Protest held outside UK parliament demanding Labour take action on Hindu persecution in Bangladesh

TOI correspondent from London: Hundreds of PIOs and Bangladeshi-origin Hindus held a protest in the cold pouring rain outside the Houses of Parliament in London on Wednesday calling for UK PM Keir Starmer to do more to condemn the genocide of Hindus taking place in Bangladesh.

Labour Basingstoke MP Luke Murphy was among those present. He said he had been contacted by many constituents worried about the persecution and killings of Hindus in Bangladesh. He said he had raised it with the foreign office and in Parliament. “The Labour govt has been engaged with this issue and will continue to press for a resolution to ensure we protect minorities in Bangladesh and elsewhere,” he said.




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Former Labour MP Virendra Sharma said: “I am urging the British govt and all those forces who always work for human rights to protect the interests of the minorities in Bangladesh, to intervene as quickly as possible so that the killings should be stopped and not be repeated, so they can enjoy freedom of speech and freedom of worship.” He said the British govt should convey its anger and protest to the Bangladesh high commission in London that this will not be tolerated. “The strongest protest should be from the govt of Britain. The British govt has not done enough. More can be done,” he said.

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“In 1947, 30% to 40% of the population of Bangladesh were Hindu and now it is 7%. There is no law and order, no freedom of speech and no human rights in Bangladesh since the interim govt came to power,” said Alak Chanda, general secretary of the Bangladesh Hindu Association (UK), which organised the protest. “We are urging Britain to take action. Why is Britain not pressuring this govt?”

A digital van went round flashing images of about the Hindu genocide. Signs protesters carried called for the Nobel peace prize given to Muhammad Yunus to be revoked, for the unconditional release of monk Chinmoy Prabhu, for temples to be protected, and justice for Dipu Chandra Das who was lynched.

Anamika Dev’s father was murdered by Muslims in Bangladesh in 2004. “There is no justice for Hindus," she said. “My family were all threatened. It is a genocide. We want justice and we want Britain to put pressure on Bangladesh to save Hindus.”