Jaishankar on attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh: ‘Responsibility for protection…’

External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Friday said that the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government is responsible for protecting Bangladesh citizens, including its minorities.
Jaishankar made the statement in response to a question in the Lok Sabha about violence against minorities, including Hindus, in Bangladesh.
The external affairs minister said that the government has seen several reports of incidents of violence against Hindus and other minorities since August 2024, when Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee Bangladesh.
He added that reports of attacks on temples and puja mandaps also emerged during the recent Durga Puja festival in Bangladesh.
“Government have taken a serious note of these incidents and shared its concerns with the Government of Bangladesh,” Jaishankar said in his reply.
Jaishankar also said that the High Commission of India in Dhaka continues to monitor the situation related to the minorities in Bangladesh closely.
“The primary responsibility for the protection of life and liberty of all citizens of Bangladesh, including minorities, rests with the Government of Bangladesh,” he pointed out.
The response by the external affairs minister comes amid protests and unrest in Bangladesh over the arrest of former priest of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) Bangladesh, Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, on sedition charges. Das is accused of hoisting a saffron flag above the Bangladesh national flag during a rally in October.
Several political leaders in India, including those in the opposition, have voiced concern over the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das and issued an appeal to the Narendra Modi-led central government to intervene in the matter.
Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina has also backed the arrested Hindu monk, Chinmoy Krishna Das, saying he was “unjustly arrested” and must immediately be released. Hasina has also called upon the Bangladesh government to protect religious and ethnic minorities that have braved violence since her ouster from power in August.