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The large banner flies over the Hudson River and circles the Statue of Liberty. (@RT_India_news/X)
Massive airline banner over New York calls for global action to end violence against Hindus in Bangladesh
A massive banner bearing the face of interim leader Muhammad Yunus flew over the New York skyline on Thursday, calling on the international community to take action against the violence facing Hindus in Bangladesh.
The banner, which surrounded the Statue of Liberty and the Hudson River, was meant to raise awareness of the ongoing persecution faced by the country’s Hindu minority, news agency YEARS reported.
The call to protect Hindus in the Muslim-majority country comes as the minority community has faced incidents of vandalism and destruction of temples during the student-led violence that erupted after the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Anti-government protests
After unprecedented anti-government protests peaked on August 5, Hasina resigned as prime minister and fled to India. In August, thousands of Hindus staged protests in Dhaka and the northeastern port city of Chattogram, demanding protection. Hindus make up about 8 percent of Bangladesh’s population of 170 million.
According to the group, which depicts the flag on the New York skyline, Bangladesh’s Hindu minority has dwindled dangerously over the years as it has been subjected to relentless violence, discrimination and forced conversion.
“…Hindu women and girls are brutally gang-raped in broad daylight while being stoned to death by other men, their dignity and safety shattered in the name of religious hatred by radical Islamists. Temples – sacred places of worship and community gathering – are being desecrated, burned and looted, symbolizing the erasure of Hindu culture and spirituality,” the Hindu Genocide Organization wrote on its website.
Earlier, several rights groups expressed concern about how entire Hindu neighborhoods were razed to the ground, with homes destroyed and belongings stolen. “The situation has deteriorated so severely that even the homes of internationally recognized Hindu musicians, athletes and saints were not spared,” the group said, adding that the violence against the minority population was reminiscent of the 1971 genocide, when more than 2 million Hindus were killed.
