Bangladesh: Muhammad Yunus to meet Hindu leaders amid reports of attacks on minorities

Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, has called the Hindu leaders in the country for a meeting on Tuesday (August 13).

There have been reports of several attacks on Hindu temples, homes, and businesses in the aftermath of the student protests and the subsequent resignation of the former PM Sheikh Hasina.

The interim government has said it is determined to punish miscreants who have desecrated Hindu temples and have committed acts of loot and arson in the country.

Asks students to protect Hindu families

The Nobel laureate, Yunus, who was the students’ choice to head the interim government, has said that he will resign if the attacks on minorities do not stop. He has condemned the attacks, calling them “heinous”.

“Are the minorities not the people of this country? You (students) have been able to save this country; can’t you save some families? You must say, ‘No one can harm them. They are my brothers; we fought together, and we will stay together,” Yunus told students at the Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur city on Saturday (August 10).

‘Could be works of sabotage’

Yunus also cautioned the students that the attacks could be works of sabotage by certain people who wanted to “undermine their progress”.

Several Hindu organisations in Bangladesh have demanded the Centre to ensure that Hindus were protected in the country.