Bangladesh Hindu Massacre: Persecution Past and Present Part-IV
A Legacy of Loss and Continued Persecution
The history of Hindu persecution does not begin or end with the Sundarbans but is a continuum that has affected regions from Bangladesh to West Bengal. From the horrors of the Noakhali riots in 1946 to ongoing violence against Hindus in contemporary Bangladesh, this pattern of persecution remains unbroken. The persecution of the Hindu minority in West Bengal continues, with incidents reminiscent of Noakhali seen as recently as Sandeshkhali in January 2024. This blog connects the tragic events at Marichjhapi to the enduring struggles of Hindus, exploring both the plight of Hindu refugees in India and the vulnerabilities of Hindu minorities in the pockets of West Bengal.
As we trace this unbroken thread of persecution, one question remains: Why does history keep repeating itself?
Marichjhapi: The Echo of a Wider Wound
On January 31, 1979, when police fired on Marichjhapi’s unarmed refugees, it wasn’t just a local betrayal—it mirrored a broader vulnerability. These Bangladesh Hindus, mainly Dalits like the Namashudras, had fled East Pakistan’s communal violence decades earlier, only to face state brutality in India.
The blockade, the gunfire, the rapes, and the river-dumped bodies left hundreds, perhaps thousands, dead—numbers buried by official denial. This wasn’t an aberration but a signal of how expendable Hindu lives could become in the face of political expediency. The Left Front’s actions—crushing a community it once promised to save—set a precedent. It showed how power could sideline Hindus, especially the marginalized, without consequence. That silence, that lack of accountability, reverberates in the persecution Hindus face today, both in Bangladesh and within India’s borders.
Marichjhapi’s survivors carried their trauma forward, and their story finds haunting echoes in the present. Journalist Deep Halder’s book “Blood Island” provides a platform for survivors of the Marichjhapi massacre to share their testimonies. Here are some quotes that capture the horrors they experienced:
“Non-stop police action had demoralised islanders. One night, someone came and dropped a bottle of poison into the tube well. Thirteen people died the next day. Babies were dying like rats from diseases, and women were afraid to venture out for fear of being raped by policemen.”
“Sukhchand has decided to leave Kadambari (his village); leave East Pakistan and cross over to that new country they call India. Just the name itself is a cuss word here, but this country is no longer safe for Hindus, for his wife and Sachin (his son). It would be their last Durga Puja in the village of their forefathers.”
These quotes highlight the brutality and fear that the survivors faced during the Marichjhapi massacre. Deep Halder’s book is a powerful account of the event, and it’s essential reading for anyone looking to understand the experiences of the survivors.
Bangladesh Hindu Massacre: A Persistent Persecution
Decades after Marichjhapi, Hindus in Bangladesh remain trapped in a cycle of systemic discrimination and violence. Once 22% of East Pakistan’s population in 1951, they’ve dwindled to below 8% by 2022—a stark decline driven by persecution. Temples are vandalized, homes looted, and families displaced with chilling regularity. Rural Hindus, like those who fled to Marichjhapi, are especially vulnerable, facing land grabs masked as communal disputes. Between 1964 and 2013, an estimated 11.3 million Hindus left Bangladesh, averaging over 600 departures daily, fleeing violence and hopelessness.
Extremist groups, often unchecked by a weak or complicit state, fuel this torment. Post-independence, Hindus were branded disloyal to a Muslim-majority nation, a stigma that lingers. Survivor accounts from Marichjhapi—mobs, police inaction, judicial silence—mirror modern reports. In 2021 alone, over 100 temples were attacked during Durga Puja, with little justice served. This ongoing crisis isn’t just a Bangladeshi problem—it’s a regional wound, watched uneasily by India’s Hindu majority, yet met with muted response due to diplomatic tightropes and internal politics, and above all, the tolerance of the Hindu community that is genesis of Hindu teachings. It is described in Blog: Bangladesh Hindu Rights Abuse: A Sky of Hope Lost Part-V.
Bangladeshi Hindus in India: Refuge Without Rest
For many Bangladeshi Hindus, India promises sanctuary—a shared culture and faith offering hope after persecution. Marichjhapi’s refugees thought the same, only to face betrayal. Today, their successors cross borders, often illegally, seeking safety in West Bengal and Assam. Estimates suggest millions have settled since the 1970s, their numbers swelling after events like the 1971 war and recent upheavals. Yet, refuge comes with its own thorns.
Integration is a struggle. Lacking legal status, many Bangladeshi Hindus toil in informal jobs—construction, farming, domestic work—vulnerable to exploitation. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) of 2019 aimed to fast-track citizenship for non-Muslim refugees, including Hindus from Bangladesh, but sparked protests and bureaucratic delays. In border states, they face suspicion from locals wary of “outsiders,” even as political parties exploit their plight for votes (Politics of Massacre Part-III). The irony stings: while Bangladesh Hindus residing in Marichjhapi as refugees were crushed for seeking a home, Bangladeshi Muslims often find tacit shelter under vote-bank politics, deepening communal tensions. For these Hindus, India is a haven shadowed by uncertainty, their Marichjhapi-like dreams deferred.
