Violence during the 2003 Union Parishad Elections
Between January 25 and March 16, 2003, elections were held in 4,228 Union Parishads (local councils which have an important role to play in the daily lives of the people) across Bangladesh. Memebrs of the Bangladeshi Hindu minority community were heavily persecuted by Islamic fundamentalists in connection to the Union Parishad elections. This persecution involved voter intimidation, prevention of exercising voter franchise, etc.
Reports of persecution
of minorities come from the following areas:
Kaligunge area: Jhenaidaha district
Debhata area: Satkhira district
Pangsha area: Rajbari district
Rampal area: Bagerhat distrtict
Mollahat and Khoksha areas: Kushtia district
Nagarkanda area: Faridpur district
Batyaghata area: Khulna district
Raujan area: Chittagong district
Mirsharai, Rangunia, Laxmipur, Bagha areas: Rajshahi district
Manda area: Naogaon district
Saraya area: Gazipur district
Mirzapur area: Tangail district
Saturia area: Manickganj district
Gopalganj district
Garagram area: Kishoreganj district
Dumki area: Patuakhali district
Bagatipara area: Natore district
Below is a listing of specific incidents that took place:
I. February 13, 2003. Bhatpara region, Abhaynagar, Jessore district (in southwestern Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of West Bengal). Islamic fundamentalists, also supporters of the ruling coalition government, attacked a pre-dominantly Hindu area. A woman named Sunitarani Das (age 55) was injured. Four other Hindus sustained injuries in the attack.
II. Chittagong district (in southeastern Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of Tripura and the Bay of Bengal). Ratan Mahajan, a member of the minority Hindu community was killed in election related violence.
III. Aburthan village, Raujan area, Chittagong district (in southeastern Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of Tripura and the Bay of Bengal). The family of Pratin Prasad Barua is living in hiding after receiving election related threats from Islamic fundamentalists.
IV. Kachua area, Bagerhat district (in southwestern Bangladesh bordering the Bay of Bengal). During the election, the local Hindu candidate, Radharaman Sikdar, failed to cast his own vote when activists and followers of the ruling BNP-Jamat-E-Islami coalition threatened to kill him. In addition they attacked many Hindu voters.
V. Nilphamari district (in northern Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of West Bengal). Hindu voters in the Tupamari, Sonaray, Laxmichap unions were forced by Islamic fundamentalists to abstain from voting. A local Hindu candidate, Ashwini Kumar Biswas was threatened by activists from the ruling BNP.
VI. Tribal area of Bahadurpur, Lalpur sub-district, Natore district (in western Bangladesh very close to the Indian state of West Bengal). The followers of Belal Hussain (the defeated candidate) savagely assaulted Ramapada (age 64), a member of the minority Hindu Tribal (Santhal tribe) community.
VII. Maheshkhali, Coxbazar district (in southeastern Bangladesh bordering the Bay of Bengal and the country of Myanmar). A local minister from the ruling BNP, Alamgir Mohammad Mehfuzullah, and his brother, Md. Shahidullah, forcibly drove out Hindu voters in the region who tried to cast their votes.
VIII. Dohar region, Dhaka district (capital city of Bangladesh). Hindu voters were not allowed to cast votes to a candidate of their choice.
IX. Tularampur, Narail district (southwest of the capital city of Dhaka). Local police tortured an innocent young Hindu boy named Samiran Biswas, who was physically handicapped. Biswas was savagely beaten up by an iron rod. Next morning his dead body was found lying in a pool of blood.
X. Barabhita union, Nilphamari district (in northern Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of West Bengal). During the Hindu Shiva Chaturdashi celebration, Hindus in the Barabhita union could not perform worship peacefully since they faced constant attacks carried out by defeated Muslim candidates. A group of Islamic reactionaries, who were staunch followers of the defeated candidates, attacked the local Hindu temple dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva.
XI. Palpara region, Korihata area, Gazipur district (proximately northwest of the capital city of Dhaka). Seventy Hindu families were attacked by a group of Islamic reactionaries led by two prominent Islamic reactionaries, Fajlul and Manick. The gang destroyed pottery factories and poultry farms along with several homes owned by the Hindus. The Hindu families were threatened to pay one million Taka (approximately US $20,000) in the form of a zizya tax (an extortion tax demanded by Muslim fundamentalists from non-Muslims). This incident took place because the local Hindus refused to vote for the newly elected chairman of the Union Parishad. The Hindu families were directed to pay the zizya tax to the newly elected chairman.
XII. Tozumoddin area, Bhola district (an island in southern Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal). Seven Hindu Families were attacked by Islamic fundamentalists in connection with the Union Parishad Elections.