Hindus for Human Rights Urges Bangladeshi Government to Establish Ministry of Minority Affairs in Wake of Renewed Violence

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Hindus for Human Rights Urges Bangladeshi Government to Establish Ministry of Minority Affairs in Wake of Renewed Violence

December 19th, 2025 (Washington DC) — Hindus for Human Rights calls on the Interim Government of Bangladesh to urgently assemble a Ministry for Minority Affairs and guarantee the safety of minorities in Bangladesh in the wake of the brutal lynching of Dipu Chandra Das.

Das was a Hindu garment worker who was attacked by a mob for alleged blasphemy. This young man was targeted for his Hindu identity. He was also killed at a time when Bangladesh is gripped by a cycle of violence that will inevitably target Hindus and other minorities, human rights defenders, student activists, and journalists in the country. 

We are grateful to the interim government and Chief Adviser Yunus for the strong statements denouncing Das’s murder. We also believe that Das’s death should prompt the interim government to finally answer the longstanding demand of Bangladeshi Hindus to assemble a Ministry of Minority Affairs. Such a ministry would allow Bangladesh’s religious minorities to discuss their safety concerns directly with the government and ensure that the government proactively allocates resources to minority communities so they can live safely and peacefully. 

Das was killed at the precise time that the country became engulfed with violence following the murder of student protest leader Sharif Osman Hadi. Hadi’s murder was an act of calculated political violence and has sparked a wave of unrest, including the burning of the headquarters of Bangladesh’s top newspapers, The Daily Star and Prothom Alo. 

Already, some voices in Bangladesh are blaming India for Hadi’s death, even though Hadi’s murderers have not been identified. Many activists, including Hadi, blame India for supporting and sheltering the now-deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. While this is true, there is a high risk that such rhetoric could precipitate violence against Bangladesh’s Hindu community.

We stand, as always, resolutely with all those in Bangladesh who are on the side of democracy and pluralism. And we call on Bangladeshis to follow Chief Adviser Yunus’s calls to “resist all forms of mob violence by fringe elements.”

We pray for peace. And we pray for a pluralist Bangladesh where every person can live and express themselves freely, regardless of faith, caste, or ethnicity. 

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Om Shanti.

For media inquiries, please contact:  

Faria Rehman, Campaigns & Press Relations Manager

faria@hindusforhumanrights.org

Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR) is an education and advocacy organization rooted in the core Hindu values of satya (truth), nyaya (justice), and shanti (peace). We work to advance human rights for all by opposing caste, Hindutva, religious nationalism, racism, and every form of bigotry justified in the name of faith.

With affiliates around the world and chapters across the United States, HfHR brings together secular and religious Hindus—as well as allies of every background—to build a pluralistic future grounded in dignity and equality. We pursue this mission through policy advocacy, public education, interfaith partnerships, and cultural work that lifts up liberatory traditions within Hindu thought.