Religious minorities in Bangladesh are not doing well, new report says

Minority communities in Bangladesh had a very hard time during the first half of the year, a new report shows.

The Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist Christian Unity Council presented a detailed report on the condition of religious minorities the Muslim-majority South Asian country last week in the capital, Dhaka.

The takeaway appeared to be that violence has transformed from mass attacks to targeted violence, a matter of serious concern for the security of the minority community.

The religious minorities of Bangladesh have been demanding a Minority Protection Act for a long time, but no government has acted on the issue yet.

Nirmol Rozario, President of the Bangladesh Christian Association and one of the leaders of the Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, believes the persecution of minorities will not stop until the politics of religion is stopped in Bangladesh.

“If Bangladesh were completely secular and a liberal democratic country,” Rozario said, “then we would not need this Minority Protection Act, but since we have communal people in our country, we need protection of minorities through law.”

Gruesome details in report

During a conference at the National Press Club on July 27, Council leaders said 257 incidents of communal violence have occurred across