Being Hindu in Bangladesh (An Untold Story)

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Even as a great mass of humanity moved from the east to the west of Bengal to settle in Hindu-majority India during the Partition, scores of people were left behind. Where are they today in the land that was once East Bengal, which became East Pakistan in 1955, and then Bangladesh in 1971?

According to a recent estimate by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, there were 17 million Hindus in Bangladesh. Since the rise of Islamist political formations in the country during the 1990s, many were threatened or attacked, and substantial numbers are fleeing the country for India. Despite their dwindling numbers, they wield considerable influence in Bangladesh because of their geographical concentration in areas such as Gopalganj, Dinajpur, Sylhet, Sunamganj, Mymensingh, Khulna, Jessore, Chittagong and parts of Chittagong Hill Tracts. They form the majority of the electorate in at least two parliamentary constituencies and account for more than 25 per cent in another thirty, often making them the deciding factor in parliamentary elections, where victory margins can be extremely narrow. Politics aside, the syncretic culture that had brought the Hindus and Muslims in East Pakistan together during the Liberation War of 1971 still exists, along with the frequent attacks on Hindu lives and property.

In Being Hindu in Bangladesh, journalist Deep Halder and academic Avishek Biswas attempt to sift out the truth from the statistics. Through the extensive study of archival material, records and on-ground research in Bangladesh, they piece together the lived experience of the Hindus in the country. In the process, they find answers to important questions about the nature of identity, its connection with religion and, ultimately, the very idea of 'home.

Deep Halder is a journalist and author. He has headed newsrooms across Delhi, Mumbai, Bhopal and Ahmedabad, and held top editorial positions in leading media outlets, including most recently as executive editor with India Today. Currently, he is working as contributing editor with The Print. He is the author of the bestselling book Blood Island: An Oral History of the Marichjhapi Massacre and Bengal 2021: An Election Diary.

Avishek Biswas is an assistant professor in English literature at Vidyasagar College under Calcutta University. He was awarded his doctoral degree from Jadavpur University for his thesis on the unheard voices of Namasudra Partition Survivors. His research interests include the history of Dalits in Bengal, Partition and Namasudra identity, Hindu migrants from Bangladesh, and the Liberation War in 1971.

SMRITIKANA BISWAS WAS twelve when her father thought of killing her sister. The family was hiding inside a college building. Outside, the fire of religious hatred burned through Noakhali. The twelve-year-old had seen things nobody should see. Hacked bodies strewn on streets, houses on fire, raped women wailing. Other families were huddled together inside the college building as well, praying that the mad pack of murderous men would somehow not find them. But who would explain the extent of danger to Smritikana's seven-month-old sister? The little one just wouldn't keep quiet, her wails could bring the rioters in. Hand-on-mouth, tight hug, treacle- nothing would stop her. 'Maybe, we have to kill her to save ourselves, Smritikana's father said. Horror-struck at what he said he would do, and what would happen if he didn't, Smritikana shuddered.