No minority tag, please!

What the Chief Adviser to the interim government has said while talking to the Hindu community is not only laudable but also time-befitting. The key message he conveyed is that the members of the Hindu community in the country should not be circumspect by their minority status. They should remain united and claim their rights under the law as free citizens of the country. Exchanging views with leaders of the Hindu community at the Dhakeshwari National Temple on Tuesday, he also urged them to be patient and support the interim government.

Immediately after the fall of the Hasina government, the country experienced incidents of widespread violence including a few shocking attacks on the Hindus, their properties and places of worship. Isolating the attacks as targeted only on the Hindu community, however, will only be a misrepresentation of facts. Attacks also took place on Awami League leaders, their houses, and business establishments. The communal motive behind the attacks on Hindu households might have worked in some cases, regardless of whether the victims were or not supporters or beneficiaries of the previous regime. There is also another side to this story. Just days after the violence erupted, reports had it that local people in the affected localities, even students from madrashas, forming groups on their own to protect temples and their Hindu neighbours. Reportedly, these groups are still on guard.

There are quarters inside and outside the country who took advantage to further incite the chaotic situation through fake news and rumours on social media as well as in the print media. One of the most circulated dailies in the neighbouring country published the false story of a celebrity Hindu cricketer's home torched by a rowdy mob. In reality, the sad incident involved a Muslim cricketer who happened to be a member of parliament (MP) of the former regime.

Rumours apart, the fact that incidents of attack and vandalism that took place in many parts of the country must be condemned and criminals responsible should be brought to book. Those now in the interim government have recognised the occurrences as extremely upsetting. The leaders of the minority communities during the meeting with the Chief Adviser placed a number of demands that included enactment of a minority protection act, formation of a national minority commission and a minority ministry, and ensuring proportional representation and participation in the government, parliament, and all representative bodies based on ratio of the population. The chief adviser urged the community not to consider themselves as the minority. Bangladesh, he said, is 'one family' and there should be no question of making differences and divisions in the family. Referring to their grievances, he said, it is the failure of the state to create a situation where legal rights and justice for all citizens can be secured. He urged them to push for establishing democratic rights, freedom of speech, and human rights without considering themselves as a minority people.