In the wake of Modi’s upcoming visit to Bangladesh, Tithy Sarkar, a student leader in the World Hindu Struggle Committee at Jagannath University, faced death threats. According to the World Hindu Struggle Committee, “Islamist rioters have been protesting Narendra Modi’s visit in Bangladesh on March 17. They do not want to see Modi in Bangladesh.”
“They allege that Modi is a Muslim hater who is behind the Gujarat rioters,” the World Hindu Struggle Committee proclaimed. In 2002, the Gujarat riots broke out after a train full of Hindu pilgrims was burned to the ground. During these riots, 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed. Many others were raped and there was widespread looting. Although Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat at that time, the Indian Supreme Court cleared him of any wrongdoing.
The World Hindu Struggle Committee noted that regardless how one feels about the Gujarat riots, “whether Modi will come or not is a matter for the Sheikh Hasina government to decide. It is not the responsibility of any Hindus. There should be no excuse for persecuting Hindus due to Modi’s alleged actions before he became prime minister or what is happening now.”
In recent days, anti-Modi sentiments have been awakened anew after the New Delhi riots. The riots broke out in response to the Citizenship Amendment Act, which allows persecuted minorities in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan to have a fast-track to citizenship in India. Senior Supreme Court advocate Harish Salve noted that CAA is not anti-Muslim: “Do we really need proof that minorities are persecuted in these Islamic republics? How can Parliament be faulted for coming to a conclusion that such minorities in the three named neighbors need to be protected?”
The CAA is not designed to make any one stateless or take away anyone’s rights. Despite its passage, all Indian Muslims still have equal rights within the State of India. Nevertheless, elements in the Indian Muslim community rioted against this law, leading to widespread arson attacks and vandalism. The humanitarian cost of putting down these riots was heavy.
“Bangladeshi rioters are threatening Hindus and vandalizing their property over what happened in New Delhi, where intercommunal riots left 53 people dead,” the World Hindu Struggle Committee declared. “Muslim rioters are setting Hindu temples on fire in Bangladesh, so that Modi can see. Prior to that, they attempted to kill some Hindus in Habigani. 5 Hindus were stabbed and they are undergoing treatment.”
In response to these developments, Shipan Kumer Basu, the President of the World Hindu Struggle Committee, declared, “I want to say to all of the radicals that they got no right to riot against Hindus in Bangladesh. To murder, maim and vandalize Hindus over actions that they got no control over is a cowardly act. They are not responsible for what happened in New Delhi and they also are not to be blamed for Modi’s visit to Bangladesh. All acts of violence should end immediately, and the international community should stop blaming only one side for the violence, when in reality the violence in New Delhi was a two-way street.”