Minorities may refrain from voting without adequate security: Roundtable

Ahead of the upcoming national election, religious and ethnic minorities across the country are anxious and concerned about their security, the Bangladesh Hindu Bouddha Christian Oikya Parishad has said. "In local or national elections, minority community members often face unnecessary threats, attacks and various forms of harassment simply for voting for or against a candidate. If the government and the Election Commission fail to ensure their security, minorities may be discouraged from going to polling centres and casting their votes," said Manindra Kumar Nath, acting general secretary of the council. Presenting the concept paper at a roundtable titled "The Current Reality and Expectations of Human Rights of Minorities", held at the CIRDAP auditorium in Dhaka, he said, "Certain groups are violating the code of conduct and using religion for political purposes. Various political parties and organisations have expressed concern about election-time security." He further said, "Even during the tenure of the interim government, religious and ethnic minority communities have been subjected to communal violence in different parts of the country. From August 4 to December 31 last year, and from January 1 to November 30, 2025, there were 2,184 and 489 incidents of violence respectively against religious and ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples, as reported in the media. In December alone, there were five incidents of murder." "Among these, the barbaric killing of Dipu Chandra Das in Mymensingh's Bhaluka on December 18 on alleged charges of blasphemy—followed by hanging his body from a tree and setting it on fire—has shocked the global community," he added. He alleged that the practice of denying organised post–August 5 violence by labelling it as "political" from the government side deeply frustrates minority communities, although the police administration later partially acknowledged the truth. Economist Debapriya Bhattacharya said, "Politics based on religious division will ultimately weaken the sovereignty of the country. It will weaken society. This politics of division—whether religious or ethnic identity-based—will weaken our economy and, in the future, undermine our international relations and global standing." He noted that religion-based politics is creating an increasingly complex situation ahead of the election. "Bangladesh should not view its religious minority citizens through the same political lens with which it views neighbouring India," he added. Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said, "Minorities are not attacked solely because of their religious identity. There is a force at work behind these incidents, and its main driving power is political. Their objectives are partisanship, land grabbing and establishing dominance." "Religious minorities and women have not been ensured representation in the proposed framework for a referendum. The National Human Rights Commission has failed to play an appropriate role in cases of minority and ethnic persecution. Therefore, a diversity commission must be formed to address this," he added. He also called for turning the draft anti-discrimination law into an ordinance to protect the rights of minority communities. The meeting was chaired by Nirmal Rosario, one of the presidents of the Oikya Parishad. Fawzia Moslem, president of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, and advocate Subrata Chowdhury, chief adviser of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, among others, spoke.