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Bangladeshi Hindus fear reprisals after Sheikh Hasina’s ouster

Aug 11, 2024, 6:40pm EDT
South Asia
Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters
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Misinformation about widespread violence against Bangladesh’s Hindus is fueling anxiety since student protests ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last week.

While religious rights groups reported more than 200 attacks on minorities since the government’s collapse, fabricated reports of violence — amplified by some Indian media outlets and verified X accounts — are “worse than reality,” AFP reported. But Bangladesh’s Hindu community — which largely supported Hasina’s party — is still fearful of reprisals, even as interim leader Muhammad Yunus warned against discrimination.

India, which backed Hasina, needs to denounce the misinformation, a Daily Star columnist argued, or risk making the “people-to-people divide between Bangladesh and India even worse.”

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Tensions prevailed in Bangladesh as the chief justice and five other Supreme Court judges resigned Saturday under pressure from protesters.

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