of suppression, which included Arson, land take over, rape and at least three to four killings During the period of March 2009 to May 2010. [5]

CASE WITH MINORITY WOMEN

The minority women are more prone to multiple discrimination and it is obvious that it has been universally acknowledged that women are being one of the most unsafe out of total population in Bangladesh. They have been facing challenges on every level whether its history or an institution or a system and they are being discriminated in their everyday life that includes economic, educational, social, political, spiritual and personal lives. Minorities and women are likely to be revealed and concealed because they are more vulnerable to discrimination in the world. Not all of these deprivations, of course are due to general and political motivation, but whatever motivation and/or ideology there is, there is no doubt that minority women are freely victimized. In addition, there. Has not been a clear legislative and realistic solution in Bangladesh to these ongoing problems and there is possibly the fundamental distinction from the rest of the world in the question of the rights of minority women as stated above, they are being discriminated for their double vulnerability that is being a minority and a woman. [6]

ELEVATED RESPONSE BY THE GOVERNMENT AND UNFOLDING CHALLENGES

Prime Minister Hasina visited the region following the 2012 mob attack on Buddhist monasteries in Ramu, met with the Buddhist community, and promised government support for the restoration of the damaged monasteries. A year later, an inauguration ceremony for the restored religious institutions was presided over by her. In April 2019, during Friday prayers condemning terrorism and extremism, imams around the nation delivered a khutbah, or sermon, under the leadership of Prime Minister Hasina. Religious minorities also face difficulties arising from extremism and larger social biases, amid such attempts at national level. In particular, civil society organizations have pointed to the disparity between national level policy and acts by local authorities. A number of municipal administrative and police authorities have displayed a general apathy in recent years to foster religious diversity, improve religious minority rights, better prosecute incidents, and make sure responsibility for attacks against religious minorities. This has been a problem for indigenous communities in eastern Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tract (CHT) area, predominantly consisting of Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, and Animists, who still struggle with the repercussions of a twenty-year civil war between the military of Shanti Bahini and Bangladesh.  For e.g., a Buddhist organisation, resorted to creating a human chain around the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Rangamati in the CHT in August 2019, following the murder of a Buddhist monk, to compel him to apprehend the perpetrators and increase security for the culture of Buddhists. A culture of immunity for non-state actors to continue to respond to violence has been generated by the apathy, and at times collusion, of local authorities for bigotry and attacks on minorities, especially with regard to land grabs or personal disputes. Anti-minority racism and misconduct by local authorities is compounded by problems of poor ability that continue to plague law enforcement agencies in many parts of the world. [7]

 

THE TRUTH OF EVERYDAY PERSECUTION

While the degree of participation of domestic or foreign jihadist networks in the recent spate of killings is disputed, social discrimination and religious intolerance against non-Muslim communities is a concern that is not limited to small militant outfits, but a larger issue in society. Indeed, within the world, extremist activities have attracted. Some Bangladeshis have enjoyed strong signals of broader support. Communal abuse is widespread as well. Communal abuse is widespread as well. Violence against Hindus in Bangladesh between January and June 2016 resulted in 66 homes being burnt, 24 people injured and at least 49 mosques and monasteries were demolished. Most of this violence, often motivated by family conflicts, land grabbing and the perceived immunity that characterizes many attacks, is carried out at the local level by individuals or gangs rather than insurgents. In addition, certain perpetrators of kidnapping and rape reportedly use forced conversion to Islam to seal their power over the victim and reduce the assistance available from their own culture. The implications for them and their culture can be catastrophic when minority members file a lawsuit. Another prevalent type of assault against minorities, which is politically motivated violence, entails similar concerns. Attacks by party activists against religious minorities remain regular, particularly during major political events, such as the national elections in 2001 and 2014. Incidents like these demonstrate that violence on religious minorities are not only motivated by domestic or foreign terrorist terrorism, but rather by impunity, political interests and racial prejudice. Officials are themselves involved in the violence in many instances.[8]

CONCLUSION

Not acknowledging the interests of minorities and also the presence of minorities by the State projects Bangladesh as a Muslim-dominated Bengali state that restricts the area for minorities to measure with their own customary rights, values, culture and modes of life as distinct groups. On the opposite hand, the presence of majority-privileged laws and provisions positions minorities in a very precarious position, especially within the sense of accelerating communalism and therefore the worsening state of law and order. The importance of spiritual freedom and spiritual diversity to the planet has been illustrated in many of the addresses of the Prime Minister, both within Bangladesh and abroad. Bangladesh faces variety of ongoing challenges to the liberty of religion or belief, particularly for its religious minorities, despite some rhetoric and other positive efforts made by its political leadership. Only by eliminating the oppressive clauses of the national Constitution and other legislation can minority rights be guaranteed. Representative democracy in and out of doors of state bodies should be implemented and applied during a possible way. it’s a culture of compassion and reverence for everybody that one must follow. With the sacrifice of infinite blood, Bangladesh was founded. From numerous immigrant groups furthermore religious and distinct ethnic minorities have contributed and engaged within the growth of the state in their own way. In national history, their contribution and contributions during the liberation war still have to be noted and remembered.

REFERENCES

  1. Fatemeh Mihanadoost and Bahman Babajanian, “The Right of Minorities in International Law’ 9 Journal of Politics and Law 15 (2016).
  2. United Nations Human Rights “Minority Rights: International Standards and Guidance for Implementation”, 2010. Available at https://www.ohchr.org/documents/publications/minorityrights_en.pdf
  3. The Constitution of People’s Republic of Bangladesh
  4. Editorial, “General Briefing: Bangladesh” CSW, Available at https://www.csw.org.uk/2020/05/01/report/4636/article.htm
  5. Moztuza AHMMED, “Violence against Minorities in Bangladesh” 6 Himalayan Journal of Sociology and Anthropology 112-118 (2014).
  6. Kaviraj Santayana and Rani Santayana, “Minority Women in Bangladesh: Analysis of their Human Rights Issues”, Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, 2011. Available at https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/MinorityIssues/Session4/ItemIV/BangladeshHinduBuddhistChristianUnityCouncil.pdf
  7. Akins Harrison, “Challenges to Religious Freedom in Bangladesh”, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, May 2020. Available at https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/2020%20Bangladesh%20Country%20Update.pdf
Last updated on January 18, 2021