Hindus in “Minority Areas” of West Bengal: Echoes Across the Border
Even within India, Hindus aren’t immune to persecution, particularly in areas where they are outnumbered. In West Bengal’s border districts, such as Murshidabad, Malda, and North 24 Parganas, Muslims form significant majorities (e.g., 66% in Murshidabad per the 2011 census). Hindus in these areas report escalating harassment, land disputes, and violence that echo the patterns observed in Bangladesh. Temples have been defaced, festivals disrupted, and incidents of social exclusion persist, often with local authorities turning a blind eye. In 2023, violent clashes during Ram Navami in Murshidabad left Hindu homes torched, a stark reminder of the violence seen in Marichjhapi.
These incidents are a reflection of a complex interplay between demographics and politics, with political parties, including Trinamool Congress (TMC), accused of prioritizing Muslim votes over the safety and rights of Hindus. The legacy of the Left Front’s appeasement policies (as explored in the blog, Politics of Massacre Part-III) continues to shape the situation, leaving Hindus in these areas feeling marginalized within their own state. Like their counterparts in Bangladesh, they experience exclusion, and their status as a minority group within a Hindu-majority nation is a bitter irony. The Marichjhapi massacre, where the state violently crushed a Hindu enclave, finds a silent parallel in these ongoing struggles, showing that persecution transcends borders.
Recent reports, such as those on Birbhum in 2021 (where over 1,000 Hindu families fled due to TMC-led mob violence), and the increasing threats to Hindus in areas like Baduria and Howrah, underscore how deep-rooted the issue is. Despite being part of a Hindu-majority country, these Hindus find themselves caught in the same cycle of violence and neglect that their co-religionists have suffered across borders.
Connecting the Threads: A Pattern Unbroken
What ties Marichjhapi to these modern struggles? It’s the vulnerability of Hindus. While the plight of refugees primarily affected the poorer Hindus, the indifference or active betrayal of the state has left all Hindus in India—whether rich or poor, educated or uneducated—vulnerable. In 1979, the Left Front chose political gain over promises, silencing a massacre with “CIA conspiracy” claims and media blackouts. Today, Bangladesh’s Hindus face similar neglect, their exodus ignored by a global community fixated elsewhere. In India, Bangladeshi Hindus and West Bengal’s Hindus, wherever in relatively lower percentage, grapple with a system that offers refuge but not redemption, often prioritizing electoral math over justice. In India, Bangladeshi Hindus and Indian Hindus of West Bengal Hindus grapple with a system that offers refuge but not redemption.
This pattern isn’t coincidence—it’s a legacy of tolerance by Hindus stretched thin, a theme unpacked in another Blog: Bangladesh Hindu Persecution: Cost of Tolerance and Unity Call Part VI. Marichjhapi’s death toll, lost to history’s shadows, mirrors the uncounted losses of today—lives erased by violence, displacement, and apathy. The lack of accountability then, as now, emboldens aggressors, from police in 1979 to mobs in 2025.
International Silence: The Overlooked Persecution of Hindus
While the persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh and Pakistan forms a consistent pattern of human rights violations, it has garnered surprisingly scant attention from the international community and media. Unlike the global uproar that often follows incidents affecting Christian minorities, similar or even more severe atrocities against Hindus rarely make headlines. This disparity is not just a failure of media coverage but also reflects a broader issue within international human rights advocacy.
This silence has profound implications. It not only emboldens perpetrators but also leaves the victims without the international solidarity and support that can often lead to improved protections. The lack of vocal international condemnation and action to address these ongoing abuses against Hindu communities starkly contrasts with the global response to other human rights issues. This selective attention undermines the universal principles of human rights advocacy, suggesting that some atrocities are given precedence over others, not based on severity but on geopolitical interests and media narratives.
Reflections: Echoes of the Past, Reverberations in the Present
Marichjhapi is not merely a bygone atrocity but a forewarning of ongoing and pervasive Hindu persecution that spans borders and decades—from the diminishing Hindu communities in Bangladesh to the beleaguered refugees and minorities within India. Each narrative carries the indelible mark of Marichjhapi: aspirations dashed, voices silenced, and justice thwarted. As we continue to witness this enduring saga, it compels us to consider the present and future implications of this legacy.
What measures can be taken to rectify these injustices? The next installment of our series, ” Bangladesh Hindu Killings Kumirmari: A Haven Lost To Hindus-V,” will delve deeper into the consequences of these historical and ongoing persecutions, tracing the developments into 2024 and beyond, and exploring potential paths toward resolution and reconciliation.
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Glossary of Terms:
- Dalits: A term used to describe the lowest caste in the traditional Indian caste system, also known as “untouchables.” Dalits have historically faced significant social and economic discrimination.
- East Pakistan: The eastern wing of Pakistan, which existed from 1947 to 1971. East Pakistan is now the independent country of Bangladesh.
- Left Front: A political alliance in India, primarily composed of left-wing parties such as the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India.
- Marichjhapi massacre: A violent incident that occurred on January 31, 1979, in which police fired on a group of unarmed Hindu refugees on Marichjhapi Island in West Bengal, India.
- Namashudras: A Dalit community primarily found in West Bengal, India, and Bangladesh. The Namashudras have historically faced significant social and economic discrimination.
- Noakhali riots: A series of violent attacks against Hindus that occurred in Noakhali District, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), in 1946.
- Sundarbans: The largest mangrove forest in the world, located in the Ganges River Delta region of West Bengal, India, and Bangladesh.
- Trinamool Congress (TMC): A regional political party in India, primarily active in West Bengal with its uncontrsted leader, Mamata Banerjee.
- West Bengal: A state located in eastern India, bordering Bangladesh.
References
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