Can Bangladesh afford to ignore the Hindu Ummah?

The killing spree in Bangladesh, considered to be driven by Islamists, has taken a new turn recently. Once, it was considered a US based conspiracy to interfere in Bangladesh matters. But the matter has directly involved the Indians now, making it an international problem.

While Bangladesh is trying to strengthen its "Islamic Ummah" credentials by offering to send troops to assist Saudi Arabia to protect Islamic holy sites, the Hindu Ummah led by India is seriously upset at what is happening to Bangladeshi Hindus.

Alarm bells rang loudly in the Indian Foreign Ministry and media corridors following the killing of several Hindus including two priests, and the threat letter sent to the Ramkrishna Mission of Dhaka. Bangladeshi Hindu groups and individuals have also made calls to India to protect them as it is the most powerful Hindu nation in the world.
India has now been forced to make their presence felt to reduce threats to Hindus in Bangladesh, in order to calm down its own domestic constituency where there is high anxiety about what's happening in Bangladesh. It's a sign that while Bangladesh needs to please the Saudis who lead the Islamic Ummah, it can't anger India either, which leads the Hindu Ummah and is situated next door.

The pattern of the killings has shown a switch from the initial days when the attacks were mostly against bloggers and those dubbed "nastiks". However, the government was concerned about not putting a political foot down while going after the killers, which might have angered the majority. The result was both an encouragement to the killers and the loss of image for a security regime which seemed unable to handle the crisis. Bangladesh media and global HR groups expressed concerns about the situation but it was ignored.

Currently, many more Hindus have been targeted and the situation is now in more dicey international waters. Within the last month, winds are flowing from India bearing clouds of official anxiety and public anger as Indian media covers the killings. Media in general is saying Bangladesh is becoming more vulnerable to instability, no matter what our politicians think and say.

The Ramkrishna Mission letter is a good indicator of the changing situation. At a media conference in Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup told reporters that, "The High Commission of India, Dhaka, has contacted both Bangladesh Police and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and has been assured of full support and protection. We are also in direct contact with the RK Mission in Dhaka."

Swamy Suhitananda, General Secretary of the Ramakrishna Mission's headquarters in Belur, West Bengal, met with officials at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in Delhi to discuss the growing danger in Bangladesh. The letter sent to the Mission reads: "You are Hindus, Bangladesh is an Islamic country. You cannot preach Hindu religion in the country. Go to India. Otherwise, you will be hacked to death".

Admitting the threat, Monirul Islam, Additional Police Commissioner and Chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit under Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said investigation is going on to identify the sender of the letter. But India didn't sit on promises made by the Bangladesh police whose abilities have been put under a scanner recently.

So Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Harsh Vardhan Shringla personally visited the site and expressed his "satisfaction" over the security measures taken at Ramakrishna Mission. "We are satisfied over the steps taken by the Bangladesh government. The Indian government has full confidence in the ability of the local authorities to provide the required security both for the Mission and at other places."

Bangladesh – media and politicians – has missed the rise of the Hindu Ummah in recent times led by the PM of India itself. PM Narendra Modi is actually a follower of the Mission and had visited its Kolkata branch several times. In June last year, he visited RK Mission in Dhaka – one of the few personal visit during his state tour. On top of that, five Indian nationals are based at the Mission, according to Indian media. Security around Dhakeshwari temple, another place frequented by Hindus and visited by Modi last year, has also been tightened. But this happened only under Indian pressure which has not gone down well with the Indians too. And at the moment, the dominant voice within India is that of the Hindu Ummah.

Indian High Commission officials have been visiting Hindu minority communities and meeting Hindu leaders in the wake of the attacks. Indian diplomats have visited Pabna, where a Hindu monastery worker was murdered, and Jhenidah, where a Hindu priest was killed.

While Bangladesh has been blaming the BNP-JI for every incident, such allegations are usually meant for the consumption of local Bangladeshis. But the killings have an international audience, in this case in a Hindu India. Once Hindu killings started, the matter became not just a Jongi killing mater in Bangladesh but a local issue for India too with its Hindu majority population. To Indians, it doesn't matter whether it's BNP or JI, what matters is that Hindus are being killed and that it must stop. Otherwise Modi's hand may be forced to do more.

Just as we are part of the Islamic Ummah and have promised troops for Mecca, India is at the heart of the Hindu Ummah and must play its role. It's impossible for Modi to ignore majority public opinion and none should understand this better than our PM. Somehow, the killings have to stop and it needs a better plan than mass arrests, or blaming BNP-JI for everything and encounter killings. The reality of the Hindu Ummah which is politically stronger than all other Ummah forces combined is something that can no longer be ignored by our powers that be.