Date: 01/12/2014
The example goes as follows:
If you drop a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will of course frantically try to climb out. But if you place it gently in a pot of warm water and turn the heat on low, it will float there quite calmly. As the water gradually heats up, the frog becomes sleepy, exactly like one of us in a hot bath, and before long, with a smile on its face, it will unresistingly allow itself to be boiled to death.
The example serves to remind us that if things happen gradually, we are less aware of it. But we should not let this be the case with Bengal, or we will all die, just like the frog.
A brief history of the Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh, 1971 – present
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"Kill 3 million of them [Bangladeshis] and the rest will eat out of our hands." – Yayha Khan, President of Pakistan, 1969-71[1]
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> March 1971 saw the initiation of Operation Searchlight, (West) Pakistan’s attempt to curb the Bangladeshi independence movement (East Pakistan). The attempt to subdue the Bangladeshis using brute force resulted in the genocide of up to three million people, three quarters of whom were Hindus[2], and created ten million refugees who fled into India[3]. The disproportionate attacks on Hindus were motivated by the hatred for Bengali culture and language, something Pakistan viewed as being essentially Indian and relating to Hindus. The Pakistani army took the view that Hindus were "as Jews to the Nazis, scum and vermin that best be exterminated"[4], and being inferior, must have their gene pool "fixed" through forcible impregnation.[5] The mass rape of Hindu women by the Pakistani Army resulted in thousands of pregnancies, births of war babies, abortions, incidents of infanticide and suicide, and, in addition, led to ostracisation of the victims.[6] Recognised as one of the major occurrences of wartime rape anywhere[7], the atrocities finally ended after the Indian armed forces intervened and independence for Bangladesh was assured. During the war, Hindus truly were treated as the Jews of Germany, having their front doors painted with yellow ‘H’s so that the Pakistani army knew exactly which civilians to target.[8]
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> Since independence from East Pakistan, the fate of Hindus in Bangladesh has not improved. They have suffered atrocious human rights violations, being the scapegoats for many of the country’s political and social problems. Despite the 1971 Constitution of Bangladesh declaring it to be a secular and democratic republic, in reality the country has steadily moved closer and closer to becoming an Islamic state, meaning greater implementation of Sharia law and complete subjugation of the minorities. As a result, the Hindu population has dwindled from 26% in the 1961 census[9] to current estimates of less than 8%.[10]
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> Subjugation of Hindus has been achieved through the use of two very successful tools of terrorism; land-grabbing and rape. The Vested Property Act, a law in force from 1965-2001, has been used legally by members of the public on a country-wide scale to confiscate land and property held by “enemies of the state”, with non-muslims officially designated as “enemies”. Over the course of its enforcement, almost 50% of Hindus have had their land and property confiscated in accordance with this law.[11] In 2011, The Vested Property Return Act was passed to return such land to their previous owners. However, the 180 day time-frame was replaced by an “indefinite period” allowing the government to effectively place lowest priority on implementation of the law.[12]
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> Rape of Hindu women is still rampant; 98.7% of rape victims are from minority backgrounds,[13] whilst minorities collectively only form 10% of the population (8% are Hindu). The other main forms of subjugation being used include physical violence, forced conversions, kidnapping of female minors, demolition of places of worship and prohibiting minority children to attend school, rendering future generations only capable of performing
> menial jobs.
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> According to the UN, the definition of genocide is given as “any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
> (a) Killing members of the group;
> (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
> (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
> (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
> (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”[14]
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> The Hindus of Bangladesh meet each of these conditions. According to birth-rate trends, there was a shortfall in their numbers by an estimated 20 million people in the two decades 1971-1991.[15] There is no account of where these people are. They have either been forcefully converted, murdered or fearing for their lives, fled to India, which nearly completely borders all of Bangladesh.
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> With incessant intimidation from hardliners such as followers of the Jamaat-e-Islami political party, there is no free speech in the country to voice the concerns of the minorities. Journalists and politicians who are forthcoming to report on the violence, often go ‘missing’ with no explanation or proper investigation into their disappearances.
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> 2014 Bangladesh Elections
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> The cycle of violence against Hindus peaks around the time of the elections when they are kept at bay from casting their votes. If right-wing parties lose votes, the minorities are blamed for being disloyal to the state, unpatriotic, and enemies of Islam, against whom immediate and harsh action is required. The following incidents took place between 5-16 January 2014 as result of this year’s elections:
> - 178 Hindu homes vandalised/looted
> - 183 Hindu homes burned down
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